Choosing the best vacuum cleaner can be an exhausting & confusing task if you don’t know what you need to be looking for. Vacuum cleaners are an investment & one needs to ensure that they make the right purchase.
While buying a vacuum cleaner, several factors come into consideration depending upon your requirements.
In this guide, we’ll guide you on how you can choose the best vacuum cleaner for your home, and we’ll also clear all your doubts. Let’s begin!
How to Choose the Best Vacuum Cleaner
To choose the best vacuum cleaner, you need to think about the surface that’ll be cleaned using the vacuum. Do you have any particular flooring that may require specific attachments? What if you want to clean the ceiling fans?
For that, you’ll have to ensure that you buy a vacuum cleaner capable of reaching the fan and has the flexibility & attachments to clean it properly.
Moreover, if you have stairs at your home, you’ll need to buy a canister vacuum cleaner as upright vacuum cleaners don’t clean stairs nicely. On the contrary, if your home doesn’t have stairs, & has carpet flooring, then an upright vacuum cleaner will be the right option.
Canister vacuums prove to be the best in case you have both carpeting and hardwood flooring. Moreover, you will need a powerful vacuum cleaner if you have pets at home.
Types of Vacuum Cleaners
There are different types of vacuum cleaners to cater to different purposes. A canister vacuum works well for a home with stairs, but for carpeted flooring, bagged upright works well.
On the other hand, light and meager tasks can be handled by a handheld vacuum or stick vacuum cleaners.
In this section, we’ll quickly brief you on the different types of vacuum cleaners & their pros & cons.
| TYPE | PROS | CONS |
| Upright Vacuum Cleaner | → Compared to canister vacuum cleaners, upright vacuums are less costly. → Upright vacuums have a wide swath. → Upright vacuums efficiently clean carpets. → It is easy to store upright vacuums. | → Compared to canister vacuums, upright vacuums make more noise. → These vacuums can be a little heavy, and if that is a concern for you, you should check the model’s weight before buying it. |
| Canister Vacuum Cleaner | → Canister vacuums clean hardwood floors & tile floorings with utmost accuracy. → Canister vacuums are best for cleaning stairs. → Canister vacuums can easily clean the area under your furniture. → They are lighter, and they don’t make much noise. | → Canister vacuums are bulky. → It can be difficult to store a canister vacuum cleaner. |
| Corded Stick Vacuum | → A corded stick vacuum cleaner is tall & comes with a powerhead. → These vacuums are highly convenient & extremely lightweight. → With a corded stick vacuum in hand, you won’t have to worry about bending over. → They are economical. | → They fail to perform well on carpet flooring. → You cannot replace a full-sized vacuum cleaner with a corded stick vacuum cleaner. → They don’t have a big dirt bin. → They create a good amount of noise. |
| Cordless Stick Vacuum | → As the name suggests, they don’t have a cord, making them highly convenient to use. → They don’t take a lot of room, and they can be stored easily. | → They are costly, as they are cordless. → Their batteries can create problems. → They are not practical for long-term use. |
| Robotic Vacuum | → A robotic vacuum cleaner will allow you to relax as it will perform the job on its own. → If your room is not cluttered, this vacuum can quickly clean it up easily. → Some robotic vacuums also make their way in tight spaces. → You can control a robotic vacuum through its app. | → A robotic vacuum cannot match up to the cleanliness & effectiveness of a regular vacuum cleaner. → If you have carpet flooring, robotic vacuums become useless. |
| Handheld Vacuum | → Handheld vacuums are tiny, and they come in 2 types: corded & cordless. → They are convenient, and they’re also very light. → You can use a handheld vacuum to clean the insides of your car. → They are helpful for quick cleaning. | → They’re not as powerful as a good upright or canister vacuum. → They lack the abilities that a decent regular vacuum has. |
| Central Vacuum | → Compared to a canister vacuum, it is easier to use a central vacuum cleaner. → It is lightweight, as it doesn’t have a body, and you just have to work with the powerhead & the hose. → They are quiet, and they don’t require a lot of maintenance. | → Central vacuums can be expensive. → You cannot install a central vacuum on your own, and hence, you will require professional assistance. → They take up a lot of space. |
Now let’s see some of the points you should consider before purchasing a new vacuum cleaner…
Points to Consider While Purchasing a Vacuum Cleaner
When you enter a store to purchase a vacuum cleaner, the range of styles, models, and designs available might overwhelm you.
However, you need to ensure that no matter what design of vacuum cleaner you pick, it needs to perform its job of cleaning efficiently & effectively.
If you are a pet owner, then it becomes essential for you to dig deeper into the working of the vacuum to ensure that it sucks pet hair. In this section, we’ll talk about all the factors that you should keep in mind:
1. Bagged Vacuum vs. Bagless Vacuum
Bagless vacuum cleaners are less costly, but bagged vacuum cleaners are more practical. It becomes vital to buy a bagged vacuum if you have allergies, as a bagless vacuum cleaner can worsen your problems.
