Upright Vacuums

If you're in the market for a new vacuum and the majority of your home is carpeted, your best bet is with an upright vacuum .   Many people find that they are easier to use than canister vacuums  and with just one device to push and pull around the house, upright vacuums tend to be a little less frustrating to use than their counterparts.

Most people tend to prefer upright vacuums over canister vacuums because of their lower price and easy manuverability.  You have alot of options when it comes to choosing an upright vacuum.  You can go for the lower end option that may cost less than $100 or choose the fancy and feature full models that can cost over $500. If you have a hard time pushing or pulling a heavy vacuum, look into the different light-weight models available. 

Bag or Bagless?

• Bagging Vacuums
• Pros
• Cleanup is easy; just remove the bag and put a new one in.
• Good for people with allergies who might be sensitive to vacuum dust.
• Cons
• You have to keep buying bags; all the money and extra waste start to add up.
• Unless you have a "bag full" light, it can be hard to tell when the bag is full (except that the vacuum won't work as well).
• Bagless Vacuums
• Pros
• Easy to see when it's full -- usually have a clear canister.
• Less waste, and no need to keep buying bags.
• Cons
• Can be messy to empty. Look for one that empties from the bottom to make it a little easier.
• Dust released during emptying could be bad for people with serious allergies.

Important Features

Look for the following in any vacuum:

• The Filter
• HEPA is the way to go if you have bad allergies.
• Unless your allergies are severe, you'll probably be ok with most vacuums; filter technology has improved significantly in the past few years.
• Hard Floor Attachments
• If you plan to use your upright on hard floors, make sure it has a revolving brushroll with an on/off switch.
• Long Cords and Hoses
• The longer the better for both of these.
• Longer cords mean fewer times that you'll have to change outlets to reach another part of the room.
• Longer hoses will make it easier to clean hard-to-reach places, like the tops of cabinets and under furniture.
• ConsumerSearch recommends cords at least thirty feet long and hoses at least seven feet long.

Other Features

• Tools and Attachments
• If you have many different surfaces to clean, such as furniture, high places, and drapes, you might want a vacuum with a number of special attachments.
• Standards include crevice and upholstery tools as well as a telescoping tube.
• Location of Hose
• Good Housekeeping suggests looking for a vacuum with the hose attached as low on the body as possible. This will help prevent the vacuum tipping over when you use an attachment.
• Full Bag Indicator
• Takes the guesswork out of changing the bag, if you opt for a bagging model.
• Self Propulsion
• Self-propelled models make pushing and pulling less difficult.
• On the other hand, self-propelled vacuums also tend to be heavier.
• Clean/Dirty Indicator
• This indicates whether the vacuum is still sucking up any dirt, not whether the carpet itself is still dirty or not.
• It sounds good, but it's not really as useful as it claims to be. Don't get suckered into getting a vacuum just because of this feature.
• Manual Pile Height Adjustment
• Sometimes you'll want to set this yourself for best results while cleaning.

Vacuums of the Future

The future is here, in the form of robotic vacuums.  But the Roomba and its competitors will have some competition soon -- a hover-vac. (That's right, hover, not Hoover.)

Roomba

Roomba  is a series of robot vacuums from iRobot that cleans your floors while you do whatever else you want to do. The models on the market mainly differ by features and included extras. Pros Its slim design can get under furniture without any trouble. Lets you do something else while your carpets get vacuumed. Many reviewers on Amazon are happy with their Roombas. 180 reviewers gave the basic Roomba Red an average of four stars. It's a robot. Don't you want a robot? Cons Generally good for light cleaning, but won't deep clean your carpets. In addition, it has some trouble with walls and corners. You'll want to keep your trusty upright or canister vac around somewhere. Smallish capacity means more frequent emptyings. Needs to recharge after three medium-sized rooms, and takes 45 minutes to do one room. Electrolux also makes a robot vacuum, the Trilobite . Unfortunately, according to Good Housekeeping the Trilobite was too bulky to fit under their sofa and did only a mediocre cleaning job.

Airider

The Airider  is a lightweight, bagless, hovering vacuum. It is more like a canister vacuum than an upright, but it's included here as well as an alternative. If you've ever said to yourself, "Darn, this canister vacuum is heavy. I wish it wasn't such a drag to move it!" or perhaps "If only more of my household appliances combined futuristic hover technology with cleaning power," this might be the vacuum for you.  The canister of the vacuum floats 1/8 above the floor and can easily be moved with a slight tug in the direction you desire.  The Airider costs about $400.

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