11 Ryobi Tools That Make Home Maintenance & Cleaning More Accessible

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The aisles of Home Depot are replete with power tools for everyday household uses. Be that cleaning, home renovation, keeping anything from fences to furnishings in shipshape, there's a different tool available for just about every task imaginable. But what if, for example, you're struggling with arthritis but have loads of plants that need pruning? What if pain prevents you from putting your back into your household cleaning? In that case, the available field of tools begins to narrow quite quickly.

Fortunately, brands like Ryobi offer tools designed to make their use not only easier, but more accessible, such as their many small, highly useful tools. Here, we've pulled together 12 Ryobi tools that aim to make cleaning and maintenance easier compared with their larger, heavier counterparts. Some combine telescopic reach with cordless power, letting you scrub high and low without straining your back. Others handle your pruning problems, requiring little more than the gentle pull of a trigger. There's a lightweight solution to clean and revive stained carpets. And if you need to trim smaller shrubs without wrestling a full-sized power tool, there's an accessible product for that, too.

Whether it's up high or down low, cleaning becomes increasingly more difficult when your back refuses to play ball. Bad knees may prevent you from accessing things like your shower tray, or perhaps you don't feel steady at the top of a stepladder. For that reason, our first pick is a telescopic tool from Ryobi to clean hard-to-reach places. The brand's Vortex telescoping power scrubber, which, per the name, extends up to 51 inches (a little over 4 feet). It features a "power scrubber" head, which draws on 18V battery power to attack dirt. You can adjust the head angle to suit different cleaning applications, too, which is handy if you're reliant entirely on the tool to apply leverage.

As for the scrubber itself, the tool comes supplied with a brush head featuring medium-stiff bristles. However, you can change it out with other Ryobi brushes if you need softer or firmer bristles for different jobs. It's priced at $79, which only buys the tool (not the battery or charger). Given its 4.1 star (out of 5) rating among almost 3,000 customers, it appears to work as described. As one user put it, "This helped my back soo much. I am short so trying to wash my horse trailer without it would have been an impossible task." 

Users also praise its versatility: Some buyers use it to clean their shower screens and windows, others to remove grime from their decks. In the words of one 5-star reviewer, "No more bending down and getting on all fours to clean our bathroom, my knees and back are very thankful!"

Most households own a vacuum cleaner. Despite their ubiquity, they're not always the most easy-going tools. Heavier units can put a real strain on your back just pulling them around, plugging them in, and getting them in and out of closets. To alleviate this, a cordless handheld vacuum can be useful, particularly for smaller cleans. As an example, Ryobi's 18V One+ cordless performance vacuum kit makes cleaning more accessible for two reasons.

Firstly, it's bundled with a 2Ah battery and charger ($99), which means you don't need to have previously bought-in to Ryobi's 18V ecosystem to use it. As far as physical use goes, it's much more portable and lightweight than full-sized appliances. That makes it easier to pull out for, say, cleaning the car, or clearing up a small spill. Having said that, there are several models available in Ryobi's 18V family: Choosing the right hand vacuum requires considering your space and the messes you typically clean. But if it's just dry spills that you need to deal with, customers seem to agree that this particular tool makes life easy enough to warrant the cost — it's currently got 4.5 stars out of 5 with over 2,200 reviews. To quote one happy buyer, "This handheld vacuum works better than I thought it would. It has great suction and [is] very convenient to use without having to break out the big vacuum." The same reviewer does note that reattaching the canister after emptying it can be difficult, so depending on what you need in an accessible vacuum cleaner, this is worth considering.

An electric screwdriver can help to alleviate the burden of traditional hand tools that require firm grips and the ability to create torque, or heavy, full-sized drills. Ryobi's USB lithium multi-head screwdriver kit is currently available at Home Depot for $49.88, which includes the 2Ah battery and charging cable. You'll also get a box of 10 bits and a selection of three different heads for easier access to tricky spaces. It's also operated with a large, multi-finger trigger, which should take the strain off of stiff hands.

The tool itself is light — just over 2 ounces without the battery — compared with cordless drills which weigh 3 pounds or more. Since everything comes boxed together in a hard case, you can grab the lot and go, avoiding multiple trips from garage to worksite. In the reviews — the product has 4.5 stars and almost 600 reviews — it's described by buyers as reliable, handy, compact, and comfortable. More importantly, as one user put it, "This is the perfect little power screwdriver for every job when you don't want to use a normal screwdriver." Some reviewers note it's also perfectly sized for smaller hands.

