Tineco S10 Vacuum Review

Build quality is fair, as the Tineco S10 has a reasonably premium-looking plastic body. On closer inspection, however, the vacuum has a cheap and almost toy-like feel, with an abundance of thin plastic used in its construction. Like the Tineco PURE ONE S11, air that passes through the post-motor filter is then directed through the vacuum's exposed internals before exiting through the exhaust vent, which isn't common amongst other cordless stick vacuums. Similarly, the HEPA filter's location makes it easy to accidentally remove when quickly grabbing the vacuum.

Thankfully, it's pretty easy to set this vacuum up, as its parts clip together with minimal effort. You'll need to screw its charging station into the wall when setting it up.

The Tineco S10 has relatively few parts that need periodic cleaning.

• Dirt Compartment: You can empty the dirt compartment by pressing the release latch at the front of the bin to open its bottom cover and unload its contents over a trash bin. Dust and debris can also get caught on the gasket around the dustbin door, creating a big dust cloud when opening it up. It can be wiped out with a damp cloth whenever necessary, but it can be a little tricky to fit your fingers around the center-mounted filter housing. Make sure not to wash the dustbin under running water, as there's a dirt sensor on the inside.
• Cyclone Filter: The mesh filter is located inside the dustbin. You can remove it by opening the dustbin door and twisting it counterclockwise within its housing. You should clean it after every use with a damp cloth.
• Pre-Filter: The pre-filter is inside a central housing in the middle of the dustbin, and you can remove it by pulling on the small release tab. Unlike the Tineco PURE ONE S11 and Tineco PURE ONE X, there's no dedicated filter cleaning tool included with the vacuum. Thankfully, you can still easily clean it under water every month.
• HEPA Filter: The HEPA filter is found in a compartment above the vacuum handle and can be pulled free of its housing. You should wash it under running water every three months.
• Multi-surface brushroll: You can pull out the floorhead's brushroll by unlocking its brushroll cover using a coin or a flat-headed screwdriver. The stiffer bristles running around the center of the brushroll tend to collect more hair than the outermost soft bristles, and you might need to cut away any long strands with a pair of scissors. A small amount of hair can also get wrapped around the bearings at the edges of the roller, though thankfully, you can remove the end caps to make it easier to clear away any tangled hair.
• Dust Sensor: You can clean the dust sensor by removing any attachments fitted to the vacuum and then wiping the suction inlet at the top of the dirt compartment down with a damp cloth. No specific maintenance interval is given, but the manufacturer recommends doing this regularly to prevent debris buildup.

You must air dry any part that's washed with water or a damp cloth for at least 24 hours before using it again. The vacuum's companion app can also remind you when it's time to replace or clean its filters.

The Tineco S10 incurs low recurring costs.

• HEPA Filter: You should replace the HEPA filter every year.
• Pre-Filter: You should replace the pre-filter after six months of use.

This vacuum isn't currently listed on the manufacturer's website and doesn't list it as being compatible with any of the replacement parts for sale on its website. However, its HEPA filter and pre-filter are of an outwardly identical design to those used by the Tineco PURE ONE S11 and will have similar replacement intervals.

The Tineco S10 is fairly easy to store. It has a rack station to hold it upright, which also features a clip-on storage rack for two of its included attachments.

The dirt compartment is relatively spacious. Its bottom-opening design is similar to older cordless stick vacuums like the Dyson V8 or LG CordZero A9, but at about half a liter in size, it can hold more than either. Since it's clear plastic, you can check to see how full it is.

• Tineco S10 cordless stick vacuum
• Vacuum body
• Dirt compartment
• Wand
• Battery
• Pre-filter cleaning tool
• 1x Pre-filter
• 1x HEPA filter
• 1x Cyclone filter
• User Guide
• Various tools and brushes
  • Full-size LED Multi-tasker power brush floorhead with brushroll
  • Combination upholstery tool/dusting brush
  • Crevice tool
• Charging station
  • Dock station
  • Extra tool adapter
  • Power supply
  • 2x screws
  • 2x anchors

The range is limited only by the remaining battery life and the room left within the vacuum's dustbin.

The Tineco S10 is impressively portable. At under six pounds, it's on the lighter end of the scale for a cordless vacuum, making it very easy to pick up and carry from room to room.

Battery performance is decent, with a few caveats. It can run for almost an hour in its default 'Auto' power mode, which is fairly lengthy, though it's important to note that since the vacuum modulates its suction power automatically in this mode, real-world runtime will likely be shorter. Its battery life drops to just under 15 minutes in its high-power 'MAX' mode, so it's recommended that you use this setting sparingly. Worse yet, the vacuum takes over four and a half hours to recharge, which leaves you with a lot of downtime between cleaning sessions if you don't have a second battery that's fully charged.

