A vacuum cleaner 2 having a housing 4 having an inlet 12 and an outlet 54 is disclosed. Actuation of a motor 46 causes a fan to displace air out of outlet 54, and the resulting suction upstream of the fan draws dirty air through inlet 12 and inwardly through walls of filter unit 22. In order to clean the filter unit 22, the user lifts lid 24 by means of gripping portion 32, and then removes filter unit 22 and dirt collection chamber 16. Because the central portion of the dirt collection chamber 16 is raised, dirt trapped on the outer surface of filter unit 22 has a tendency to fall into trough regions 40, 42 and avoids falling into outlet 38. If the motor 46 should accidentally be actuated when the filter unit 22 is removed, the opening provided by opened lid 24 is nearer to outlet 38 than inlet 12, as a result of which relatively clean air from the atmosphere passes into recess 36 in preference to dirty air from the inlet 12, thus minimising the risk of the motor 46 being damaged by dirt.