If cleaning floors, rugs, and carpets isn’t your favorite chore around the house, then a good vacuum cleaner could significantly ease your workload and make cleaning a little bit more enjoyable.
The fact is, without regular cleaning, dust, dirt, dust mites, and pet dander can get trapped in carpets and rugs. These are not only unhygienic but can also cause respiratory issues and allergic reactions. Besides, dirt and stains could make your home unpleasant and may even damage your flooring and carpets in the long term.
A vacuum cleaner is the easiest solution to all these concerns. But selecting one is not always so easy. With the countless options available on the market, choosing a product that works best for you and your home will require some serious thinking.
Should you choose with-bag or bagless? Upright or a canister? Lightweight or a powerful model? Unfortunately, the answers to all these questions are not so straightforward for the average person who’s just looking to keep their home clean.
But worry not! In this guide, we’ll take you through all the essentials, so you can select the best vacuum cleaner for your home. We also didn’t forget to include a review of the top vacuum cleaners to buy.
How often should you vacuum?
In general, hardwood floors need vacuuming at least once a week. But carpets and rugs trap more dirt, dust, and debris. So, they need a good vacuum at least twice a week.
However, all this depends on the amount of dust and dirt you have in your home. Remember, it’s different in each household. For instance, if you have a cat, you’ll need to vacuum more often, ideally once a day.
You’ll also find that some areas in your home get dirty much faster. These are often high-traffic areas like entryways and living rooms.
And if you have a toddler at home, you would definitely want to keep the floors and carpets spotless. Daily vacuuming is the best option in these instances.
How to choose the best vacuum cleaner for your home
You need to carefully assess a few essential areas before selecting a vacuum cleaner that works best for your needs.
Upright or canister
The main difference between these two options is that canister or cylinder models have bigger bags or containers to gather dust. So, if you have higher square footage and expect frequent vacuuming, then you’re better off with a canister model. But upright vacuums have their advantages, too. For example, they are easier to store because of their sleek designs.
With-bag or bagless
The with-bag models will neatly collect all the dust and debris. So, they’re easier to clean. Bagless models are somewhat messier when it comes to cleaning but are more economical in the long term since you get to avoid bag replacement costs.
With-cord or cordless
Now, maneuvering a vacuum cleaner with a cord could be inconvenient at times. But they tend to be much more powerful and hardy. Cordless vacuums are designed to be lightweight, so you can easily take them around. But they often have shorter battery life. As a result, you won’t be able to vacuum the entire home in one go.
Air flow and water lift
Contrary to popular belief, a vacuum’s wattage is not an indicator of its performance. Instead, air flow and water lift provide the best clues to the performance efficiency of a particular model.
Ergonomics
When you’re vacuuming regularly and spending a significant amount of time on it, you need to make sure your vacuum is comfortable to use. So, selecting an ergonomically designed model with adjustable height could go a long way in preventing long-term injuries. While you’re at it, don’t forget to check the noise levels as well.
Accessories
Accessories like nozzles can make your vacuum far more versatile and extend its usability. For instance, it may include nozzles to clean different surfaces, so you wouldn’t have to purchase separate cleaning tools.
Warranty and customer support
Even the best models and brands can run into trouble sometimes. So, checking the warranty and customer support available is essential before purchasing a vacuum.
Robot vacuum vs regular vacuum
Vacuuming technology has advanced tremendously over the years, giving you high-tech solutions for all your cleaning needs. The robot vacuum is one of those new entrants that has increasingly become popular in recent years. But should you go for a robot vacuum, too?
Robot vacuums are autonomous and, therefore, are super convenient. They’re an excellent choice for busy homeowners to skip time-consuming vacuuming chores. They’re also portable, compact, often noiseless, and easy to store. Plus, they are easy to operate and have very low maintenance requirements.
Having said that, robot vacuums are generally more expensive than regular vacuums. But that’s the price you pay for higher convenience.
You’ll also find that robot models are not as powerful as many of the canister vacuums. So, they are best left for homes with low to medium vacuuming needs. And they are still relatively slower than vacuuming a room yourself. For instance, they could struggle in spaces with lots of items like chairs and flower pots. So, maneuvering their way through a room could take some time. And they’re not 100% autonomous either. You’ll still need to change the dust they collect.
The fact is, both robot vacuums and regular ones come with pros and cons. So, consider your cleaning needs and lifestyle to determine which one is best for you.
The best vacuum cleaners to buy
1. Dirt Devil Endura Reach UD20124 Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
This Dirt Devil vacuum is a bagless and lightweight upright vacuum equipped with a powerful Endura filtration system for optimum performance. It features quite a large 1.5-liter dirt cup to minimize the frequency of emptying the collected dust and debris.
