vacuum cleaners
There are so many different vacuum cleaners on the market that it can be confusing to choose the right one.
The first step is to determine whether an upright or canister is right for your lifestyle and home environment. So, we'll identify the different types of vacuum cleaners and examine how you decide which type is right for you.
This decision is based on the amount of carpeting and other flooring in the home, whether or not you have stairs, as well as any specialized cleaning situations.
Once you have identified the type of vacuum cleaner, there are still a number of other considerations that will narrow your choices further and ultimately lead to the vacuum cleaner that will perform optimally for you.
These
considerations include, the type of fibers used in the carpet and/or
rugs; the amount of traffic and the types of soiling in the home; performance, durability, ease of use, filtration, noise level, capacity, storage, features and cost.
The Different Types of Vacuum Cleaners
While there are all sorts of specialty or secondary vacuum cleaners, such as hand vacuums, car vacuums, wet/dry vacuums and so on, this article is focused on choosing the primary vacuum cleaner for a home.
There are two major types of vacuum
cleaners, uprights and canisters. There are significant differences
between these types. The most obvious is that you push an upright and
pull a canister.
Uprights generally have a revolving brush roll
to provide agitation and may have one motor that provides the suction
and also turns the agitator or it may have two motors, one to provide
suction and one to drive the brush. There are a wide variety of
different upright designs for many different cleaning situations.
Upright vacuum
cleaners excel at cleaning synthetic (nylon, olefin or polyester)
carpeting and many also have the ability to turn off the revolving brush
for cleaning smooth floors. Recent innovations like on-board
attachments and integrated extension hoses have made uprights much more
versatile and able to offer many of the features of canisters.
Uprights have traditionally been the favorite type of vacuum cleaner in the U.S. and Great Britain. In Europe and the rest of the world, canisters are the vacuum cleaner of choice.
A canister vacuum cleaner has a base unit that contains the vacuum motor, dust bag and filter system. There are three types of canister vacuum cleaners. All three are used with a hose, wands and attachments. The difference is in the attachments.
Canisters
may utilize a revolving brush like uprights in a cleaning tool known as
a power head or power nozzle. The first type of canister has no power
nozzle of any kind is called a straight suction canister and uses a
variety of non-revolving brush floor and carpet tools to clean flooring.
The
second type is a canister with a turbo or turbine power nozzle, which
is a power nozzle with a revolving brush that is powered by the airflow
created by the canister's suction motor.
The third type of
canister features a power nozzle where a separate electric motor drives a
revolving brush roll. This type of canister is often referred to as a
power team.
Canisters are by far the most versatile vacuum
cleaner design, offering outstanding performance on carpet and smooth
floors as well as above the floor surfaces. Because the cleaning tools
are used with a hose and wands, these vacuum cleaners are more maneuverable and easily able to get under most furniture and into tight spaces.
And,
because canisters are designed to be used with attachments, they
generally have more thoughtfully designed, highly functional attachments
that perform a wide variety of above the floor cleaning tasks easily
and effectively.
The Cleaning Environment
The next step is to evaluate the surfaces that you will be cleaning, starting with flooring. Is your home
primarily wall-to-wall carpeting except for smooth floors (vinyl, wood,
tile, marble, etc.) in bathrooms and kitchen? Or do you have large
amounts of smooth floors, perhaps with area rugs?
Another important question is whether or not your home has stairs.
Also,
are there any special above the floor cleaning requirements that might
require specialized attachments? These might include high ceilings,
elaborate light fixtures, ceiling fans, special collections and so on.
Choosing the Type of Vacuum Cleaner
With this information you can now decide on the type of vacuum cleaner you're looking for.
If your home has stairs, a canister or power team is the recommended type of vacuum
cleaner. An upright is not designed to clean stairs by itself. And,
even with attachments, attempting to clean stairs with an upright is
awkward and the results are generally poor because you cannot use an
upright's revolving brush on the stair treads, an area of high traffic.
