A vacuum cleaner is a must-have item for any household, but with an ever-expanding product range available, how exactly do you know which type of machine is the right one for your home? We’re here to make the decision a little easier by explaining all the need-to-know features of vacuum cleaners – from bagged to bagless, to pet-specific models and even robot cleaners. We’ve also reviewed a whole heap of vacs ourselves to help you find out which ones are really worth buying, whatever your budget may be.
Before you start browsing vacuum cleaners, it’s important to consider the type of floor and how much coverage you’ll need. Some vacs are more powerful and specifically designed for use on carpets, some work best on hardfloor, coming with a sweeping mode, while others have a whole range of attachments to help you get to those tricky corners or up and down the stairs.
Bin capacity is another important factor – cleaning is a chore so you don’t want to be adding to time spent hoovering because you’re having to empty the bin after every clean. Robot and handheld vacuums understandably have much smaller bin capacity, while upright cleaners have the largest.
If you’re looking to buy a corded vacuum for a larger living space, make sure you take note of the cable length – you don’t want to have to unplug it every few minutes as you move to a different area of your house.
Another consideration before you buy – where are you going to put the vacuum cleaner and do you need something more compact? Vacs come in all shapes and sizes, so make sure you think about the storage you have available, as well as how heavy the model is, especially if you’ll be taking it up and down stairs.
Finally, if you’re looking to buy a cordless cleaner, take note of the charging time and battery life – these can range from 15 minutes to an hour.
Types of vacuum cleaner
Upright vacuum cleaners
These are the most popular and most powerful models – the rotating brush scoops up dirt from carpets and tend to be especially good at picking up pet hair. These machines are usually bulkier and heavier than other vacs, but their power means they are the best choice for a deep-clean. You can get bagged, bagless, corded and cordless versions, and most come with extendable wands to help you clean hard-to-reach areas. Choose an upright vacuum cleaner if you have a large house or a big, open plan flat.
Canister vacuum cleaners
These are much lighter than upright vacuum cleaners, consisting of a main tank with a long hose. With a motorised brush roll head, these versatile cleaners come with a wide range of different attachments, making them suitable for use on carpets, curtains, sofas and stairs, and they can easily clean tight corners. Make sure you consider the fact that you’ll need more storage space for a canister vacuum, and as the main tank follows you as you clean. They can get slightly annoying, bumping into furniture along the way.
Stick vacuum cleaners
Spilt something in the kitchen and want to clean it quickly? This is the perfect job for a stick vacuum. They’re slim and lightweight, are often cordless and usually have a removable handheld vacuum attachment for those tighter corners and smaller areas that need a quick clean. Keep in mind that these models tend to be less powerful, with a battery life of up to an hour depending on the model. These are best suited to smaller, carpet-free flats.
Handheld vacuum cleaners
These lightweight, portable, compact vacuum cleaners are designed to grab and go. Perfect for sucking up small messes at the dinner table, on the sofa, or cleaning your car interior, they are a more powerful version of the humble dustpan and brush. A handheld cleaner is definitely a useful addition to your cleaning cupboard, but you’ll still need a full sized vacuum for cleaning the floor. For extra convenience, we would recommend choosing a cordless model.
Pet vacuum cleaners
Animal hair seems to get everywhere, so if you have a pet you’ll need to look at a vacuum cleaner with much stronger suction than a regular model to make sure your home gets properly cleaned, as well as a good filter and tangle-free brush rolls to stop all that pesky hair getting trapped around the brush. If someone in your household suffers from allergies, make sure you choose a vacuum with HEPA filtration, to minimise the effect of pet hair and dust. We would also recommend choosing a model with cleaning attachments, so if your dog’s favourite hang out place is the sofa, you can easily get it clean again.
Bagged or bagless vacuum cleaners?
If you choose a bagged machine, this simply means the vacuum will suck all the dust and dirt into a bag, which you will then need to remove and dispose of.
If you choose a bagless model, the debris will go into a container, which you will then remove and empty. Both options are easy to do, however if you have allergies or asthma, we recommend a bagged machine, as this will minimise the amount of dust that you are exposed to.
The downside to a bagged vacuum cleaner though, is the on-going cost of buying replacement bags as you use and dispose of them. We’ve tested and reviewed a variety of bagless vacuum cleaners, so take a look to make sure you get one you can rely on.
Corded or cordless vacuum cleaners?
The main difference here is that cordless models run on battery, meaning your cleaning time will be anywhere between 15 minutes and one hour, depending on the machine you buy. The main benefit to cordless vacuums is that they tend to be much lighter than corded models. The lack of cord also makes them super easy to navigate around the home without getting caught on furniture, or needing to unplug and plug back in when you move into a different room. However, corded vacs do tend to be more powerful, meaning they’re better at picking up dust. Corded vacs also have a much larger dust capacity, so you won’t have to spend so much time emptying the machine. We’ve tested out a range of cordless vacuums for ourselves though, to find out which ones will do the best job at cleaning, leaving your home looking spick and span.
What are robot vacuum cleaners?
Robot vacuum cleaners hold an ever-increasing share of the vacuum cleaner market. These intelligent machines can map your home layout using built-in cameras and smart sensor technology, so they know exactly where to clean, choosing the correct level of power depending on the floor surface. Invest in one of these machines and you can schedule when and where the robot should clean, usually via an app. The best thing about a robot vacuum cleaner is that they require minimal effort – it knows when it needs to return to its base to be charged, it can be set to clean while you’re at work each day, or if you’re in the house, most newer models even come with voice control.
Many brands have now created dual-use cleaners, which can vacuum as well as mop, which is particularly handy if you’re short on storage space. Although they are an easy, hands-free way of cleaning, they can’t navigate stairs or get into every little dusty corner of your home, which means you will still need a standard vacuum cleaner. These machines are pretty pricey too, with models ranging from £150-£1500. With big brands like Dyson and Miele launching robot vacuums, and lesser known brands such as Eufy and Neato, we tested robot vacuum cleaners to find out exactly which ones are worth the splurge.
EU vacuum cleaners ruling explained
In 2017, the European Union ruled that all new vacuum cleaners made or imported by manufacturers into the EU must have a visible energy rating label, have less than 900W of power and must not emit more than 80 decibels. This was all part of the EU’s drive to help tackle climate change.
However, Dyson recently won a court ruling over this energy rating label, alleging that cleaners with an A-rated efficiency label could soon drop to a G grade once it is used. The European Commission has not appealed this decision, which means that the energy label is no longer applicable – vacuum cleaner manufacturers do not have to display energy labels.
EU eco-design rules are still in place, meaning that the motor size of vacuum cleaners is restricted to 900W. We would always recommend that you read reviews on your chosen model before you buy, as the performance suggested by manufacturers (which has been tested and decided in a lab) doesn’t always match a vacuum cleaner’s performance in a real-world situation.
Vacuum cleaner reviews
Now you’ve worked out exactly what type of vacuum cleaner you need, take a look at our reviews to find one you can trust to get the cleaning done quickly. To help get you started, here is a selection of our most popular reviews.