Vacuuming your home can be quite a hard house chore to do – many people dread that day of the week. However, vacuum cleaners are lovely machines! You just need to find the right one.

But how do they work?

Thanks to Hubert Cecil Booth and his job as a carpet cleaner, the vacuum cleaner was introduced into 1901. It’s straightforward, the vacuum cleaner sucks in air, particles, dust and all sorts of debris into its cavity, bag or canister and keeps it there until you clean it out. Isn’t that great? Every vacuum cleaner has an electric spinning motor which sucks in air. It also uses an exhaust port to help the suck-in air ventilate out of the vacuum cleaner as dust-free air.

Think about it…

If the air went straight through a machine, it still wouldn’t be dust-free. Therefore, every vacuum has a filter of some sort to capture any dirt and dust and keep it there so that it doesn’t fall out onto your floors again. Each vac has at least one filter, and the best filter, according to experts, is the HEPA filter, especially when it comes to health concerns. The HEPA filter is suitable for asthma people because it’s so good at cleaning out dust from your home.

How We Test Vacs

The main concern is how much dirt, dust and debris can it suck up and retain. We also test how easy or difficult it is to move the vac around a house and manoeuvre it underneath furniture and corners. Noise levels need to be tested as well. The vacs are put through very intense tests to test all these elements.

Talc, pet hair and fluff, sand and dust get embedded into a carpet and left on bare floors. Then, the vacuum is put to the test. Does the vac suck it up quickly, or does it move the dirt around? That’s the question.

5 Types of Vacuum Cleaners

Now that we’ve looked into the detail about how vacs work let’s look at the different types of vacuum cleaners. Each one is better suited for another need. You can choose between:

1. Upright Vacs

These vacs will help you to clean a big area. The vac moves around the house with you as you go about cleaning very quickly. It’s effortless to store away and to empty the dirt. However, it can be quite a heavy machine, so cleaning your staircase might be a bit more complicated than it has to be.

2. Canister Vacs

These will have a separate canister with the motor and pipe attached to it. They’re ideal because they’re light and easy to carry around your house, especially if you have many stairs in your home. They usually come with many attachments to make your life easier. You can clean just about every nook and cranny. They’re also more robust and less noisy than upright vacs.

3. Stick Vacs

These are very slim, light and run on batteries. You won’t have to struggle with cords or extension cables around your home. It makes quick cleaning a breeze! They also pick up pet hair very well.

4. Robotic Vacs

These vacs run anytime, anywhere. They run right underneath your furniture and reach the corners you never get to. They run with a little less power than other vacuums, but you can program these smart machines to run on a timer and run every section of your house effectively.

5. Handheld/Cordless Vacs

These vacs are great for quick clean-ups of a little spill. They’re great for cleaning inside your car or on kitchen counters. They’re real dust-busters! They complement your bigger vacs very well, but you cannot use the handheld vac exclusively.

There you have it! Now comes the question of which one to buy…

How to Choose the Best Vacuum Cleaner for You

If you’re looking to buy a vacuum cleaner, start by looking at the features they come with and compare that to your house-cleaning needs. Here are some vac features:

Cordless

This feature is excellent if you don’t want to be looking for an electric wall plug in every room. Or if you don’t want to get tangled up in all the cords and extension cables. If this is a concern to you, then absolutely pick a cordless vac!

Bagged

Upright and canister vacs both have bags that carry the suck-up dirt. Bags are great at filtering dust from your home, and they’re straightforward to clean or empty. If you’re okay with cleaning out the vac bag regularly, then this is the feature for you.

Bagless

Some vacs don’t use bags, so you won’t have to clean out any bag or replace it. Bagless vacs use containers to keep the dirt in. You only need to pour out the dirt into the dustbin to clean it out.

Vacuum Size

In this case, size should matter. If you have back problems or your apartment is tiny, don’t choose a giant vacuum cleaner. It’ll clutter up your life and cause you even more back issues. If your house is enormous and you need a powerful cleaning machine, a big vac might be the one for you.

Floor Settings

Consider which one is best for your floor. Do you have carpets, tiles or wooden floors?

Pet-Friendly Enhancements

There are vacs specifically for pet owners, and they work so well! They come with specific brush attachments, and you can use them to clean your furniture as well from pet fluff.

Filter

How important is clean air for you? With a HEPA filter vac, your house can be free from 99.7% of all dust and invisible particles. So, this is an important feature to consider when you’re looking to buy a vac.

What We Looked at In Vacuum Cleaners

Now, we looked at all these factors regarding vacuum cleaners – vacuum features and performance ratings. And we’ve come up with the top vacuum cleaners just for you. With our specially picked-out list, you’ll indeed find the one! We looked at a wide variety of vacs and compared them so that you don’t have to!

Take a look…