If you do not have stairs, and if your home
is primarily synthetic fiber (nylon, olefin or polyester) wall-to-wall
carpeting, an upright with smooth floor cleaning ability and the
necessary attachments to clean above the floor surfaces is a good
choice.
However, many homes today feature a combination of smooth floors in a variety of materials, area rugs and some wall-to-wall carpeting. In these homes (or in homes with stairs) a canister or power team will provide the best results.
As mentioned above, there are three types of canister vacuum
cleaners. A canister that has no power nozzle of any kind is called a
straight suction canister. It is suitable for environments with very
little or no carpet at all. If there is any carpet, the soiling
conditions will be light to moderate, as this type of machine cannot be
expected to do a good job removing soils from carpet pile.
The
second type is a canister with a turbo or turbine power nozzle, which
is a power nozzle with a revolving brush that is powered by the airflow
created by the canister's suction motor. This type of canister is a good
choice when soiling conditions are moderate or when the amount of
carpet and rugs in the home is either not a large percentage of the flooring or has lower pile (the thickness of the carpet fibers), such as Berbers.
A
canister with a turbo nozzle is also an excellent performer on the new
woven area rugs made from natural fibers such as sisal, jute, coir, etc.
The third type of canister features a power nozzle where a separate
electric motor drives the brush roll. This type of canister is often
referred to as a power team and is ideal for homes with large amounts of
carpet or rugs and standard to heavy soiling conditions, like pet hair.
There are different types of power nozzles that are used for different
types of carpet fibers and soiling conditions, which are discussed
below.
Other Considerations
Once you have identified the type of vacuum
cleaner you can begin look at these other considerations, which include
the type of fibers used in the carpet or rugs; the amount of traffic
and the types of soiling in the home; performance, durability, ease of
use, filtration, noise level, capacity, storage, features and cost in
order to narrow down your choices even further.
Carpet Fibers
The type of fibers that your carpet or rugs are made with will influence your choice of vacuum
cleaner. Most carpeting today is made of synthetic fibers, primarily
nylon, though olefin and polyester are also used. Synthetic fibers are
very durable and you can use the most aggressive household vacuum cleaner without fear of fiber damage.
Natural
fibers, however, must be treated more gently. The most common natural
fiber used in wall-to-wall carpeting is wool, but this represents less
than 1% of the wall-to-wall carpeting in the U.S. Where wool is very
popular, however, is in area and Oriental rugs.
Wool is a very
durable fiber and has been used for thousands of years to create rugs
around the world, but it must be vacuumed with care. A revolving brush
can be used on wool, but the bristles must be flexible and forgiving,
perhaps not so densely backed on the brush roll, so as not to fuzz the
yarns and prematurely wear the carpet.
Oriental rugs are most
often wool but can also be made with silk. These rugs can vary in value
from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars and more.
Many Oriental rugs are sold for everyday use and can be cleaned with a
good household vacuum cleaner with the type of flexible and forgiving bristles just mentioned.
However,
if you have high value Oriental rugs, you will need to consider the age
and condition of the rug, as well as the soiling conditions. High value
rugs such as these often see very little traffic and are protected from
heavy soiling. You may want to consider cleaning such rugs using a
carpet and rug tool without a revolving brush, one that cleans only by
suction.
Other natural fibers are also cropping up more and more,
especially in area rugs. Most of these fibers are from plants and
include sisal, sea grass, mountain grass, bamboo, coir, cotton, jute,
viscose, and even leather! Many of these rugs are woven and quite
durable but they will still require softer bristles on the vacuum
cleaner used to clean them. Again, a canister with a turbo power nozzle
can perform very well on these types of rugs.
If you own
specialty rugs like these, check the manufacturer's recommended care
instructions before purchasing a new vacuum cleaner.
