Types Of Vacuum Cleaners: Which One Should I Buy?

5 Types Of Vacuum Cleaners

There tend to be two main forms of vacuum cleaner out there: canisters and uprights. Canisters are known for their versatility and are excellent on smooth floors and carpets, with a handy hose and wand. However, even within canister vacuum cleaners, there are a further three sub-categories – the straight suction vacuum cleaner (a floor tool with a no-nonsense, non-revolving brush for hard floors and flat carpets), the turbo/turbine floor tool (has a revolving brush powered by suction motor), and the power team (uses a power brush floor tool and has a separate electric motor for the revolving brush roll.

Uprights, by contrast, have a revolving brush roll to stir things up, and a motor for suction; it may have one motor to power the brush, another to provide the suction. They are very useful in terms of cleaning synthetic surfaces like polyester, olefin, or nylon. Increasingly they come with a range of added features and attachments, so are becoming more and more versatile.

Here are some other well-known types of vacuum cleaner:

1. Stick vacuum cleaners

The so-called stick vacuum cleaner is somewhere between an upright and a handheld vacuum. They use a motor-driven beater to loosen debris, which is then suctioned up. Some have bags; others don’t. They can be particularly useful for kitchen or bathroom floors, and offer some of the convenience of a handheld device due to the lightweight, battery-powered operation. They can also be adjusted in terms of height, which can help those who suffer various back ailments.

2. Robot vacuums

This is a great innovation that works via a sensor that senses boundaries and works hands-free, all by itself! You simply choose the settings you want and the robot vacuum will do the rest. It is cordless and small and requires no physical exertion or backache ideal for regular, daily use in a busy office or home space.

3. Handheld vacuum cleaners

Handheld vacuums are great at getting to those places which are just too narrow for uprights to reach. They have the advantage of being cordless and portable, so are ideal for whipping out after pets or children have made a mess. For those with arthritic conditions they are also easy on your joints due to their lightweight design; they’re battery powered for convenience, so are just as able to be used to clean the interior of your car as the interior of your house.

4. HEPA vacuums

This kind of vacuums specialize in cleaning your air as well as your carpets. They are believed to remove 99.97% of particles, up to a size of 0.3 microns. The benefits of using HEPA vacuums are primarily for those with respiratory problems, for whom invisible particles can cause breathing problems. The actual HEPA filter is to be found on the vacuum’s exhaust; through this filtered air blows back out into the surrounding space. These kind of filters are able to capture pet dander, smoke, pollen, and dust, and are available in either a ‘stick’ or ‘canister’ design.

5. Canister vacuums

Canister vacuums, discussed above, are best used on harder surfaces, or even stairs or car foot wells. They come with a retractable cord and a suction hose, and house the receptacle and motor in a separate unit, which makes it that much more versatile. They can be used on a wider variety of surfaces, and can even be used on furniture and some upholstery.

Overall, you need to decide on your needs; it might even be worth investing in two models, for different purposes. For example, during allergy season you might want to use your HEPA model exclusively, whereas in the rest of the year a different model might better serve your purposes.

Of course, if your house has stairs then that is also something to consider; this is relatively hard to do with an ‘upright’ due to its revolving brush not being that effective on the narrow stair treads. If the material substance of most of your flooring is a synthetic fiber, ie. olefin, polyester, or nylon), then a ‘canister’ design is perfect. If, however, if you have full carpets on the majority of your floors then an upright should be sufficient to thoroughly clean it.

If your home has a combination of hard and smooth floors, rugs, and partial carpeting, then a ‘canister’ design is ideal. In terms of which kind of ‘canister’, that will most probably depend on the patterns of traffic you have in your household, whether or not you permit shoes to be worn indoors, and even the exact fiber of the carpets, its depth, and the number of rugs you have. There are plenty of decisions to make, but then again there are plenty of different models out there, so you’re not restricted to just one type. Keeping your surfaces clean has many benefits, though, so it’s well worth the initial investment.

Source:

1. Choosing the Right Standard Vacuum – Consumer NZ