A vacuum cleaner includes a dust sensor of the light emitting and light receiving type, which sensor detects the quantity of dust which is sucked during a cleaning operation. The vacuum cleaner also includes a sensitivity correction section which compensates for lowering of the dust detection sensitivity due to soiling of the dust sensor, a limit detection section which detects a condition in which the compensation of dust detection sensitivity by the sensitivity correction section reaches a limit value, and an information section which informs the vacuum cleaner user of the condition in which correction of the dust detection sensitivity by the sensitivity correction section has reached its limit value.