Therefore,
if you have synthetic fiber carpeting and/or rugs, you can select the
most aggressive vacuum cleaner, whether upright or canister. If you have
wool or other natural fiber carpeting or rugs, you'll need a power team
with flexible and forgiving bristles to properly vacuum without
damaging the fibers. The option of softer, more flexible bristles is
available primarily on power team canisters but there are some uprights
available with less aggressive bristles.
Traffic and Carpet Soils
The
amount of traffic and the type of carpet soils also influence your
choice of vacuum cleaner. Most carpet soils come in on the shoes of
people and pets that enter the home. If you have a house full of kids
and pets, you will have more carpet soils being brought into the home.
80%
of carpet soils are dry soils with sharp edges that, left in the carpet
and walked on, act as sandpaper, actually abrading the fibers and
changing the light reflection, resulting in the appearance of traffic
patterns that cause carpets to ?ugly out? long before they actually wear
out. This is why it is important to choose the right vacuum cleaner
based on the amount of traffic and types of soils encountered.
If
you have synthetic fiber carpeting and/or rugs and high traffic and the
resulting heavier soil load, choose a vacuum cleaner with aggressive
bristles on the revolving brush. Vacuum cleaners with dense, stiff
bristles as well as a beater bar function (there are many designs that
accomplish this) are excellent to bring these dry soils up from the
carpet pile where they can be brushed from the surface of the carpet and
vacuumed away.
Another dry soil that won't abrade your fiber but
is one of the most pervasive is dog and cat hair. Pet hair is best
removed by using a revolving brush with stiff, densely packed brushes.
If
your home has low traffic and no special soiling conditions, you can
choose a less aggressive vacuum cleaner and maintain your home perfectly
well. However, the general rule of thumb is to choose the most
aggressive vacuum cleaner that your carpet and rug fibers can safely
tolerate.
Vacuum Cleaner Performance
You will certainly
want to evaluate the performance, or cleaning ability, of the vacuum
cleaners you are considering. Determining performance or cleaning
ability requires evaluating a range of vacuum cleaner specifications
such as watts, amps, volts, water lift (or sealed suction), horsepower,
air watts, and airflow.
You can click here to read an article devoted to understanding these and other vacuum cleaner specifications.
But
to summarize, whether you are looking for an upright or canister, look
for amp ratings between 10 and 12 amps or wattage ratings between 1200
and 1440 watts. (Most vacuum cleaners are rated in either amps or watts,
not usually both. For detailed information about comparing watts and
amps, see the article referenced above.)
Even more important than
amps and watts ratings are airflow (the most important of all) and
sealed suction (listed on vacuum cleaner specifications as ?water
lift?). On canister vacuum cleaners (with or without power heads)
airflow of 100 CFM or more and water lift of 90 inches or more is
recommended.
Upright vacuum cleaners come in a wide variety of
configurations, but there are two basic designs. The first is the
?Direct Air? or ?Dirty Air? design where the dirt passes through the
motor prior to any filtration en route to the dust bag. Dirty air
uprights are only rated in amps.
The second basic design is one
that features a by-pass motor where unfiltered air does not go through
the motor. In uprights with this design, only filtered or completely
clean room air passes through the motor in order to cool it. By-pass
uprights will usually provide airflow but not water lift specifications
and a high performing upright will offer 60 CFM or better.
There
is no need for water lift ratings on both types of uprights, because
there is so little distance for the air and soil to travel. CFM ratings
do not have to be as high as canisters for the same reason.
Many
uprights will not offer airflow ratings at all and will only rate the
motor in terms of amps. This only measures the electrical consumption of
the motor, which is not a measure of cleaning ability. Still, when
comparing different vacuum cleaners of this type, amp ratings are better
than nothing.
When you choose a vacuum cleaner with excellent
airflow and water lift specifications, you are well on your way to a
machine with outstanding cleaning ability.
You will also want to
select the appropriate attachments or cleaning tools that will easily
remove the soils from the carpeting, smooth floors and above the floor
surfaces in your home.
