Fancy features don’t necessarily make a better upright or canister vac. You’ll find lots of competent models at a reasonable price.
Which type of vacuum to buy used to be a no-brainer. Uprights were clearly better for carpets, while canisters were the obvious choice for bare floors. That distinction is being blurred somewhat as more upright models clean floors without scattering dust and more canisters do a very good job with carpeting. You’ll also see a growing number of features like dirt sensors and bagless dirt bins as manufacturers attempt to boost performance. Some of those features, however, may contribute more to price than function. Other, more essential features may not be found on the least-expensive models.
WHAT’S AVAILABLE
Hoover, the oldest and largest vacuum manufacturer, is a midpriced brand with about 70 different models. Many of those models are similar, with minor differences in features; the “variety” is mostly in the marketing. And some are made exclusively for a single retail chain. Eureka has been a low-priced brand, while Dirt Devil (made by Royal Appliance) sells uprights and canisters as well as stick brooms and hand vacuums. Kenmore (Sears) accounts for about 25 percent of all canister vacuums sold in the U.S. Brands such as Miele, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, and Simplicity are more likely to be sold at specialty stores. Upscale Electrolux and Oreck vacs are sold in their own stores and by direct mail, while Kirby models are sold door-to-door.
Better uprights and canisters clean carpet very well. Uprights can also do an excellent job on bare floors, thanks in part to an on-off switch for the brush. When cleaning with tools, the brush switch can help protect the user from injury, the power cord from damage, and furnishings from undue wear. Uprights also tend to be less expensive and easier to store than canister models. A top-of-the-line upright might have a wider cleaning path, be self-propelled, and have a HEPA filter, dirt sensor, and full-bag indicator.
Price range: $50 to $1,300.
Canister vacuums tend to do well on floors because they allow you to turn off the brush or use a specialized tool to avoid scattering dirt. Most are quieter than uprights and more adept at cleaning on stairs and in hard-to-reach areas.
Price range: $100 to $900.
Stick vacs and hand vacs–corded or cordless–lack the power of a full-sized vacuum cleaner, but they can be handy for small, quick jobs.
Price range: $20 to $75.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
Typical attachments include crevice and upholstery tools. You’ll also appreciate extension wands for reaching high places. The canisters we test have a detachable power nozzle that cleans carpet more thoroughly than a simple suction nozzle, and most machines have a cord of 20 to 30 feet long. While most upright vacuums require you to manually wrap the cord for storage, canisters typically have a retractable cord that rewinds with a tug or push of a button.
A full-bag alert can be handy, since an overstuffed bag impairs a vacuum’s ability to clean. Lately, many uprights have adopted a bagless configuration with a see-through dirt bin that replaces the usual bag. But as we’ve found, emptying these bins can raise enough dust to concern even those without allergies.
Another worthwhile feature is manual pile-height adjustment, which can improve cleaning by letting you match the vacuum’s height to the carpet pile more effectively than you can with machines that adjust automatically. Also look for suction control. Found on most canisters and some uprights, it allows you to reduce airflow for drapes and other delicate fabrics. You’ll also find more uprights with a self-propelled feature to make pushing easy, though that can also make them heavier and harder to carry up or down the stairs.
Some models have a dirt sensor that triggers a light indicator according to the concentration of dirt particles in the machine’s air stream. But the sensor signals only that the vacuum is no longer picking up dirt–not whether there’s dirt left in your rug. Some are so sensitive that you keep vacuuming longer, working harder and gaining little in cleanliness.
Fine particles may pass through a vacuum’s bag or filter and escape into the air through the exhaust. Many models claim microfiltration capabilities, using a bag with smaller pores or a second, electrostatic filter in addition to the standard motor filter. Some have a HEPA filter, which may benefit someone with asthma. But many models without a HEPA filter performed as well in Consumer Reports emissions tests, since the amount of dust emitted depends as much on the design of the entire machine as on its filter.
A vacuum’s design can also affect how long it lasts. With some uprights, for example, dirt sucked into the vac passes through the blower fan before entering the bag–a potential problem, since most fans are plastic and vulnerable to damage from hard objects. Better systems filter dirt through the bag before it reaches the fan; while hard objects can lodge in the motorized brush, they’re unlikely to break the fan.
Like bagless uprights, stick vacs and hand vacs typically have messy dirt-collection bins. Some have a revolving brush, which may help remove surface debris from a carpet. Stick vacs can hang on a hook or, if they’re cordless, a wall-mounted charger base.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Performance differences. Virtually all recently tested uprights and canisters did at least a good job overall. Bagless vacs filtered dust as well as bag-equipped models overall, but emptying their bins released enough dust to make wearing a mask a consideration. We have found stick vacs less impressive, with few excelling at all types of cleaning. Overall, hand vacs do a better job along wall edges than stick vacs by coming closer to the moldings and angling into nooks and crannies.
We’ve also found that high-end features such as dirt sensors don’t necessarily improve performance. And ignore claims about amps and suction. Amps are a measure of running current, not cleaning power, while suction alone doesn’t determine a vacuum’s ability to lift dirt from carpeting. Some vacuums are extremely expensive–anywhere from $800 to $1,500 and more. Consumer Reports tests have shown that high-priced brands such as Electrolux, Filter Queen, Kirby, Miele, and Rainbow perform well, but so do many models that cost $200 to $300. We’ve also found that many of the least expensive uprights sacrifice key features as well as performance.
Recommendations. Begin by deciding whether you prefer an upright or a canister. Then choose a model that performs and has the right features for your kind of cleaning. Those with varied cleaning needs may want to consider a vacuum-cleaner arsenal–an upright for carpets, a compact canister when tool use is important, and a hand vac or stick vac for quick touch-ups around the kitchen and family room.
>From consumerreports.org