Choosing a Vacuum

Weekly vacuuming helps keep your carpets clean and helps them last as long as possible, so choosing the right vacuum is essential since you’ll be using it frequently. A vacuum that’s heavy and doesn’t have great suction might mean you’re taking twice as long as necessary to complete your vacuuming.

Smart vacuuming techniques and habits will reduce how much time you need to spend vacuuming (like requiring people take their shoes off inside the home), but your choice of vacuum may also impact how long it takes you to complete your vacuuming.

Vacuum Weight

Don’t Underestimate Weight When Choosing a Vacuum

Remember the “Rainbow” vacuum cleaners from the 1980s that deposited vacuumed particles into a basin of water? The vacuum was supposed to offer superior protection against the re-release of allergens while emptying the vacuum’s canister.

Unfortunately, those vacuums also came with a rather hefty weight. If you’re apt to vacuum once or twice a week, a heavy vacuum might not be the best choice. Also, if you’re living in a multi-story home, you’re not going to want to lug a heavy vacuum upstairs every few days.

If you’re going to bring the vacuum out of the closet every few days (or even every day), you’ll probably find the best experience with a simple light-weight “stick” model of vacuum. These vacuums don’t have the same power as a vacuum with a canister, but they’ll be a lot easier to use when you vacuum often.

Bags or Bagless

Many vacuums today come in bagless varieties, but a bagless option often comes with a higher price tag. If you or anyone in your home suffers from allergies, you’ll need to be careful about choosing a bagless option that might release particles into the air after use.

However, experts also suggest that a vacuum with a bag loses suction fast when the bag fills. An article in “The Huffington Post” on vacuum choice suggests:

Newer bagless models trump vacuums with bags because these will lose suction and airflow as the bag gets full.

Tip: Never empty the vacuum canister over a trashcan inside your home. You’ll just release some particles, dust, and dirt back into the air where it will settle back on your floors and carpets.

Additionally, Consumer Reports suggests that their survey on bagless vacuums revealed that emptying a bagless vacuum’s canister wasn’t the most enjoyable way to end a vacuuming session. Smartly, Consumer Reports also recommends:

Visit a store and push, pull, turn, and lift any vacuum you’re considering, even if you eventually buy online.

Suction Power

One of the bragging points of most vacuum cleaner companies is the amount of suction power offered on each machine. However, respected vacuum cleaner company Hoover suggests that it’s actually better to look at the air wattage of a vacuum than depend on its actual suction power.

Hoover says:

Air watts look at the actual performance of the vacuum, not just the motor power. However, they can be dramatically reduced by a blocked filter.

However, don’t rely upon the air wattage as a sole indication of whether a vacuum will provide enough power. Consider a vacuum’s suction and power, but add these considerations into your overall decision-making process.

Special Features

Some vacuums come with extra features that add to the cost, but which are worth it for certain circumstances. For example, some vacuums have brushes that rotate in a certain way so as to scoop up pet fur that’s tangled in the carpet.

Popular advice site “For Dummies” suggests the following about pet fur removal:

All decent vacuums get pet hair off the floor. A truly pet-owner-friendly vacuum offers a better way to get fur off stairs and sofas. Some models have a rotating brush that fits to the vacuum hose so you can beat then suction fur from seats, stairs, and car interiors.

Get a Professional for the Big Jobs

Need to get rid of some hefty dirt and stains in a dirty home? At Sweep Home Chicago, we are fully committed to providing all of our customers with the quality cleaning services you desire and deserve. Get a Free Cleaning Estimate in the Chicago area today!