Looking for the best pool cleaner on the market today?
Our team of swimming pool care experts can help!
Having your own swimming pool cleaner can save you the costly expenses of hiring someone to maintain your pool. If you’re in the market for one, it’s important that you have one of the top-rated pool cleaners to effectively care for your inground or above ground pool, and keep it clean as well as inviting all season.
Finding the ideal cleaner for your swimming pool doesn’t have to take up your time. Our reviews of the top seven selling tools and Robots to help you keep your pool immaculate this season should steer you in the right direction. We looked for pool cleaners that have simple upkeep, can vacuum well, are worth the money and are easy to adjust for more thorough cleaning.
Looking For The Short Version On Our Favorite Swimming Pool Cleaners?
Our team has got you covered!
Our overall #1 pick for the best swimming pool cleaner is the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus Automatic Robotic Cleaner. See it in-action below:
Why Do You Need a Swimming Pool Cleaner?
Though it may seem evident why pool owners should invest in a pool cleaner, not all do so. There are many advantages to having your own cleaner, but as always, be sure to purchase the one of our favorite pool cleaners so that you get the most out of it.
Convenient
With a pool cleaner, there’s no worry about hiring a professional for regular maintenance. They are simple to use, and emptying them out of debris is usually an easy, quick task. You can do it whenever you feel the need.
Time-Saver
In most cases, the most logical pool cleaner option allows you to “set it and forget it”, so to speak. They typically don’t take much time to set up as most come ready to use out of the box.
Effective Cleaning
Pool cleaners are effective at doing their intended job. To keep your water free of debris and algae, then you may want to consider purchasing one of these cleaners that do well at filtering, vacuuming, and sweeping your pool.
Check out our reviews of the top pool cleaners and cleaning robots below!
7. XtremepowerUS Automatic Suction Pool Vacuum
This top-rated suction pool cleaner from XtremepowerUS features an adjustable design so that it can easier climb your pool walls and be used in various directions. The hose length is adjustable as well for easier positioning. It has a silicone, ripple appearance that can better handle stains. This also allows it to work on pools of various finishes such as fiberglass, concrete, tile, and even vinyl.
6. Aquabot Pool Rover Hybrid
Many see the Aquabot Pool Rover Hybrid as the ideal pool cleaner that is relatively simple to use. All that’s needed to do is press a button and drop it into the pool. It automatically goes to work, and it’s functional in most inground pools and all above-ground pools. This is built with non-marring wheels that have a 2″ clearance to better go over debris of various sizes. It also has self-contained filtration.
5. Pentair GW9500 Kreepy Krauly
This Kreepy Krauly from Pentair is another automatic cleaner deemed the best pool cleaner for inground pools. With its SmartTrac Programmed Steering, it can better navigate around obstacles. This agile machine can also get to hard-to-reach places. It can fit in incline, dish, and hopper-bottom pools while effectively cleaning over vinyl, fiberglass, and any other special surfaces. This even comes equipped so that you can use this right away.
4. Hayward’s The Pool Cleaner With Automatic Suction
The Pool Cleaner is a powerful machine that you can get in either a 2-wheel design or a 4-wheel design. When it comes to the tires themselves, the treads are patented and intended to help the cleaner with climbing and overcoming obstacles. The roller skirt is adjustable so that it can perform well on uneven surfaces. For the turbine vanes, they’re self-adjusting to ensure full cleaning at maximum power.
3. VINGLI Automatic
VINGLI has an automatic pool cleaner that has premium rubber disks for wider cleaning. It can handle the walls and stairs as well as the floor. This makes maintaining your pool easier all at a low price, making it our favorite pool cleaner that is budget-friendly without sacrificing performance. It can go over various surfaces such as concrete and tile well.
2. Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 Pressure Side Pool Cleaner
If you’re looking for a powerful pool cleaner, the Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 may be the right choice for you. It hooks up to a dedicated pressure line, and from there, can sweep, vacuum, and scrub the bottoms and walls of any inground pool. There’s a large opening to allow it to suck in larger debris like acorns. The filter bag has a large capacity as well so that it can handle harder cleaning jobs. Also, for a specialized product for filtering, you can check out our pool filters for inground pools recommendations.
1. Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus
With the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus, maintaining the cleaner is done with ease thanks to the top load filter. It can scrub, vacuum, and filter your pool in under three hours. For more details, see our comprehensive review of the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus. For easier swimming pool cleaning, there are dual scrubbing brushes. It features a patented swivel cable to cover the pool better. Furthermore, there’s smart navigation that scans your pool floor for throughout cleaning.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Pool Cleaning Tools and Robots
Check out our team’s answers to the most frequently asked questions related to the best swimming pool cleaners and pool vacuums below.
How Do You Properly Vacuum A Pool?
Assuming you are using a manual pool vacuum that is not robotic or automatic, first make sure it is properly assembled. There should be a vacuum head, hose, and a telescopic pool in most cases. Use the handheld pool vacuum over the underwater surfaces of your pool and go over the pool’s surfaces in a slower, non-rushed manner.
