The Electrolux ErgoSpace EL4100, $300.
If you suffer from allergies, vacuums whose makers boast of their appliances filtration abilities might appeal to you, including two recent additions to our continuously updated ratings of
canister vacuums and
upright vacuums (available to
subscribers).
The maker of the Sebo Automatic X5 upright, $820, boasts of the vacuum's "anti-allergy, hospital-grade" filtering, while the manufacturer of the Italian import Lindhaus Diamante 380 upright, $930, touts its "hospital-sealed" filtration. (The Lindhaus includes a "dry-cleaning system," a feature we didn't test.) You won't find either of these vacuums at a home center or other major retailer—they're sold only at dealers.
But you can get equally low emissions from some of the less expensive models we've recently tested. Among canister models, we were impressed with the Miele S 2120 Olympus, $300, chiefly for its performance at cleaning bare floors while keeping its emissions low. It's also sold only at dealers. Two pricey models from Aerus, the Lux Legacy, $1,300, and Lux Guardian Ultra, $1,500, fared less well—particularly for noise. None of these models excelled at deep-cleaning carpets or providing exceptional airflow for tool use.
If you're shopping for a recent college grad who's leaving your nest, consider the Electrolux ErgoSpace EL4100, $300 (shown), a compact canister with a hose/cord combination that's long enough to stretch anywhere in a studio apartment. Its coloring—oddly reminiscent of Barney purple—might even be appreciated by someone who grew up watching that friendly television dinosaur. Note that the Electrolux ErgoSpace EL4100 didn't do a good job in our pet-hair test.
—Ed Perratore
