Can You Overcharge Cordless Vacuums?

Is it safe to overcharge cordless vacuums? Let’s find out.

Cordless vacuum cleaners have completely changed the home upkeep game in the best way possible.

The cord on the clunky vacuums of yesteryear added impracticality to an already tough and time-consuming chore, but now we’re free to roam from room to room without so much as looking at a wall outlet.

For power, we simply hook our cordless wonders up to their charging port or adapter and get on with our day — lovely!

But is it really safe to leave them there indefinitely?

Overcharging is definitely a risk factor with a lot of battery powered devices such as our smartphones, but do modern vacuum cleaners fall into this category too?

Read on and all will be revealed!

What Is Overcharging?

Before we get into the meat of this article and answer your burning battery-based quandary, let’s establish what overcharge actually is.

As the term suggests, overcharge occurs when a battery is left connected to a power source beyond the point it hits 100% capacity.

What’s the problem with this, you ask? Well, charging batteries generates heat, and overcharging causes excess heat, and heat degrades the potency of batteries.

On rare occasions involving poor quality batteries, overcharging may even be a fire hazard, so you’re right to be concerned, but let’s see if you really need to be.

Can I Leave My Cordless Vacuum Charging Indefinitely?

Unfortunately, we can’t give you a one-size-fits-all answer here, as whether you can keep your cordless vacuum in its dock or hooked up to its adapter depends on the battery and charger technology in question.

Cordless vacs with modern lithium batteries are sometimes kitted out with overcharge protection, meaning they can stay on their docks as long as you like and they won’t suffer for it; however, lithium technology on its own will not be shielded from overcharge damage.

In fact, lithium batteries without thermal protections in place are some of the most volatile when it comes to overcharge.

Oftentimes, it’s not the battery that you need to worry so much about, but the charging solution, but more on that in just a bit.

Checking The Brand

Sometimes you need only consider the brand of your vacuum to determine whether you can dock it and walk away.

Cordless Dyson units, for instance, with their high quality lithium batteries can typically be left on their dock, and it won’t shorten their charge capacity or service life.

The company does, however, advise that if the property is going to be empty for a significant duration, it’s safe practice to remove your battery from its charging facility and store it in a cool dry location.

The same is true of Shark vacuum cleaners.

They’re designed to remain in their charging station until you’re ready to use them, ensuring you’re never caught out with a dwindling battery and a half hoovered floor.

How Can I Find Out If I Might Overcharge Cordless Vacuums?

If the brand alone isn’t enough to ascertain whether your cordless vacuum battery is protected from overcharge, it’s best to check out the user manual, or, failing that, head to the manufacturer’s website and look your vacuum model up.

You could also gain some rudimentary information about the battery by examining its enclosure.

The battery pack should at least inform you of the general technology in play, and you can use that information to make an educated guess whether overcharge is possible.

Sealed nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries, for example, are really quite robust and will fare well in adverse conditions, even those created by overcharge.

The battery will still take on some damage, but they’re not as unstable as unprotected lithium batteries.

On the other hand, the chances are a Ni-Cd battery is unlikely to contain any advanced overcharge protection, partly because they are so robust, and partly because they’re not commonly used these days — we’re officially in the lithium age!

If you’re unsure what sort of battery your cordless vacuum has and you can’t find anything about overcharge in the user manual or the manufacturer’s website, it’s best to play it safe and disconnect it from the charger when it hits 100% capacity.

As is the way with all batteries, it will lose some energy via passive discharge (loss of energy when not in use), but you can always treat it to a quick top up just before you hoover next.

Beware Third-Party Replacements

If you’ve established that your cordless vacuum cleaner cannot be overcharged, fantastic! That’s great news.

But bear in mind that you can only take this as a given for as long as you are using the factory equipment.

Even if the user manual or manufacturer states – as Dyson and Shark do – that their cordless vacs can indeed be left on charge indefinitely, they’re saying so with the assumption you’re using all original equipment.

When batteries run out or chargers go on the fritz, many are inclined to buy replacement parts from a 3rd-party company to save a few bucks, but as soon as you switch out the factory components, the claims made by the brand become redundant.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t invest in third-party components, as there are some really great and affordable alternatives to the branded gear out there.

Be sure, though, to do research about each and every bit of kit you bring in from outside the vacuum brand’s ecosystem to ascertain whether they can withstand constant connection to a power supply without overcharging.

Why Won’t Dyson Cordless Vacuum Cleaners Overcharge?

Smartphone batteries are famously susceptible to overcharge, so as a workaround, people invest in smart plugs and chargers to cut the flow of electricity once their phones hit 100% charge or after a set time has elapsed.

This is essentially the same technology that Dyson charging facilities use to prevent overcharge from ever occurring.

As soon as your Dyson cordless vacuum reaches full charge, not only does the battery stop receiving power, but the charger stops drawing power from the mains altogether, just like a smart plug.

Dyson also pair this technology with comprehensive overcharge protection in their lithium batteries, so, in the event of a charger malfunction, the battery should be A-okay!

What About Full Discharge; Is That Okay?

Lithium batteries don’t just detest overcharging but extremes in general.

Typically they hate completely running out of juice almost as much as when they’re overflowing with energy.

This is why experts recommend the 70/30 rule for powering your phone.

By charging your phone to 70% and never letting it fall beneath 30%, you’re keeping the battery in its happy place 24/7.

If you really want to get the most out of your cordless vacuum charger, you could take a similar approach.

Granted, if it’s got overcharge protection and a smart charger, you won’t need to worry about the 70 half the rule (just charge to 100%), but you could certainly obey something similar to the 30 side of the rule.

Instead of letting your vacuum run completely dry every time you use it, aim to place it on charge when it reaches the 20–50% zone.

Final Thoughts

Can you overcharge a cordless vacuum?

Well, yes, technically, but most should be kitted out with overcharge-protected batteries and advanced chargers that cut current off as soon as the battery reaches full capacity.

Our advice is to check your user manual, the brand website, or contact the manufacturer directly to find out if overcharge is a risk before leaving your vacuum on charge for an extended period of time, just to be safe.