The 10 Best Compressed Air Dusters

Editor's Notes

October 22, 2020:

Without any major, apparent developments in compressed-air-dusting technology over the last year or so, this was a fairly straightforward round of updates, with the vast majority of our previous selections maintaining their positions. We did, however, decide on eliminating the Forty4 GCD04 and Gigi-Store 854, due to availability issues.

In their places, we added the Brigii Y120 Pro — a handheld vacuum with blowing functionality and a housing design that’s very similar to the 854; and the Opolar TAD05 — which, besides being virtually the same size as the Y120 Pro, packs twice the suction power, with a 60,000-RPM motor speed also blows many alternatives out of the water. Another feature we like about the TAD05, one that's missing from many of its competitors, is that it has separate nozzles for its vacuum and blower, which can save you the hassle of switching back and forth between nozzle attachments, if you’re the sort of person who likes using both modes during one cleaning session.

While many users are likely to find an option on this list that suits their needs, depending what your specific goals are for this purchase, you may also be interested in checking out some of our vacuum rankings, which are broken into specialized categories like car vacuums, computer vacuums and desk vacuums. Just note that, although items on these lists should present an efficient means of dealing with dust, it’s likely that some will not have blowing functionality. As far as buying advice for this category, we’ll defer to the suggestions offered in the November 1, 2019, editor’s note for this page, which still hold true today.

November 01, 2019:

The old watch of compressed air dusters is a style of product many of us are familiar with: an unassuming item that looks something like a can of spray paint, and probably lives in your utility closet for most of the year – until you pull it out the odd time to get some grit out of your keyboard, or maybe do some detailing in your car.

They do the job well, but they present some problems:

As far as the environment goes, the disposable nature of their canisters is an issue, and you’re essentially emitting greenhouse gases. In the safety department, their contents are highly flammable and can even cause frostbite when released in liquid form. On top of all this, many municipalities require consumers to be a minimum of 18 years old before they can purchase these dusters, due to reports of children inhaling their toxic fumes to catch a buzz – a vice that can lead to severe illness or even death.

With all this mind, we decided to focus these rankings on a newer generation of electric dusters that have begun to dominate this category, relying on motors to essentially function like an electric leaf blower. For the die-hard canister loyalists, as well as those on a budget, we still included the Office Depot UDS10-MS-P6 and the Dust-Off Disposable.

For everybody else, here’s a few things to think about as you peruse these rankings:

Power Source: While cord-connected options like the EasyGoProducts Compucleaner 2.0 and the Metro Vacuum ED-500 can be depended on for the most consistent motor strength, battery-powered options present the advantage of portability. While offerings like the Gigi-Store 854 and BE1 Opolar 01CD – that charge via USB – can be handy, options like the Canless Air X3 Hurricane – that run on AA batteries – present the option of carrying a second set of batteries, which eliminates the nuisance of downtime during charging.

Output Strength: Put simply, a machine that blows harder cleans better. The horsepower rating of a given unit’s fan motor is one simple metric that can be used to gauge this, but it can be deceiving. For example, the Xpower A-5, has a two-horsepower motor but, according to the company, offers similar suction to the Xpower A-2 (that has a .75-horsepower motor) because the A-5’s design includes a vacuum hose. In some cases, companies offer more practical metrics, measuring strength in CFM or kilopascals, to give you a better idea of what to expect.

Nozzle Selection: In an apples-to-apples situation, in terms of blower strength, the selection of nozzle attachments that come with the device can make a massive difference in terms of functionality. The Xpower A-2 is an impressive performer in this respect, coming with a nine-piece set of extensions.