And the unit comes with a 10 feet extension wand to reach those hard-to-get places. It also includes a 2-in-1 dusting brush, crevice tool, and a 20-ft cord.
“Awesome vacuum,” says one customer. “It works incredible on hard flooring and light carpets. The vacuum and attachments are very user friendly. I honestly can not say enough wonderful things about this vacuum,” he goes on.
Price: $74.99
Dirt Cup Capacity: 1.5 liter
2. Bissell Zing 2156A Canister Vacuum Cleaner
This lightweight bagless vacuum comes in a canister model and is an excellent option for quick, regular vacuuming of hardwood floors and carpets. It’s got a washable dirt cup and post-motor filter to capture those finer particles with powerful cyclonic action and suction.
It’s super lightweight at under eight pounds. The cord is 15 feet in length and comes with an automatic rewinding feature. The vacuum also includes a multi-surface floor tool, crevice tool, and dusting brush.
Price: $79.95
Dirt Cup Capacity: 2 liter
3. iRobot Roomba 694 Robot Vacuum
The iRobot Roomba is one of the most popular robot vacuum cleaners on the market, and for very good reason: It’s packed with some impressive features.
You can set up this smart home vacuum cleaner to operate with your voice assistant or the iRobot HOME app. It’s also geared with a powerful 3-stage cleaning system to loosen, lift, and suck out dirt. And there are several types of brushes to help clean corners, edges, and different surfaces for optimum results.
It’s also packed with lots of advanced features like adaptive navigation sensors, dirt-detect sensors, and auto-adjust cleaning heads. This robot vacuum can even suggest personalized schedules by studying your cleaning habits.
It’s powered by a lithium ion battery and can automatically dock and recharge for up to 90-minute cleaning.
Price: $274.00
Dirt Box Capacity: 1 liter
4. Eufy by Anker BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Robot Vacuum Cleaner
This is one of the slimmest robot vacuums in the market at just 2.85 inches in thickness with equally impressive performance. It’s super quiet and can increase its suction power automatically within just 1.5 seconds whenever higher suction is required.
The infrared sensors allow it to scan and detect obstacles, while drop-sensing technology enables it to operate safely without falls. This robot vacuum uses a lithium ion battery to work up to 100 minutes on hardwood floors. And when it’s time to recharge, this unit is designed to self charge using the charging base.
The packaging includes a remote control, AC power adapter, cleaning tool, 4 side brushes, and extra filters. It also comes with a 12-month warranty.
Price: $229.00
Dirt Box Capacity: 0.6 liter
5. BLACK+DECKER 16V CHV1410L Dustbuster Handheld Vacuum
The Balck+Decker 16V dustbuster is a sleek and powerful handheld vacuum for quick cleaning of dirt and debris from countertops, bookshelves, and all those hard-to-reach nooks and crevices. It’s equipped with a durable lithium ion battery and Smart Charge Technology to cut down energy usage by up to 50%.
This model is bagless as with most handheld devices and features a 1800 rotatable slim nozzle, extendable crevice tool, flip-up brush, and an easily washable dirt bowl.
Price: $59.99
Dirt Box Capacity: 20.6 ounces
6. BISSELL 2252 CleanView Swivel Vacuum Carpet Cleaner
This upright bagless vacuum cleaner by Bissell is particularly great for picking up pet hair and debris off carpets. It even comes with specialized pet tools like a pet hair corner tool to easily get to that stubborn hair for a cleaner home.
It uses triple action brush rolls with scatter free technology. And there’s a swivel steering function to get around obstacles like furniture easily. It’s got a 6ft hose and a cleaning path width of 13.5 inches, so it can clean edges and corners without a fuss.
And according to one customer review, “every part, except the motor, can be washed with soap and water” for better hygiene.
Price: $118.44
Dirt Box Capacity: 1 liter
7. BISSELL 2033M Featherweight Bagless Vacuum
Here’s a powerful, lightweight stick vacuum cleaner by Bissell that is perfect for regular light cleaning. It’s a highly versatile 3-in-1 machine, which combines a stick vacuum, handle vacuum, and stair vacuum for effortless cleaning.
This bagless and corded model is perfect for sealed hardwood floors and low-pile carpets and rugs with surface dirt. There’s also a crevice tool to suck out dirt from furniture and a floor nozzle to quickly get your stairs cleaned.
It’s available in four colors—black, blue, lime, and purple.
Price: $34.99
Dirt Cup Capacity: 0. 67 liter
Note: This article does not carry any affiliate links. All information is accurate at the time of publishing.
