The market is flooded with vacuum cleaners and you may find it hectic to try and figure out which one to buy. You have to choose from brands such as Hoover, Dyson, Bosch, and others while you also figure out if you will buy a cylinder, upright, bagless, bagged, stick, cordless, corded or handheld vacuum cleaner.
Here are tips to help you wade through all the confusion.
- Assess your needs
If you go without knowing the features you are looking for, you may end up buying any vacuum cleaner and it may not be useful to you. Start by assessing your needs.
Where is the vacuum cleaner intended to clean? Is it the whole house, kitchen or bathroom? What type of flooring do you have? Do pets live with you?
By answering these questions, you can know which vacuum cleaner to buy. For instance, an upright vacuum cleaner with a bag is suitable for cleaning flooring with wall-to-wall carpet. It is also suitable if you have pets since it comes with a beater brush. However, it may not be suitable for stairs and hard to reach areas. Therefore, if you want to clean hard to reach areas, bare floors such as tile and hardwood, stairs, upholstery, and drapes, you can opt for canister vacuums since they are easy to maneuver.
If you just want to perform light tasks such as cleaning small spaces or getting rid of a mess in the house, then stick vacuum is preferable.
To guide you, check out reviews such as Top Ten Vacuums to know different types of vacuum cleaners and their best uses.
- Consider the features
When buying a new vacuum cleaner, look for features that will meet your needs. If your floor is carpeted, opt for a vacuum cleaner that has a motorized brush. If you have both a bare and carpeted floor, a cleaner with a switch for deactivating the brush is a better option. In case you intend to clean delicate fabrics and draperies, opt for a vacuum cleaner whose carpet pile height adjustment control is manual.
Most vacuum cleaners have additional tools that make it easy to clean and convert others to become versatile. These include narrow tools for cleaning crevices, round dusting brush, upholstery brush and edge cleaners.
- Consider special needs
Before you buy a vacuum cleaner, consider if you have special needs. For instance, if you have allergies or asthma, you should opt for a vacuum with HEPA filtration to improve the quality of air indoors. Most vacuum cleaners whether bagged or bagless can have HEPA filtration.
- Test it out
You should not buy a vacuum cleaner you have not tested to find out how it performs. If you are buying online, make sure you go to a store nearby and test a similar vacuum. This way, you can be assured that it will do the cleaning required of it.
- Consider the maintenance
How much will you be required to spend on maintenance and how often? For instance, bagless vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters need the filter to be replaced. They also need to be emptied and washed every now and then. You need to buy bags for bagged vacuum cleaners, although the cost is insignificant.
You will be required to clean brushrolls often to remove threads, hair, fur and other debris and you may have to replace dusting brushes if your vacuum lasts many years.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.