Vacuum Cleaners

Choosing the right vacuum cleaner for your needs can be very difficult. Do I need a canister vacuum, stick broom or hand held, and how much power should it have? Does the engine power (in watts) tell me all about the power of the vacuum cleaners or is there more to it?

Suction power.
For most people the most important parameter. Vacuum cleaners have to be rated in terms of two types of power - at least one, and that's not the engine power! Often when you see vacuum cleaner ads you will learn about the engine power (in watts) and people will tend to relate that to the actual sucking power of the vacuum cleaner.
The engine will convert the engine power to suction power and there actually isn't a direct relation between those two terms. This means that one vacuum cleaner can have a high engine power but actually lower suction power than vacuum cleaners with lover engine power.
Nilfisk and Miele vacuum cleaners for instance are known to have high suction power compared to the "overall power" of the vacuum. You can still use the overall power figure as a guide line to how the vacuum cleaner performs, but don't expect it to be an absolute parameter for sucking ability.

Floor types.
In terms of what types of floor the vacuum cleaner is going to be used for, the suction power is of varying relevance. If only used on flat floors like wood, linoleum, tiles etc. suction power isn't that important. When it comes to carpets it is important both to yourself and your carpet to have good suction in your vacuum cleaner. When it comes to carpets it is important to get rid of the dust buried in the fibers of the carpet otherwise the carpet will simply get worn faster if not vacuumed properly. It is also important to your health to get rid of dust mites in the air.

Blow-out-air filter.
Although said before that suction power is important to the overall quality of your vacuum cleaner the filter system will be at least of some importance to some and even more important to others. The vacuum cleaner of course will have to eject the air it sucks in and this is done through a dust filter.
This will filter various particles and depending on the quality of the filter it will filter out larger and smaller sizes of particles. But what is the level of filetering needed? What is too much and what is too little? To allergics it can't get too much and brands such as Rainbow, which has a water filtration process that holds in even the smallest particles, will be a good choice.
Most manufacturerers today are aware of the dust-blow-out problem so most vacuum cleaners are equipped with a good filtration system. However if you have someone in your family that have special needs it will probably be a good idea to look for a vacuum cleaner with a better than average filter. Dust mites and other particles can constitute a big problem in allergic homes. Miele vacuum cleaners has recently shown good results in a independent investigation about dust in blow-out-air.
Also remember to clean your filter regularly to provide optimal effeciency.

Does it fit your broom closet.
One last thing to consider. Does it fit your closet or will you end up stashing it away in some annoying place, behind your door for example? Some vacuum cleaners have hose and broom systems that cannot come apart. This could be a problem for some people hoping to take it apart and putting it away in a small closet. Might seem like a less important point but it might well prove bothersome if you don't have a proper place to store your vacuum cleaner.

A final word
All this said, nothing beats your own experience so go do some browsing and see what's on the market. The Internet is a great resource for vacuum cleaner information as you can gather all the product information you need. Decide what parameters are most important to you and then it's always good to do some comparing of different online stores to see what will suit you the best. Good luck!

Below we have listed a few vendors that for most purposes will cover the spectra.

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