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Vacuum cleaners - what to ask before you buy
If you're about to purchase a vacuum cleaner, but you're not sure what to ask before you buy, here are some things to consider. The questions will help you to decide which vacuum cleaner is best for your situation.
Click on a question below for more information.
- Style: Should I get a barrel or upright vacuum cleaner?
- Size: How big is the vacuum cleaner?
- Attachments: What kind of attachments are provided with the vacuum cleaner?
- Suction: What kind of suction does the vacuum cleaner have?
- Filter: What kind of filter does the vacuum cleaner have?
- Bags: Does the vacuum cleaner use dust bags?
- Noise: How noisy is the vacuum cleaner?
- Cord: What about the electric cord?
1. Should I get a barrel or upright vacuum cleaner? 
- The barrel style gives a lot of options for vacuuming, with usually a range of attachments to enable vacuum cleaning of sofas, curtains, hard floors. If you want to vacuum your car, or if you have stairs in your home, you'll appreciate the kind of attachments that come with the barrel style vacuum.
- The upright version eliminates the need to drag the barrel around behind you, however it is generally heavier and not good on stairs. If the upright has attachments for stairs etc., find out if the are supplied or are an extra cost. Find out how easy they are to attach - if it takes much more than a few seconds, you are unlikely to want to attach them.
2. How big is the vacuum cleaner?
- Can you carry the vacuum cleaner easily from room to room?
- Do you have the space to store it and all its attachments?
3. What kind of attachments are provided with the vacuum cleaner?
- The bare minimum will be a hard floor nozzle, a crevice nozzle and a soft furnishings (brush style) nozzle. These should be supplied with the barrel vacuum cleaner but may come as optional extras for the upright.
- Does it have a built-in storage place for the attachments so that they are with the vacuum cleaner all the time, or do you have to carry them around separately?
4. What kind of suction does the vacuum cleaner have?
- Check the suction strength- not just on easy things (like rice), but on difficult things like sand, pet hair etc.
- Can you vary the suction if you want to clean soft furnishings like curtains?
5. What kind of filter does the vacuum cleaner have?
If you suffer from asthma or allergies, a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter may help reduce the number of allergens but is not the total solution to this problem. HEPA filter vacuum cleaners are generally more costly, so you may need to weigh up the costs and benefits.
6. Does the vacuum cleaner use dust bags?
If it requires bags, check out how easy they are to empty, and how much they cost to replace. Cloth bags don't need replacing, but when you shake out the dust you may end up breathing it in, so find out what kind of bags are used before you buy. Bagless dust collectors are easy to empty.
7. How noisy is the vacuum cleaner?
Most vacuum cleaners are relatively noisy - check out the sound level before you buy to make sure you can tolerate it.
8. What about the electric cord?
- Cord - check that the cord is long enough so that you don't have to unplug it every time you leave a room..
- Also, look for automatic cord rewind for barrel vacuum cleaners. This is less important for the upright cleaners, as they usually have a couple of hooks for winding the cord around and this is quite convenient.
