Makita XLC02ZB 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Vacuum, Tool Only

We have kids and dogs, so debris and pet hair on the floors and stairs is always an issue. Sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming with a traditional machine and attachments is unnecessary laborious and often ineffective, so I wanted something like a dustbuster, but more helpful. I spent a LOT of time researching various battery-powered vacuums. So many products got poor reviews due to internal batteries that fail and cannot be removed or replaced, requiring replacement of the entire product. What sets this product apart is that the battery is rechargeable on an external charging device (which is included with the product), so the battery is replaceable should it ever fail. And so far the battery has been amazing. Weve had vacuum for 3 months, use it about 3-4 times a week, and have only had to charge the battery twice. Makita is a power tool company. Its products are rugged and reliable, yet its lightweight enough for the kids to use. Helping keep the floors clean has actually become fun for them. The different heads are easy to interchange (brush vs. crevice tool, etc.), and the collection area is easy to empty. The machine has just enough suction to get the job done. Its not loud or whiny, but about what I would have expected. It mounts easily to a wall with the mounting mechanism included with the product. I couldnt be happier with this purchase. It was exactly what I was hoping was out there.

I have hard floors and pets. Sweeping up the fly away fur was tiresome. This is a much better solution. It doesn’t clean rugs very well, though. I bought the cyclonic attachment and consider it a real plus because it helps prevent clogging of the filter with fur. The description on the 2 amp battery said that lasts 13 minutes per charge, but I don’t find that to be accurate at all. I can vacuum the whole house with power to spare. The unit is a bit heavy, so I wouldn’t want a bigger battery anyway. I took off a star because I think Makita overcharges for replacement batteries. It is good though that replacement batteries are available so that this can be used for a long time.

Corners. This thing kills corners. Corners of stairs, corners of vehicles, corners of baseboards; whatever corner you can think of, with the fine tip attachment, it dominates these corners easily. This thing has the perfect amount of power with the fine tip attachment. As for large surface areas, dont even think about it. I use a traditional vac for large surface areas. The traditional vacuum blade attachment for this vacuum simply doesnt have the power to do this efficiently. Also, make sure to buy the Makita Cyclonic Vacuum attachment. It should come with the base kit, but its a small price to pay for a major upgrade. At my work, i pick up a lot of drywall dust, and after 3 months, I still have yet to replace the filter. Sure, depending on your use per week, you may have to clean out all the internals on a weekly/ bi-monthly basis, but this attachment makes it 10x easier. With this attachment, you can get away with clearing the cyclone chamber 6-7 times before cleaning the rest of the internals. Honestly, you might get more out of it before doing a full clean (a full clean I classify as a hot rinse of the plastics/filter, about a 5 minute activity). Im just a neat freak with my tools, so typically wash the thing out once a week (70 hour work weeks).

This is perfect if you don’t want to get out the heavy vacuum. Battery last much longer than the older, white Mikita.

With three hairy, constantly shedding dogs in our 6,000 sq ft house, this makes capturing those inevitable dust bunnies an easy task. Add to that the light weight, good power, and standard Makita batteries (which we have plenty of) this not only saves time but our backs as well as we can just walk around and make quick work of our daily cleaning task.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this. I use it all the time. Works wonderfully.

With a 4 amp battery, this vacuum will go a long time. The dust cup is easy to clean and the tool is balanced about right. Good suction. Sadly, my wife has seized possession of this vacuum. Overall, this is a keeper.

Bought for an extended rv road trip and did not disappoint. Cleaned everything we pointed it at, and is able to get at all the small nooks and crannies in an rv. I have also used it on my stairs with similar results. Light and easy to use. The container fills up fast and requires getting your hands a little dirty to clear debris off the filter, especially pet hair. No complaints and no regrets with this purchase.

Suction was a little weak but very convenient

Below is my review written a month or two after I bought this two years ago. I still give it four stars even though in the last month it has failed to pick anything up. When I took it apart I realized what happened. My painters had helped themselves to this vacuum and used it to pick up sanding and sheetrock dust and other debris. What you see in the photo if you enlarge it is a ton of sawdust and a bunch of pet hair. I used a real shop vac to get rid of all of the dust and hair and put it together so that it works again but I’m waiting for the cyclonic attachment for this to come on Monday to see if that helps with the filtration problem. I see in the manual that there’s a high-performance filter available for this but it did not come with mine so I’ve been using the “normal pre-filter“ and it obviously doesn’t keep out pet hair. So my advice is to either get the high-performance filter to use over the pre-filter or buy the cyclonic attachment (and you can see the reviews for it on Amazon. I will update with a description of that once I see how it works). Otherwise, this has been a real jam for me and I haven’t had any problem with cracking or battery charging or anything else. I just think Makita could’ve done a better job with filtration. you shouldn’t have to buy a separate attachment for $35 to keep dust out of the inside of a vacuum! Early 2019: I just got this, so cant review longevity. So far here are my pros and cons: PRO: Suction is fantastic! No kickback of granular things like cat litter AT ALL! TIP: Leave the head on the pile youve sucked up for a fraction of a second to give it time to get all of it into the hose. Otherwise some will be left on the floor. PRO: Battery life is great! I charged it maybe 30 mins out of the box and it cleaned my entire kitchen, family room and spots in bedroom bathroom. Still more charge left. CON: The icons on the charger are inscrutable! I still cant figure it all out but when the middle light on the bottom turns green you are good to go. PRO: the head fits in every small areas. It swivels and can run very flat. CON: The head is very small so you have a lot of moving it around compared to something like the Shark Navigator. It is more like a dust buster with a handle. PRO: Because it is more like a dust buster, you dont really vacuum the same way: you just move the vacuum over the whatever and it picks up. No continuous back and forth. PRO: Works great as a hand vac in the car and on the stairs! Does a better job than the carwash does at cleaning out salt and crumbs in the grooves on the seats! PRO: I love the on-board edge cleaner! CON: There is no way to lock the switch ON so you have to constantly hold it down. This is a ridiculous omission considering the Makita drills which do have this feature. My trigger finger would get very tired so it was on/off on/off. Such a simple thing to fix! CON: The handle where you have to grab and trigger the switch is too short by about an inch. I am 54 and have very long arms (used to be 56) so I cant imagine someone taller being able to use this without bending over. CON: I dont see how you can wall mount the charger and there are no instructions for it. You have to remove the battery from the vac and put it in the charger (tough on my arthritic hands) and leave it setting somewhere until the sound goes off. Shark Navigator has a stand that you set the vac on, it charges and you just leave it there until you need it. I find this lack of abilities in the Makita really problematic. CON: The vac doesnt stand up by itself (but neither does the Shark Navigator). SUMMARY: despite the negatives, the positives are worth it: much better suction. Cleaning the dirt cup is easy...you just rotate it a quarter turn to remove it but you do have to use your fingers to peel off pet hair, if any, and occasionally rinse it out (like the Navigator).