If you don’t know anything about a vacuum cleaner and need to buy one then there is no need to worry about anything because after reading this beginner’s guide for buying the vacuum cleaner you will be equipped with all the necessary knowledge required to buy the vacuum cleaner, which will meet your daily needs. So, read the guide to the end.

What is a vacuum cleaner and how it works?

Most people do not know about the vacuum cleaner and the purpose for which it is used. A vacuum cleaner is a machine which by the help of suction removes the dirt, dust, or any debris you need to remove from your home, office, car or from any place.

A vacuum cleaner basically has a motor and a suction pump along with it a compartment in which all the waste product is calculated. With the help of a suction cylinder, it sucks the air and removes the waste particles by putting it into the compartment specially designated for the collection of waste product.

After this the air is expelled back into the surrounding environment. In short, it is a mechanized version of a broom to better facilitate the people in the cleaning process.

Types of vacuum cleaner:

Under this heading, we will discuss all the different types of vacuum cleaner available in the market and also all the pros and cons of these types.

Upright Vacuum Cleaner:

This is the most widely used type of vacuum cleaner in the world, especially in the USA. The upright vacuum cleaner is best to use on carpets instead of bare floors. This type of vacuum cleaner can easily remove the hard entangled hairs of pets on the carpet with ease. It has a big size due to the big suction cylinder as well as a full-fledged motor fitted in it.

So, it is difficult to maneuver due to its size, and most people having less house space don’t know where to place it. But due to bulky size, it can store more waste in it than other types of the vacuum cleaner.

Mostly it comes with roller brush which will not work properly on the bare floor and instead of cleaning scatters the dust or dirt. But now in advanced models these types come with different roller brush which will automatically shift the roller speed as well as roller height according to the floor type.

Due to its upright position, you don’t need to bend in order to clean the floor. It comes with different attachment tools in order to better clean the different floor types.

Features of Upright Vacuum Cleaner:

Powerful suction to clean dirt and dust
Different height adjustment for better cleaning different floor types
Comes with a variety of tools for cleaning upholstery, crevice, etc
Modern uprights come with a brush on and off system to clean bare floor efficiently
Cleans smoothly under the furniture

Pros of Upright Vacuum Cleaner:

Deep cleaning can be done easily
Cleans under the furniture with ease without bending down
Costs less than canister type vacuum cleaner
Comes with variable suction for cleaning different floor types

Cons of Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Quite difficult to move the whole machine from one place to another
Most of the models cannot do cleaning on floor types other than carpet
A bit loud
Weight hinders the long cleaning cycle because people feel tired to use it

Canister Vacuum Cleaner:

The canister vacuum cleaner is useful for cleaning bare floors, tiles, wooden flooring and sometimes for carpet operation also. This type of vacuum cleaner is widely used in Britain. It is basically divided into two pieces. One contains the canister, suction cylinder, motor, and bin, and the second part contains the pipe, wand and cleaning head for better operation of cleaning.

The canister part mostly sits on the wheelbase system which helps in the better mobility of the vacuum cleaner and can easily be picked up in one hand due to less weight and the separate wand system complements the mobility of the machine.

It can easily clean the bare floor, drapes, upholstery, furniture and car seats. With the separate wand system, a person can easily clean the tight corners of the house as well as under the furniture. It comes with different attachments that can help the person to clean drapes, car seats, or sometimes even the pet hairs can be removed.

Features of Canister Vacuum Cleaner:

Compact system for cleaning
Comes with a variety of attachment for different purposes
Can easily clean upholstery, drapes, furniture, etc
Comes in two pieces which is connected by the vacuum pipe and makes it more moveable

Pros of Canister Vacuum cleaner

Can do multitasking by cleaning all floor types
Can clean non-accessible place quite easily
Stair cleaning can be done
Different attachments complement the whole cleaning process

Cons of Canister Vacuum cleaner

Becomes more bulky than Upright when both canister and wand are picked for cleaning
Less powerful than Upright due to less suction power
Becomes less maneuverable owing to the whole cord length and carrying the canister around during cleaning

Stick Vacuum cleaner:

The stick vacuum cleaner is also called a multipurpose vacuum cleaner. this vacuum cleaner is agile and can be used easily on all surface types.this vacuum cleaner is lightweight than the Canister and Upright type vacuum cleaner, you can move this machine quite easily. Most of the models come in a cordless form which increases the maneuverability of the Stick Vacuum even more.

They have a handle like Upright structure but with less weight. They are the breed of the 21st century needs. But with every pros, there are cons of it also. The major flaw in this product is its power system. Which is mostly based on the charging system and gives a limited time for cleaning due to battery life.

