Best vacuum cleaners of May 2024: ranking and price comparison

How to choose the best vacuum cleaner

A good vacuum cleaner can make your cleaning chores less of a hassle. When choosing one, most people consider the most popular brands, like Dyson vs Shark. But there are many types of vaccum cleaners, each with specific features. A good vacuum cleaner can be considered as the one that can turn your intolerable cleaning job into a piece of cake. For instance, if you prefer one that does quick spot cleaning of your room or car, cordless vacuum cleaners will be the most convenient for you. However, cordless vacuum cleaners do come in several variations to suit different needs of people, such as Bosch Athlet, Dyson, Gtech AirRam, etc and it’s all upto to you to decide which one will best suit your needs based on their individual specifications.

Here are the top specifications of vacuum cleaners you must know before buying the best vacuum cleaner of 2017:

Types of vacuum cleaners

There are many types of vacuum cleaners and it's important to take into account what kind of cleaning jobs you'll have to do before deciding which vacuum cleaner to buy. Their types can be divided into two groups: one based on design and another based on kind of dustbin.

Based on design: There are three major types of vacuum cleaners based on design and they are: Upright Vacuum Cleaners, Canister Vacuum Cleaners and Stick Vacuum Cleaners.

Upright Vacuum Cleaners: This one is quite renowned among people who have back pain. Since the motor and suction head are assembled in a single unit in upright position, you can simply push the machine to clean your carpet or floor without ever having to bend down. Although upright vacuum cleaners are notorious for being noisy and unable to reach tight corners (although the latest ones are equipped with small hoses), they are still the best choice in terms of easy storage, wide cleaning capacity and accessories-less-ness. Miele Dynamic is the most highly rated upright vacuum cleaner of 2017. Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal, Kenmore Intuition, Eureka Brushroll are Panasonic JetSpin are other good options for upright cleaner.

Canister Vacuum Cleaners: These scanners have more power and provide more convenience than upright vacuum cleaners. The vacuum unit in a canister contains powerful engine which you can drag along the floor smoothly with the help of the wheels attached to it. In addition, the cleaning nozzle connected to the vacuum unit through a hose makes it convenient to clean challenging areas. Just by moving the wand, you can clean floors with better suction and flow-rate! If you have no back pain and have no problem assembling accessories before operating the machine, this type is perfect for you. Dyson Cinetic is popular for its 100% cleaning and 90% flexibility. Similarly, Bissell C4 Cyclonic, Samsung Motion Sync and Kenmore Progressive are other great performing canisters in the market. 

Stick Vacuum Cleaners: Stick or cordless vacuum cleaners are great alternatives for your dustpan and broom if not for entire full-sized vacuum. They are popular for quick cleaning in homes and are flexible enough to clean your cars and even stairs. Stick vacs are well-known for portability and power. Although they are not as powerful as full-sized vacs, each one of them have the power to clean a small cabin, apartment or home without occupying much space. Furthermore, these sticks are handy enough to be operated without being plugged in at the time of operation as most of them come with battery that can be charged offline.

Based on dustbin type: There are two types of vacs depending upon the kind of dustbin they have: Bagged & Bagless.

Bagged Vacuum Cleaners: The vacuum cleaners that have bags attached to them require less filter cleaning and low maintenance. The biggest advantage of such cleaners is that they don’t expose you to harmful dust while evacuating the bag. Plus, you don’t ever need to worry about the budget. So if you are concerned about your hygiene and budget, bagged cleaners are more suitable for you.

Bagless Vacuum Cleaners: Despite health benefits of bagged cleaners, bagless cleaners are still more popular than bagged ones. These vacs allow you to view the dirts being picked up so you can easily see if the suction is working and the bin is being filled with dirt or not. Besides, you save money for not having the need to buy a bag too. Having all of these qualities explained, however, be ready for regular filter cleaning and be careful from dust while cleaning up the dustbin if you are going to buy a bagless vacuum cleaner.

