March 2006
Vacuum cleaners: How to choose
Promising claims and a plethora of types could leave you in a quandary at the store. To make that choice easier, begin by
deciding whether you need a vacuum for primary cleaning or for quick spills and other lighter-duty jobs. See Types (available to subscribers) for the major choices and where they're likely to work best around your house. Then keep these considerations in mind as
you shop:
Match the vacuum to the job. Uprights and canisters are still the best choice for primary cleaning. Between those two, uprights are generally best for heavy-duty carpet cleaning, while better stability and easier tool use helps make canisters better for stairs, upholstered furniture, and curtains.
Some vacuums are also better than others for different types of lighter-duty cleaning. Nonvacuuming sweepers have relatively long battery run times and excel at edge cleaning. Handheld vacuums outperformed other light vacs for surface-cleaning carpets, though they require lots of bending. So they're best for spot cleaning. Robotic vacs were excellent overall at cleaning bare floors and very good at surface-cleaning carpets, but most had trouble cleaning corners and edges.
Check the features. Uprights and canisters with bags tend to hold more dirt and spread less dust than bagless vacs when emptied, though the roughly $2 you'll spend per bag adds up. A brush on/off switch lets you turn off the brush to minimize the risk of scratched floors or pulled rug threads. Manual pile-height adjustment lets you raise or lower the power head to improve cleaning.
Try before buying. Weight may be critical if you live in a multilevel home or have limited strength. Try moving the vacuum around in the store. Self-propelled uprights are usually easier to push and pull during use, but their extra weight and size make them harder to lift and store.
Protect your ears and lungs. Full-sized vacuums tend to be noisy. Models judged poor in our noise tests produced 85 decibels or more and should be used with hearing protection. If you have asthma or allergies, choose a model with low emissions and think twice about buying bagless vacuums.
Read our latest Ratings of vacuum cleaners and related information (available to subscribers).
Match the vacuum to the job. Uprights and canisters are still the best choice for primary cleaning. Between those two, uprights are generally best for heavy-duty carpet cleaning, while better stability and easier tool use helps make canisters better for stairs, upholstered furniture, and curtains.
Some vacuums are also better than others for different types of lighter-duty cleaning. Nonvacuuming sweepers have relatively long battery run times and excel at edge cleaning. Handheld vacuums outperformed other light vacs for surface-cleaning carpets, though they require lots of bending. So they're best for spot cleaning. Robotic vacs were excellent overall at cleaning bare floors and very good at surface-cleaning carpets, but most had trouble cleaning corners and edges.
Check the features. Uprights and canisters with bags tend to hold more dirt and spread less dust than bagless vacs when emptied, though the roughly $2 you'll spend per bag adds up. A brush on/off switch lets you turn off the brush to minimize the risk of scratched floors or pulled rug threads. Manual pile-height adjustment lets you raise or lower the power head to improve cleaning.
Try before buying. Weight may be critical if you live in a multilevel home or have limited strength. Try moving the vacuum around in the store. Self-propelled uprights are usually easier to push and pull during use, but their extra weight and size make them harder to lift and store.
Protect your ears and lungs. Full-sized vacuums tend to be noisy. Models judged poor in our noise tests produced 85 decibels or more and should be used with hearing protection. If you have asthma or allergies, choose a model with low emissions and think twice about buying bagless vacuums.
Read our latest Ratings of vacuum cleaners and related information (available to subscribers).
