What To Look For In A Vacuum Cleaner
Oct 23 '00 (Updated Feb 27 '01)
The Bottom Line Write everything down before you go to look so you can ask questions. And ALWAYS get a demo of the one you are thinking of purchasing.
There are few things that you may want to look at before you buy your next vacuum cleaner. These are things that I did not think to until today when mine got all clogged up. I will also list some things that I did look for when I purchased my vacuum cleaner.
Suction: How well does the vacuum cleaner pick up hair and other small articles off the carpet and floor? Make the sales person show you. If you are going to go to the store to specifically look for a vacuum cleaner, you can take some things with you to throw down on the floor. Of course you will risk looking kind of strange, but the salesman should not care if the vacuum truly is as good as he sez it is. I don't know that I would load my purse up with cat hair, but it might not be a bad idea.
Whatever you have a problem with getting off your carpet and floors is what should concern you when you go to look for a vacuum cleaner to purchase. Dust, Lint, Rice, Sand, Ashes. If it is a good vacuum cleaner the ashes will stay in the vacuum cleaner and not fly out of the bag and into the air. I don't think many vacuum cleaners will stand this test. I know that a Rainbow will. I have one of those and they have water in them to hold everything in. They are perfect for people that have allergies.
Another important thing to look for and one that I hand my head in shame now, because I didn't, is how easy is this going to be to get this unplugged if something gets in the hose and plugs it. Today I spent quite a bit of time trying to unplug the hose on mine. The hose will not come completely off of it. It is a flexible hose and very long. A broomstick will not fit in it in either end because of the rubber do hickey on it. I took a coat hanger and unbent it and pushed it in as far as I could. Using it like you would, a plumber would a snake in a drain. That did not work. Finally I went for the other end and took some scissors and opened them up and grabbed out the stuff that was plugging it up.
If when I was looking at the vacuum I had thought to check and see how hard it would be, I probably would have not purchased this. If the scissors had not worked, I would have had to take it to a dealer. The hose cannot come completely off of this one. Check and see how easy it is to change the bag in the vacuum cleaner. Ask the sales person to show you how and let you change one yourself. Then you can truly see with hands on how easy it really is or isn't . . .
Take the vacuum and push it around the floor, see how easy it is to maneuver and if it is light enough for you. Especially if you have back trouble. You are not going to want to get one that is heavy and you are going to have to lug around from room to room. If you have stairs that you have to go up , you are going to want to take into consideration whether or not you want a cannister or upright type of vacumn cleaner. When you have a one level home this is not as much as an issue. The lighter the vacuum the better.
Attachments, Make the sales person show you how to put all the attachments on and what purpose they all are there for. Most people don't use most of the attachments that come with the vacuum cleaners. The easier they are to attach and un-attach the better.The cord, does it have a long enough cord so you are not going to have to stop what you are doing to unplug it and plug it into another attachment. This can be a real nuisance. Even in a smaller home. I am lucky that mine has a real long cord and I only have to unplug it twice to do my whole house.
Can you do linoleum with it as well as the carpets? If you like to vacuum the kitchen floors, you will want to get one that you can use on linoleum or vinyl as well as the carpet.
A really important feature that mine does not have and I believe would have saved me a lot of trouble today when it was plugged. Does it have a reverse blow on it? Where you can stick the end of the hose in and blow instead of suck. This is important when it becomes plugged and it is a feature that I really miss.
How wide is the head of the vacuum for getting into the corners and under the couches and beds? If it is too wide and high you are not going to be able to do that. You will have to pull the furniture all the way out to clean these areas.
When you are looking at vacuums, the most expensive is not necessarily the best. Sometimes they have terrific sales on vacuum cleaners. You should always comparison shop when you are shopping for an item that you want to last for a few years.
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