2. Cleaning Efficiency

Good cleaning efficiency is the quality not to ignore if you desire for the best vacuum cleaner of 2017. Since the time of their launch till this date, vacuum cleaners have only become more powerful and advanced with technology. Things like suction power, cleaning modes, dustbin capacity, hose length, types of brushes, etc should be noted to check if they really match your cleaning requirement or not. Let us discuss about them more in detail:

Suction Power: Suction Power is the strength by which vacuums can take in air. The suction power of a particular vacuum cleaner is measured in cubic feet per minute or CFM. In general, vacuum’s suction power ranges from 50-100 CFM but sometimes, they are also measured in Air Watts (AW) or Amps instead of CFM. Machines like Dyson DC65, Shark Rotator NV752, Kenmore Elite 31150 and Miele Complete C3 have suction power of 245 AW, 270 AW, 280 AW and 350 AW respectively.

Cleaning Range

Cleaning range or area is an important thing to consider before choosing a vacuum cleaner because not all vacuum cleaners can clean same amount of space efficiently. In general, the average cleaning range is 9.65 meters. 

Cleaning Modes

Different vacs have different ways of cleaning floors or carpets. For instance, some move around your room with the help of smart sensors while others require more methodical approach. However, there are several kinds that have multiple cleaning modes and they are more expensive. The major types of cleaning modes found in vacuum cleaners are as follows:

Automatic Mode: By turning on automatic mode, you allow the machine to clean up floor without further manual effort.

Spot Mode: This mode allows you to clean spots of certain sizes with great efficiency.

Edge Mode: Edge mode is for cleaning the edges of room specifically.

Schedule Mode: Schedule mode allows you to set desired schedule as per your convenience so that you can get your cleaning job done during that particular time. It is also known as reservation cleaning mode.

Types of brushes

Brushes are the primary parts or attachment tools used for cleaning.There are four main kinds of brushes found in vacuum cleaners:

Round Brush: Round brushes are simple with soft bristles appropriate for cleaning  materials like television and furnitures although more popular for general cleaning purposes. They are quite flexible and are used with hoses as well as wands.

Multi-angle Brush: These brushes can be oriented in multiple angles or direction. Multi-angle brushes have this special ability to clean the softest areas without damaging them by using its soft bristles. It’s an ideal attachment brush for cleaning wood surfaces.

Vacuum Brush: Vacuum brushes have the ability to pick up the smallest particles with the help of its long and thin bristles located at the base. They are ideal for cleaning dirts of curtains, pet hairs and dust lodged in fabrics.

Powered Brush: Just as the name explains, a powered brush possesses a motor that helps to run a small brushroll. It cannot be used as a regular brushroll because of lesser number of bristles but it is ideal for cleaning tight and narrow places.

Upholstery Brush: Upholstery brushes are famous for removing stains out of furnitures like couches and armchairs or getting rid of dirt, odor and stains from carpets while shampooing them. Their brittle and long bristles are similar to that of vacuum brushes.

e. Dustbin Capacity

Dustbin stores all the dirt, dust and debris collected from your room through vacuum cleaner and retains them until they are emptied. Dustbins often come with filter functions which doesn’t require to make your hands dirty while removing the dirt out. Depending upon the types of vacuums, they have dustbins of various capacities. On an average, vacs have dustbin capacity of 2.92 litres. Robot 899 Cyclone can store 0.7 litres of dust materials which is less than average.

f. Hose Length

Hose is an attachment to the vacuum cleaner which makes it easier to clean high and tight places. The length of hose determines how convenient your cleaning job is at various places like behind the cabinets or beneath the car seats. The standard hose length is 6 feet. For cordless vacuums such as Dyson V6, you can use an extendable hose and increase the hose length to 1.2 meters in order to reach tight places.        

3. Filtration System

Filtration is the real magic behind how these sweeping machines are able to suck in dust particles along with air and then expel only the air back while keeping the particles inside. The filtration system in vacuum cleaners contains filters which are made up cloth or soft plastic surface with tiny holes that only allow the air to expel but not the dust particles. If you are going to purchase a good vacuum cleaner, see if it possesses HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) standard of particle-capturing ability or not. And in case you are suffering from asthma or allergy, it’s recommended to look for allergy filter too.

HEPA Filter: A vacuum machine with HEPA air filter ensures to remove 99.97% of all 0.3 micron (and greater) particles which implies that it has the ability to filter particles of almost any size in effective manner in general.

Allergy Filter: A vacuum machine with allergy filter removes allergens and dirt from surfaces of your home so that you can breathe in cleaner and healthier air. It’s a healthy choice if you have asthma or allergy with dust particles.