Follow your pool vacuum’s instructions that it came with to make sure its settings are correct before starting. Outside of that, the technique is essentially the same as vacuuming the carpet in your home.
What Is The Best Pool Cleaning Option?
Our team’s personal opinion is that the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus Robotic Pool Cleaner is the hands-down best valued robotic pool cleaner available on the market today (especially for being under $1000). We are constantly reviewing and testing new products related to pool cleaning though are excited to see where robotic pool cleaner technology is heading. If you prefer a swimming pool cleaner around $500 by Dolphin, check out our review of the Dolphin E10 robotic pool cleaner!
How Exactly Do They Work?
Pool vacuums are waterproof cleaning devices made for swimming pool cleaning. Similar to a normal vacuum, they have a suction area that is pressed against the pool floor and walls to clean up any dirt and debris. The pool vacuum is usually connected to the pool’s filtration system with a hose connector and also can have a brush head to help get rid of algae and dirt.
Automatic pool vacuums are essentially robotic versions of pool vacuums, and handheld pool vacuums come with a telescopic pool to hold and use to move the pool vacuum along the pool’s bottom and sides.
How Do You Properly Use A Polaris Pool Cleaner?
Being that the Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 Pressure Side Pool Cleaner is our #2 pick for the top pool cleaners, we often get this question. The Polaris Side Pool Cleaner is unique, but not super difficult to use, and quite effective.
The Polaris Pool Cleaner comes with a bag, hose, and wheels attached to a uniquely designed plastic body. The Polaris Pool Cleaner automatically moves along the bottom and sides of the pool to pick up debris, it can also be set to run automatically when the pool turns on, which our team found to be extremely convenient!
As far as how to use a Polaris pool cleaner, follow the instructions included with the automatic swimming pool cleaner and make sure the Polaris hose is not tangled at all prior to placing it into your swimming pool water to help avoid any hang-ups when it is running.
How Long Do Swimming Pool Cleaners Last?
While quality and brand are huge factors in this, we would expect something like the handheld Polaris, Hayward, or Pentair Pool Cleaner to last 3-5 years at least. If you invest in a cheaper swimming pool vacuum that is $300 or less, it may only last 1-2 years. Robotic Pool Cleaners should be expected to last 5-8 years or more if taken care of properly.
Can You Rent One?
While you can sometimes rent pool vacuums at a local pool supply store if there is one near you, it usually just makes sense to buy your own. Rental rates can $20-40/day or more. Since your swimming pool is a permanent fixture and will ideally be getting consistent use when it is in season, you’ll want to keep your pool clean and well maintained.
Our team’s opinion is that the easiest way to keep your pool clean is to buy and own your own pool vacuum or swimming pool cleaner that you can use anytime and don’t have to worry about picking it up or dropping it off.
Also, check out our comprehensive guide on how pool vacuums work!
How Do Automatic Options Work?
Automatic pool cleaners generally make use of optimized electric motors that use very little energy to create suction and provide power to propel them, these are also often referred to as robotic pool cleaners. Being fairly straightforward, you just make sure it’s set up right, turn it on, drop it in the pool and let the automatic pool cleaner go to work for you.
While your pool filter ensures that clean water is properly circulated back into the swimming pool, most automatic or robotic pool cleaners work with your filter, as they have rotating brushes that dislodge any algae and stubborn dirt, putting them into the water to be cleaned through the filter.
Where Can I Buy One?
If you want to shop in-store, we recommend Home Depot or Lowe’s. Our team has found that our favorite selections, prices, and brand options are usually found online on Amazon or a similar website.
Enjoy Your New Swimming Pool Cleaner!
Having one of the best pool cleaners can ensure that your pool remains free of dirt and debris that can damage the condition of your water. Just like other pool maintenance products and cleaning equipment, many of them can be set to work on cleaning without you monitoring it, saving you a ton of time over the years!
If you have any thoughts about the top swimming pool cleaners and cleaning robots we chose to review, please let us know in the comments!
Also check out this fun video on how to properly clean a green pool for beginner pool owners below!
Hello, I am a writer and marketing specialist in Kansas City, MO. My love for swimming pools started as a child when I would visit my aunt & uncle’s inground swimming pool on a frequent basis over the summer. Since then I have taught swimming lessons at a Boy Scout Camp, participated in the full setup, installation and maintenance of my father’s inground swimming pool, as well as enjoyed constantly researching everything there is to know about swimming pools for 5+ years. I enjoy all water related sports, being part of the online swimming pool community and always learning new things!
Hello,
I’ve been a Hayward Navigator customer for fifteen years and need to replace my cleaner.
I noticed that Hayward did not make your list and was curious why before I make a purchase. Has the overall quality reclined during that time?
Any assistance would be appreciated!
Regards.
Hi Michael, Hayward is a great brand and actually made the #4 spot on our list of pool cleaners. We happen to like the Dolphin and Polaris a little bit more, but Hayward pool cleaners are decent and reliable from our experience.
how long should I be running a Kreepy Krauler suction pool sweep
per day in “normal” conditions ?
We usually recommend letting it run 2-5 hours/day depending on the size of your pool and how dirty it is.