A hand-holdable vacuum cleaner comprises a rigid, elongate nose being pivotable relative to a main axis through an angle of at least 135 degrees. The elongate nose can be pivoted from a first, folded position in which it is angled alongside the main axis of the vacuum cleaner, substantially parallel thereto, allowing the vacuum cleaner to be stored in a very compact overall space, to a second, extended position in which it is angled by only a small amount or not at all from the main axis of the vacuum cleaner to provide an extension thereof. Secondly, since the nose is rigid and elongate and has the dirty air inlet located at one end thereof, it may be introduced into narrow spaces without any need to be supported by a hand of a user, unlike a flexible hose extension known from prior art hand-holdable vacuum cleaners. |