Features of Stick Vacuum Cleaner:

Can work on any floor type
Easy to carry
Less weight
More maneuverability due to cordless operation
Attachment compliments the whole cleaning operation
Smooth transition from carpet to bare floor or vice versa
Can work fine on stairs, etc

Pros of Stick Vacuum Cleaner:

Lightweight
Maneuverability is fine due to no cord attached to it
Works best on floor, carpet, furniture as well as on car seats
Structure of uprightness may help the person who is prone to back injury
Comes with multiple tools to facilitate better cleaning

Cons of Stick Vacuum Cleaner:

Battery life is not sufficient for proper cleaning cycle
Cannot be able to clean entangled hair on the carpet efficiently
Not having a separate wand causes difficulty to clean the tight corners and crevice
Car cleaning operation cannot be done properly on this

Handheld Vacuum Cleaner:

If you want to clean only the drapes, upholstery, crevice as well as furniture cover along with the car seats then a handheld vacuum cleaner will be the best choice for you. It is a lightweight vacuum cleaner and you can carry it with you anywhere without any hassle.

These come in the cord or cordless type and it depends upon you what type of handheld vacuum you want. With the help of some attachments with it, the vacuum can easily become your favorite if you want it for small cleaning operations.

If you take the cordless handheld as your final choice then there are some points which you should consider first. This type of vacuum can easily run out of battery because of 15 minutes of average operation time and it requires up to 4 hours of charging depending upon the battery type.

It can be used as your car cleaner, or your kitchen counter cleaner. It can be categorized as best cleaner for small cleaning operation and is not suitable for deep cleaning.

Features of Handheld Vacuum Cleaner:

Small and compact
Easy to carry
Have enough power to deal with a small operation
With the right attachments it can improve the cleaning process
Best car cleaner in the vacuum cleaner category

Pros of Handheld Vacuum Cleaner:

Can do the work in mere seconds
Car and kitchen counter can be cleaned efficiently
With the right tool can clean hairs of pets quite easily
Can clean the non-accessible location easily
The most maneuverable cleaner in the market

Cons of Handheld Vacuum Cleaner:

Cannot do a deep cleaning
Small battery size
Cleaning time is restricted
Small bin capacity
More vulnerable to damage due to falling

Robotic Vacuum Cleaner:

The 21st century brings with it the technology of AI. Which has changed the world so much that it will be difficult to imagine modern technology without the AI present in it. The same goes for the vacuum cleaner, in which the robotic vacuum cleaner is on the top of the list of technology enthusiasts.

They love this little piece of device which does all the cleaning by itself without any human interference even in describing the parameters. This type of cleaner comes with a charging dock and a waste disposal bin, which collects the waste in it and you just need to dispose of it without any hassle.

The robot cleaner works on the basis of sensors as well as by the help of an app, which can be easily installed on mobile devices. If you want the robot cleaner to do the cleaning in the evening then it automatically wakes itself up from the charging dock, and captures all the dust in itself with the help of a rotating roller brush at the front of its mouth opening.

It has sensors in it that guide it towards the waste by itself. So, it is not wrong to say that this type of cleaner is cutting-edge technology in the field of the vacuum cleaner. But it works fine for smaller operation just like handheld cleaner, and cannot do deep cleaning on all floor types.

Features of Robotic Vacuum Cleaner:

Automatically cleans the area
The sensor detects the waste
Can work on the scheduled time
Soundless operation
Charges itself by moving towards the charging dock through its built-in guidance system

Pros of Robotic Vacuum Cleaner:

The person does not need to clean the surface of floor by themselves as robot does it by itself
Automatic guidance system helps the robot to navigate back-to-charging dock
Can be controlled by a mobile app
Scheduled timing for cleaning helps the person to get his or her house cleaned even if that person is not present in the house
AI system automatically detects dirt and dust particles

Cons of Robotic Vacuum Cleaner:

Has a small bin
Cannot do a deep cleaning
Only works on the floor or tile and has bad operation on carpet
Cannot clean stairs
No function available to clean the drapes, upholstery, etc

Steam/Carpet Vacuum Cleaner:

These are a special type of vacuum cleaner, which requires for the cleaning of hard solid dust entangled in the fibers of carpet or stains on the hard floor. This type of cleaner has a different class and will be suitable to buy if your lifestyle demands it.

Let us first talk about the steam vacuum cleaner. It basically works like a hot mop. In this cleaner you get a water compartment which contains hot water and move the hot water up to the moping head, which can easily remove the hard stains on the floor, and can easily clean any hard floor type.

The other steam type carpet vacuum cleaner also works on the same principle but on carpets. It can remove dirt on the carpet with ease.