Complementing its wider range of hedge trimmers, Ryobi's 18V One+ compact brushless shear shrubber tool is handy for smaller jobs. It's helpful for those who struggle to lift heavier tools. It's also much easier on arthritic hands than a traditional pair of garden shears. The tool incorporates a durable brushless motor, and offers both an 8-inch shrubber blade for smaller hedge work and a 4-inch shearing blade for grass. Crucially, all you need to do is pull the trigger and allow the motor to work its magic.

Price-wise, it'll currently set you back $99, and you'll still need to either buy or own an 18V Ryobi battery. But if you're struggling to wield a heavier tool or want to do away with the hassle of gas or cords, many Home Depot buyers (4.7 stars with over 150 reviews) have suggested that it's worth it.

While one reviewer noted that their wife appreciated the smaller-sized tool, another noted that they were a dialysis patient that relied on the shrubbery following a heart attack. "I could barely walk last year. This year I'm able to do yard work and your products were easy to assemble and use as a disabled person."

As with handheld vacuum cleaners, a smaller carpet cleaner can help avoid serious strain on your back versus using a full-sized machine, especially when hauling it up and down the stairs to spot-clean your carpets. Ryobi's 18V cordless SwiftClean mid-size spot and carpet cleaner is designed for such applications. Its compact design enables one-handed portability to help you act fast, before stains set in. It weighs 9 pounds without the included carpet cleaning liquid, where the Hoover PowerScrub XL cleaner weighs in at almost 19 pounds without liquid. And while it's not the smallest or cheapest option in Ryobi's carpet cleaning range, it's one of the better-rated (4.5 stars with almost 380 reviews). 

Despite the moderate weight, it retains a good degree of portability for those who struggle with larger vacuums. And since it comes with a 4-foot hose and a variety of attachments, you can set the main unit down and just use the cleaning wand to handle your spot cleans, particularly in tight corners and hard-to-reach places. The product retails at $179 for the machine only (no battery or charger), but customers are generally pleased, with two reviewers specifically pointing to its mobility and several pointing out that it's lightweight. Another customer — who used it to clean car mats, stairs, and sofas — explained that the compact design makes it easy to both store and move around, and added, "Great suction and performance for its size!"

Clearing the weeds from your patio is far from the most appealing maintenance task, especially if your knees and back struggle to cope with anything other than upright. Fortunately, Ryobi's 18V One+ patio cleaner with wire brush edger extends your reach, allowing you to root out plants as you walk. It has an adjustable-height shaft to ensure you don't strain your back. Instead of exerting force to pull weeds, all you need to do is turn on this machine. It has a regular wheel on one side for maneuverability. On the other, there's a wire wheel, designed to blitz the weeds that are poking between your pavers and along sidewalk edges.

It's priced at $119, or $159 with the battery and charger, so it costs more than weed-pulling hand tools. Provided that your budget accommodates that, more than 330 reviews at Home Depot have resulted in a 4.2-star rating. As one user said, "I have been using a screwdriver and a shop vac to clean my gaps in concrete over the years. But this Ryobi does a great job getting everything out of the gaps including rocks and debris." They added, "It saves my back from constantly bending over the old way."

Another tool that may seem out of reach for users with back or mobility issues is a large shop vacuum. However, there are various small-scale tools that handle wet/dry spills, without the need to haul around a full-sized machine. Ryobi's 18V One+ cordless 1-gallon wet/dry vacuum is one example. It features a carry handle for moving around easily, and while the tank only holds a single gallon (standard versions hold 14 to 16 gallons), that should be enough to deal with small liquid spills and messy garage workstations. But not just the garage: There are various ways to can use a shop vac around the home. It has a blower function, for example, which can make dusting off your tools and workbench easier.

A 4.5-star rating overall from over 3,500 reviewers suggests that most buyers at Home Depot are happy with their decision. As for why, one user summed it up, saying, "It is light and yet powerful, and its compact size means you can easily carry it anywhere and clean up your car, RV, or home." They added, "I would recommend this wet/dry vac even for people who have a larger one since the light weight and compact size means you will more frequently use it." At $89 (tool only) it's also a fairly wallet-friendly option compared with the bigger machines.