2. Vacuum Cleaner’s Features
It is essential to look at all the features of a vacuum cleaner as per your needs & wants. If you have carpets, and rugs at home, then a vacuum with a motorized brush is made for you.
You should also check the adjustability of the vacuum cleaner as that is an important aspect.
3. Test It
You should always physically test a vacuum cleaner before making a purchase. Try turning it, pulling it, lifting it, and trying out all of its features correctly. Then, you should also compare the model’s price online & in the store, so that you can buy it at the best deal.
You should also check for sales, as you may be able to grab it at a reasonable price due to the heavy discounts provided during the sale season.
4. Wifi Connectivity
Can you connect your vacuum cleaner with your Wifi? This feature is specifically for robotic vacuums. Not all vacuums come with this feature, and not everyone likes this feature. If you want to maintain your security & privacy, go for a vacuum without Wifi connectivity.
On the other hand, if you like this feature, look for a vacuum that easily connects to your Wi-Fi.
5. Noise
Canister vacuums are suggested if you are someone who wouldn’t want to work with a noisy vacuum. Other than that, we recommend you test the vacuum so that you only buy the model that works for you.
Other Considerations
Once you know which type of vacuum cleaner you want to buy, you can further consider these factors to pick the appropriate model for your home:
1. Performance
Before you make any decisions, don’t forget to check the performance of the vacuum cleaner. You need to ensure that it can perform the tasks and that you need to check its suction and airflow.
2. Easiness
If a vacuum cleaner has impressive specifications but is not easy to use, you won’t enjoy cleaning with it.
It is a must for a vacuum cleaner to be user-friendly as it is a machine that you’ll be using regularly to keep your surroundings neat & clean.
3. Durability
The durability and the quality of a vacuum cleaner matter in the long run. Vacuum cleaners are an investment, so you will have to make sure that the vacuum cleaner your purchase lasts long & is made using good-quality components.
It is up to you to decide whether you wish to buy a vacuum that stops working in 1-2 years or a vacuum that cleans your home for several years.
The construction quality of the machine will determine its durability. If the device is made using solid components, you can count on it to work for years. The vacuum shouldn’t have rough edges as well.
If you keep a low-priced vacuum alongside a high-quality, durable vacuum cleaner, the difference in their quality will be visible.
For example: Dyson vacuum cleaners are very durable and work for a long time.
4. Filtration
One often overlooks this factor, but it is actually essential to check the filtration level of the vacuum cleaner before purchasing it. Your vacuum cleaner should be capable of retaining fine dust particles, and if it does not have a high filtration level, it will fail to clean your home as the particles will return to the air.
Quality vacuum cleaners come with good filtration levels. However, if anyone in your home has allergies, it becomes essential to ensure that the vacuum cleaner you plan to purchase has a high filtration level.
5. Capacity
Capacity refers to the size of the vacuum cup or dust bag. The bigger the size, the less amount of time you’ll have to put in to change it.
If you have a large house, you should be buying a vacuum cleaner with good capacity so that you won’t have to worry about changing it now and then.
6. Storage
Some vacuums are made so that they don’t take up much space. On the other hand, some vacuums take up a large room & it can be challenging to store them.
If you don’t have storage issues, you can skip this factor, but if storage is a concern for you, you should consider this factor in which vacuum can be easily stored at your home.
How Much Will You Have to Spend?
A vacuum cleaner can range from anywhere between 25 Euros and 700 Euros. A decent vacuum cleaner with appropriate features will be priced from 100 to 200 Euros.
Cordless vacuum cleaners with good battery life are costlier compared to other vacuums. A vacuum cleaner doesn’t need to be good only when it’s expensive. You can find the right vacuum cleaner as per your requirements at a reasonable price too.
Conclusion
Factors such as the cost of the vacuum cleaner, suction, filtration level, capacity, and ease of use, among others, need to be considered before purchasing the best vacuum cleaner.
Vacuum cleaners are a crucial part of the cleaning process as they absorb dust particles and several other unwanted components. It becomes vital to pick the right one, and we hope that this article helped you keep all the important factors in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to tell if a vacuum cleaner has good suction power?
You can hold a seal suction test to check the quality of suction of a vacuum cleaner. In this test, the unit will be connected and sealed to a tube. This tube will contain water. The rise in the level of water will determine the suction power of the vacuum cleaner.
Is there anything that I should not vacuum?
Wet food, dry cereal, coins, ashes, paperclips, small items, and glass are some of the things that a vacuum cleaner should not pick.
What will happen if I don’t vacuum my home?
If you don’t vacuum your house frequently, you’ll end up living in a place where dust mites settle quickly, the carpet becomes home to allergens, and many other unwanted components thrive.
