You may think that any old vacuum cleaner is enough for cleaning your floors but a good vacuum cleaner will make this arduous task much easier and quicker, and leave you with a much cleaner floor.  It can be difficult choosing the right vacuum for you home so we’ve put together this guide to help you make the right choice.  Read on for what you need to know.

Types of Vacuum Cleaners

There are several different types of vacuum cleaner that you can choose from.  These include:

• Upright vacuums – these are best for larger floors or deep pile carpet as they are very efficient but they can be heavy to operate and can be quite noisy.
• Canister vacuums – these are the standard vacuums that you pull around behind you. They are lighter and quieter than upright vacuums but you do have to keep moving the canister behind you as you vacuum.  They come with a range of accessories.
• Handheld vacuums – often called dust busters, these vacuums are designed for very small areas, where you only need to pick up a little bit of dirt.
• Ducted vacuums – a ducted vacuum has a central unit with outlets available in certain rooms of the home. You plug the hose into these outlets when you want to vacuum. They are the most expensive type of vacuum to install but they are the most powerful.
  

Vacuum Cleaners and Suction

One factor that you need to look at when choosing a vacuum is the amount of suction that it has.  If you are vacuuming mainly hard surfaces, you will need little in the way of suction in order to clean your floors. If you have large areas of carpet, however, you will need plenty of suction so that you can suck up the dirt that gets trapped deep within it.  Don’t necessarily assume that the more powerful the motor the more suction the vacuum will have but this is not necessarily true.  You are better off looking at the airflow capacity of the vacuum – the more airflow it has, the more powerful the suction will be.

Vacuum Cleaners and Filtration

Vacuum cleaners can be either bagged or bagless, and while both of these filter the air coming through the vacuum very effectively they are not the be all and end all in terms of filtration.  A standard vacuum will only filter particles that are between 30 and 50 microns in size, allowing finer particles to escape the vacuum and settle back onto the floors.  If you have allergies or just want the cleanest air possible, you will need to buy a vacuum with a HEPA filter, which is capable of filtering out particles that are as small as 0.3 microns in size.

What to Look for In Your New Vacuum Cleaner

When you are choosing a new vacuum, you obviously want one that meets your needs and makes cleaning your floors as easy as possible.   This means choosing a vacuum that has the features that you need.  Firstly, think about the type of home that you have. If you have many large open floors to clean, an upright vacuum may be better but if you have lots of nooks and crannies, smaller floors, or stairs, a canister may be the better option.

You will also want to look at the features that come with the vacuum cleaner itself. Common features that you may find yourself using including telescopic wands, variable suction, adjustable heads, different cleaning brushes, and the ability to store your accessories within the vacuum itself.