Ryobi's lithium cordless compact detail scrubber kit looks something like an electric toothbrush, although it's designed to clean with a little more gusto. It's actually made to clean things like tiles, grout, and fiberglass, so you're probably best leaving your teeth out of it! It leans on oscillating motion and speeds of 6,300 OPM to clean without undue strain on stiff or arthritic hands. It also weighs less than a pound. It's sold as a kit, and comes supplied with a medium-bristle detail brush, a hard-bristle grout brush, scour pad, and the battery and charger. 

Now, it'll set you back $39.97, which is probably more than you would spend on a typical scrubbing brush. However, among those who have purchased it, there are many who said that it's really helped make their home cleaning easier. "Love this product," said one, who added, "it's amazing for my cleaning company and does wonders and saves my wrist pain." Another buyer, who used it to clean their coffee maker, along with some mold spots in their shower, said, "This tool has saved me so much wear and tear on my joints and hands."

After trimming your hedges and weeding your paths, a leaf blower can help to speed up the cleaning process. It's certainly easier on stiff and sore backs versus doing it manually with a brush or a rake. There are several leaf blower brands available at Home Depot, many of which also offer a compact tool for those who value lightweight portability over raw, heavy power. But if you use and like Ryobi tools, its 18V One 220-CFM 140-MPH compact leaf blower may be of interest.

The tool alone usually retails for $109, and when paired with a 4Ah 18V battery, yields up to 50 minutes' runtime. It's listed as suitable for clearing hard surfaces, garages, and patios. It also weighs less than four pounds, making it more accessible to those unable to manage heavy equipment. One buyer explained that the first thing they noticed was the product's weight, explaining, "it's easy to carry around and doesn't wear you out, even when using it for a while." They admitted that it's better suited to medium cleaning jobs over heavy-duty tasks, but overall, they said, "we're very happy with it so far. It's simple, efficient, and perfect for quick cleanups."

Whether you're a hobbyist woodworker or need something to trim doors or floorboards, a hand plane can be very useful. The only downside is that traditional tools tend to rely on human exertion, which puts pressure on your hands, wrists, shoulders, and back. Ryobi's 18V One+ corded 3-¼-inch hand planer uses corded power to alleviate this strain. It has a 3-¼-inch maximum cutting width and adjustable cutting depths up to ⅛-inches. It also includes a dust bag and dual-direction dust ports, leaving you with less to clean up when you're finished. Ryobi's trademark GripZone microtexture overmold helps provide a secure grip and more comfort, and the tool comes ready to use with two double-edged blades, an edge guide, and a tool bag.

It is, admittedly, a specialist tool. And with a regular price of $139, it may not seem like a necessity for most. But among the buyers who left their feedback at Home Depot (4.5 stars with over 1,000 reviews), the majority said it performs its allotted task well. Some added that it saved them hours of sanding, which, once again, is a task rarely kind on stiff hands or sore backs. "I've hit live edge oak, maple, alder, and cedar with this tool and it does a great job," explained one happy buyer. They also noted that the supplied carry case makes a handy lunch bag, so there's that to bear in mind, too. It's worth noting that some reviewers pointed out there's quite a learning curve (or plane) for first-timers, and practicing on wood blanks is recommended.

Occasionally re-sealing your home's windows, doors, sinks, tubs, and shower trays is key to preventing damage from leaks and weather ingress. But using a traditional caulk gun, especially for long periods, can be hard on arthritic hands. If that sounds familiar, then a powered caulk gun could help ease the strain. Ryobi's 18V One+ caulk and adhesive gun avoids the constant, tough squeeze when using a traditional caulk gun. Instead, it features an easy-to-use, trigger-activated motor. There's an on-board puncture tool to open the tube, a variable speed dial to control flow-rate, and an anti-drip feature to reduce mess during downtime.

As for power, it delivers up to 500 pounds of push force, and is compatible with standard 10-ounce caulking or adhesive tubes. Just know that it currently costs $84 (tool only), which is more than you'd spend on a hand tool. Then again, it's almost certainly less than you'd spend on a contractor, so it could be worth considering if stiff hands are stopping you from doing the job yourself. As one user noted, "Great for home projects — makes the job easier as a DIYer who handles most home repairs myself. I picked up the Ryobi caulk gun to save my hands from the constant squeezing of a manual gun — and I'm glad I did." At 4.5 stars out of 5 on Home Depot (almost 900 reviews), it seems others are similarly glad.