This vacuum has a few quality-of-life features. Like the Tineco PURE ONE S11, it's got a trigger lock to keep the vacuum running without having you keep your finger depressed, which makes it more comfortable to use during longer cleaning sessions. The onboard iLoop dirt sensor enables it to automatically increase its suction power when it detects high amounts of debris if you run it in its 'Auto' mode, though you can also select the 'Max' suction setting manually by pressing the power adjustment button on the vacuum. The circular display on top of the dustbin will alert you if the brushroll is stuck or if there's a blockage somewhere inside the vacuum. The main multi-surface floorhead also has an LED headlight to help you see what you're cleaning in darker areas. Unlike the S11, however, it doesn't have Bluetooth pairing, so you can't connect the vacuum to your smartphone to check battery life or adjust its suction power setting in real time.

The attachment set is rather limited. Unlike the top-range Tango variant of the Tineco PURE ONE X, this vacuum only comes with a single multi-surface floorhead, with no secondary soft roller intended for use on hard floors. There's also no miniature turbo brush tool and no dedicated pre-filter cleaning tool, though the utility of the latter on other Tineco vacuums was limited at best. This vacuum comes with a combination upholstery nozzle/dusting brush as well as a crevice tool.

You can use the Tineco S10 as a handheld vacuum by removing its wand and floorhead.

This vacuum's performance on hard floors is disappointing. It does a great job clearing away fine, lightweight debris like sand, but its floorhead is too low to the ground to pass over large quantities of bigger material, like rice or sand. This causes the floorhead to push and sweep around this kind of debris.

Debris pickup performance on low-pile carpet is middling. Its floorhead doesn't provide enough surface agitation to lift away fine debris left in carpet fibers, and you'll likely have to make another pass to clear away larger material, especially along walls and in corners.

The Tineco S10's performance on low-pile carpet is okay. Unlike its performance on high-pile carpet, it's somewhat effective at dealing with finer debris like sand, but it does tend to leave behind bulkier debris like rice or cereal.

This vacuum's pet hair cleaning capability is decent. It can deal with longer strands of hair within a single back-and-forth pass, but you'll need to go over the same area more than once to clean up strands that are worked a little more deeply into carpet fibers.

The Tineco S10 has decent suction power. Its maximum advertised output of 120 W is a little less than the advertised 130 W of suction generated by the Tineco PURE ONE S11. However, the difference isn't especially noticeable in the real world, as both vacuums perform pretty similarly when it comes to cleaning carpets or cracks and crevices.

This vacuum has satisfactory airflow performance. It won't deal with heavier debris as effortlessly as higher-end models like the Dyson V15 Detect, but it also isn't completely useless in this regard, being on similar footing to a lot of other comparable models like the Samsung Jet 60.

This vacuum is amazingly quiet. It's considerably quieter than similarly-priced options like the Shark Vertex Lightweight Cordless, making it an ideal option for discreet cleaning. You'll hear what people nearby are saying, even with the vacuum running in the same room.

The Tineco S10 is decently maneuverable. It shares a lot of attributes with the Tineco PURE ONE S11 and Tineco PURE ONE X, with a highly portable and quickly reconfigurable body. It also shares the common downside of having a somewhat unwieldy floorhead; despite the vacuum's lightweight design, it can be hard to make sharp turns or make other tight maneuvers. The floorhead also sits low to the ground and gets wrapped up or bogged down in plush carpeting.

This vacuum does an okay job of handling pet hair on furniture. The standard straight-suction upholstery tool is of sufficient size so that it's pretty easy to clean larger upholstered areas. However, it doesn't provide the necessary level of surface agitation to collect shorter strands of hair. Check out the Tango variant of the Tineco PURE ONE X if you want an alternative that does have a miniature turbo brush tool.

It's worth noting that the vacuum's automatic power adjustment system works when the vacuum is in its handheld configuration, though the system can also cause the vacuum to shut off automatically, as it may register a brief moment of full contact between the suction inlet and an upholstered surface to be a blockage.

This vacuum does a good job of sealing in particles. Like most other Tineco vacuums, it has a four-stage filtration system, comprised of its cyclone, mesh, pre-motor, and HEPA exhaust filter that the manufacturer advertises to trap 99.97% of allergens.

The Tineco S10 does a great job dealing with debris in cracks and crevices when used with its multi-surface floorhead. Its dirt detection system lets the vacuum automatically ramp up its suction power when passing over long cracks filled with debris.

This vacuum has a minimal impact on dried-on stains. The stiffer bristles at the center of the vacuum's brushroll can chip away slightly at stains, but not enough to make a significant difference.