There is no best vacuum cleaner for all circumstances. To say that it exists would be like saying that everyone should drive a certain luxury sedan or small economy car. Someone who needs to transport 6 children does not need the same vehicle as someone who transports 4×8 drywall. My needs and yours may not be the same. Some people just want to clean carpets and rugs, others have bare floors, and some people want to vacuum the draperies and wood trim, which we call “above floor cleaning.” Some of the new frieze and shag carpets are too long for many vacuum cleaners and some of the newer high thread count carpets (such as Dupont Silk and Shaw Caress) are very soft and comfortable to walk on, but very difficult for most to push. of vacuum cleaners. Some people have dust allergies and need superior filtration. Some people need a vacuum that is light enough to go up and down stairs, others need one that is very easy to push. At Byers Vacuum we spend some time asking questions before recommending a particular vacuum. Here are some of the questions to ask yourself: What surfaces do you want to clean? If the mats, how long? Bare floor? Above the floor? Do you have rugs with fringes? Carpeted stairs? Does anyone in the household have allergies to dust? Are you picking up long hair that gets tangled around the brush? How many hours a year will it be used? How many years do you want it to last? Do you want to buy American? Most vacuum cleaners, including Hoover, Eureka, Dirt Devil, Bissell, and Dyson, are made in China, South Korea, Malaysia, or Mexico. If you have the answers to these questions, you’re ready to determine which vacuum cleaner is “best” for you.

A straight suction cup is good for bare floors and above ground. A container with a power nozzle allows you to clean carpets as well. Some power nozzles will adjust in height for new friezes and lint, others won’t. The same goes for studs – some will adjust in height for friezes and fluff, some won’t. New extra soft rugs need the ability to reduce suction (one company drilled a bunch of holes in their nozzle to bleed off suction). And some uprights have attachments that work well for above-floor cleaning, but some don’t have any or don’t work very well. Most studs cannot turn off the brush separately from the motor, but some can. This feature allows you to vacuum a bare floor without spreading dirt everywhere. Also, if you have fringed rugs or brittle antique rugs, you may want to be able to turn the brush off. Most canisters with electric nozzles allow you to turn off the brush. On the studs that can turn off the brush, some do it with a lever on the nozzle, others have 2 motors with a switch right on the handle that allows you to turn the brush motor on and off with the flick of a finger, instead of bending down , much more convenient when fringing.

Some uprights, like Orecks and SupraLites, are very light. This makes them very easy to transport from one level to another or to transport them from one place to another in a cleaning business. Other machines, like newer Kirbys and some older Hoovers, are truly self-propelled, where they have a transmission that runs the vacuum both forward and backward as you push and pull on the handle. These can be operated with one finger, but are heavy for going up and down stairs.

Of course, aside from making sure the vacuum will work on the surfaces you need to clean, some vacuums filter better than others. Don’t think that all “HEPA” filters are the same. In Europe, a product that declares HEPA must meet the standard. In the US, you can put a filter that has tested HEPA at 10 CFM into a vacuum that draws air at 90 CFM and blows dirt through the filter. Or a vacuum cleaner may have let air out through other holes so it doesn’t go through the filter, but still claims to have a HEPA filter. From what I’ve read from people who have tested vacuum cleaners with a laser particle counter (if you have severe allergies to dust, you’ll want it tested to 0.3 microns or less), Miele and Nilfisk have the best filtration. However, a test with imitation bags and filters in a Miele reported measurable dust emission. So it’s not just about the vacuum being well sealed and packaged, but also about the quality of the bags and filters. A typical micro-lined bag will trap most dirt down to 5 microns, but it’s not just the bag or filter that you should be concerned about. Bagless machines tend to lose a lot more dust (despite their “HEPA” filters or cyclonic technology), plus you spread a lot of dust when you empty the bin. Even if you don’t have dust allergies, if you compare the cost of bags to the cost of filters for most bagless vacuums, you may find that the bagged vacuum is cheaper and less messy. Replacing a bag typically takes less than a minute and the result is a brand new primary filter without having to wash and wait for bagless filters to dry, which can take up to a day. In my opinion, the best thing about a bagless bag is that you can see the earth spin.

Some vacuum cleaners have rotating metal brushes with replaceable sliding bristles, which is cheaper in heavy use and much more durable around long hair. Plastic brushes can melt if the hair stands up at the ends. Some are better protected from hair than others. Another thing to keep in mind is plastic shafts, rather than metal ones. These wear out quickly and the wheel falls off. Some vacuum cleaners are much more durable than others. Some are more comfortable for different people to wear. The only way to know for sure is to try them. My recommendation is to buy a vacuum from a local vacuum store that services what they sell, can show you the differences in quality, lets you test the vacuum on different surfaces, and will allow you to return it if it doesn’t work well on your carpet. . If you have a problem carpet, like lint, or new soft carpets, bring a spare piece to test the vacuums, so you can see how easily each type of vacuum will work on your carpet. They can advise you on the durability of different machines, as well as the availability of parts.

Some chain store vacuums come with longer-than-average warranties, but there may not be anyone in your market to repair them (Dyson and Shark come to mind). Therefore, I advise checking if a machine can be repaired locally, under warranty or after, before buying. You can find many brands that can be serviced, but not under warranty, in your market. And some may not be useful at all.

In conclusion, you can see that there is no “best” vacuum cleaner for everyone. And a number of brands can meet your needs. Personally, I like Riccar’s onboard tool mounts and also their lightweight mounts, but for bins, I prefer Miele’s German-made models. German Sebos are also very friendly. And if you live in a city where the only brand you can repair is a vacuum cleaner, you should probably try to find the best vacuum cleaner for your needs, even though they are now owned by the Chinese and no longer made in the USA. (Since I originally wrote this, Hoover has gotten to the point where they don’t offer many parts for machines, especially if they are over 2 or 3 years old, so this advice may not be as valid as it once was.) If you’re just starting out, live in a small apartment, with no allergies, no kids, and no pets, a cheap discount store model might be quite suitable. It’s amazing how much longer a vacuum lasts if you only have 500 square feet of carpet to clean, instead of 3,000.