Filtration
An important, but often
overlooked, element of cleaning ability is the capability of the vacuum
cleaner to retain the soils, and especially the fine particulates, that
it picks up.
If a vacuum cleaner does not offer high levels of
filtration, these fine particles can simply go right through the vacuum
cleaner and are returned to the room air, where they settle as dust.
And,
if anyone in your home suffers from allergies, asthma or any other
health condition that is impacted by fine particles or allergens in the
indoor air, a high filtration or HEPA filtration vacuum cleaner is
strongly recommended.
Quality and Durability
The quality
of your vacuum cleaner is also important and will determine whether your
vacuum cleaner will be replaced in a year or two or will last for many
years and even decades.
When evaluating durability, evaluate the
quality of the construction. Look for solid components of good quality
as opposed to flimsy or brittle appearing materials. Look for good fit
and finish without rough edges. The seals should be heavy duty and
components that open and close should do so with a nice solid feel.
Generally,
mass-market, low-priced products are not designed for long-term use.
Once you compare a mass-market vacuum cleaner to those made by companies
specializing in high-quality, long lasting ones, the differences will
be obvious.
Another indication of quality and durability can also be partially determined by the length and specifics of the warranty.
Ease of Use
No
matter how great a vacuum cleaner might be in terms of specifications,
it must also be easy to use. Think about what you don't like about your
current vacuum cleaner and look for a new one that eliminates those
problems.
Consider whether you have any specific issues
concerning weight or personal preferences concerning uprights versus
canister vacuum cleaners. If there are specific reasons for buying a new
vacuum cleaner, remember to be sure that your new one provides
solutions to these cleaning challenges.
But, regardless of the
specifics of your situation, the vacuum cleaner you choose should feel
good in your hand and not be fatiguing to use. It should maneuver easily
and be able to get under your furniture.
Noise Level
Noise
is also a significant consideration. Some vacuum cleaners can be so
noisy that they're almost unbearable to use. Many good vacuum cleaners
can operate at levels that are quite comfortable and will allow you to
hear the phone or doorbell ring quite easily.
The amount of noise
a vacuum makes while operating is rated in decibels (dB). To give you
some idea, a conversation at home is rated at 50dB, a garbage disposal
at 80 dB and a motorcycle or lawnmower at 100 dB. Extremely quiet vacuum
cleaners can operate at decibel levels in the mid-sixties while
cleaners in the 70-77 dB range are still very quiet compared to the
vacuum cleaner you grew up with.
Capacity
The capacity of a
vacuum cleaner relates to the size of the dust bag. The bigger the dust
bag, the less often it needs to be changed.
If you have a large
home and/or lots of traffic (think kids and pets) this means that you
will have larger amounts of soil to remove. In this case, consider a
full-sized vacuum cleaner. This way, you won't have the inconvenience
and additional cost of constantly changing the paper bag.
Storage
Some
homes have plenty of storage space and some don't have an inch to
spare. If storage space is at a premium in your home, be sure to give
some thought to where you will store your new vacuum cleaner. Will it
fit in the space where you stored your last one?
There are a wide
variety of sizes of vacuum cleaners, both uprights and canisters, and
you can find the right one that will fit in the storage space you have
available.
Features
You will also need to decide whether
the vacuum cleaner you're considering has all or most of the features
that you need for effective and pleasant cleaning.
Be sure that
the vacuum cleaner you choose gives you everything to make the chore of
vacuuming as easy as possible. Does it feature a cord rewind, variable
speed controls, on-board tool storage, height adjustable wands, an
adequate cleaning radius, the proper tools for your flooring such as a
soft brush for your slate entry tiles and so on.
Cost
And,
last but not least, you need a vacuum cleaner that represents the very
best value. If you follow the information listed here, you will get the
right vacuum cleaner for your home and family regardless of the price
point. As with everything, better quality usually costs a bit more, but
is often worth it in the long run.
