While I would love to magically turn into a person who loves to clean, it’s not likely to happen. When at home, I’d rather be relaxing, cooking or spending time with family, not sweeping or scrubbing. Thankfully, having the right tools can make cleaning tasks quicker and easier. When it comes to vacuums, how do you know which one to choose, or if the extra expense is worth it? If you’re in the market for a new vacuum, or need something to help get your (dirty) job done faster, consider this advice from Julie Pennell for Today.com.
1. Consider the kind of flooring you have. While this may seem obvious, McCabe points out that some people — including him before he started the research — might not put too much weight on this factor, but it’s really important. “If you have bare floors, you don’t need an expensive high-end vacuum,” he said. “But if you have shag carpets, you’re going to have to think about a different approach.” In their research, McCabe and his team found that vacuums featuring cleaning heads with a manual height adjustment work best for high-pile carpets.
2. Consider the size of your house. If you live in a smaller home, cordless vacuum cleaners are convenient, “But it really boils down to the quality of the battery,” he noted. “Look at the voltage — 18-20 is a good baseline. That gives you enough power to get chunks off the floor. For battery life, I’d recommend getting something would would last 11-12 minutes for smaller apartments. If you have two floors with carpet, you’ll probably want a plug-in because they’re better cleaners for the most part, and you don’t have to worry about battery life.”
3. Consider what you’ll be cleaning up. “There’s nothing inherently special about vacuuming up pet hair,” he said, “but if you have carpet you’ll definitely need a vacuum with a brush roller. And if you have lots of hairy pets, a canister is gonna fill up quickly, so a bagless one would make more sense.”
Read the full article and get recommendations: Tips for Buying the Best Vacuum Cleaner – TODAY.com