Features of Steam/Carpet Vacuum Cleaner:

Used for removing dust or dirt that cannot be removed by a simple vacuum cleaner
Gives top performance in their line of work
Can easily be used and need no technical worker to operate it
Has good maneuverability
Use steam water for cleaning purpose which also removes the bacteria, etc

Pros of Steam/Carpet Vacuum Cleaner:

Diminishes the need for specialized cleaner companies due to easy operation
Can also disinfect the surface
Remove every piece of dirt or stain
Works tremendously on the prescribed working space

Cons of Steam/Carpet Vacuum Cleaner:

Bulky and not easy to move
Contains steam water and requires technical skill to operate
Costly machine
Requires heavy maintenance

The aforementioned topic is related to the types of vacuum cleaner, which only gives an overview of the vacuum cleaner but there are a number of factors to consider before selecting any particular type of vacuum cleaner.

Things you should consider apart from vacuum cleaner types

Floor types and vacuum cleaner for specific floor types:

There are a number of places on which we need cleaning and there is no particular vacuum cleaner that can easily work fine on all floor types. We need to know about the floor types first for finding the best vacuum cleaner, which you can buy for your house.

Carpets:

Most of the people in the western world use carpets in their houses as well as in their office space. Carpets are prone to capture dust and dirt particles more than the simple floor, and pet hairs are easily entangled on the carpet.

Marble/tiles/wooden floor:

These floor types are only prone to dust and dirt particles, or to stains. And by cleaning or mopping the floor all the dust and dirt along with hairs of pets can be easily removed.

Vacuum Cleaner for Carpets:

On the carpet, the Upright vacuum cleaner type works tremendously, and there is no need to buy any other type for vacuuming the carpet. These Upright vacuum cleaner can easily remove the entangled dust, dirt or hair of pet.

The Canister vacuum cleaner also works on the carpet but cannot do deep cleaning.

The Stick vacuum cleaner works just fine on the carpet and can do deep cleaning depending upon the suction power it has, but if you like to buy the vacuum cleaner only for the purpose of cleaning the carpet then go for the Upright vacuum cleaner without any doubt.

Vacuum Cleaner for marble/tile/wooden floor:

Stick and the Canister vacuum cleaner type is best suited for the purpose on these floor cleaning and can do efficient work.

While on the other hand new advance Upright Vacuum cleaner now comes with advanced floor sensing technology and can give tough competition to others on these types of floors.

Suction system:

Before buying any vacuum cleaner, please do research about the type of suction system the cleaner uses. And also the power in that suction system. Most of the cleaners like the robotic, handheld, and stick vacuum cleaner come with a small suction system.

Which could not generate enough suction to clean the dust, dirt, and other waste particles and could not be used for the process of deep cleaning.

Nowadays, with the help of latest technology new advanced variable suction system is introduced in which the sensor checks the floor type and changes the suction pressure accordingly for better results.

For allergy sensitive people HEAP filtration:

In every vacuum cleaner, there is an air filter present. The main function of which is to clean or purify the sucked air before expelling it to the surrounding atmosphere. In older models as well as in robotic, handheld or even in older canister model there is only simple air filter is present in which the dust and bigger dirt particles are removed from the air.

But for those people who are sensitive and can easily get the dust allergy new HEAP filtration is introduced in the vacuum cleaner which can filter the air up to 0.3 microns and even the smallest dust particles, which are not visible through naked eye cannot be expelled back in to the surrounding environment. For allergy, sensitive person HEAP Filter Vacuum Cleaner is the best choice.

Vacuum cleaners for pet lovers:

Most pet lovers are unable to remove the hairs of their pets from different floor type and complain about this to the companies. Companies like Hoover come with Claw seal series which guarantees the full removal of pet hairs from any floor type. If you are a pet lover please buy the vacuum cleaner with pet seal.

The maneuverability of Vacuum Cleaner:

The most important point of any vacuum cleaner is the maneuverability it provides to the customer. If the vacuum cleaner is not maneuverable then the customer could not clean every corner of their house.

For this purpose, handheld, canister, and stick-type vacuum cleaner is the best choice because they are the most maneuverable vacuum cleaner of all the types.

Wheel Steering is a new feature introduced in modern Upright as well as on the Stick vacuum cleaner in order to increase the movement of the vacuum cleaner. Please do consider it while buying any vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner that comes with a bagged bin:

The waste that the vacuum cleaner sucked during vacuuming is stored in the bin, which can be bagged or bagless. There are pros as well as cons of both.

Pros of Bagged bin:

It has a large storage capacity
The cleaning process cannot be disturbed due to bag space
The bag can hold the dust more securely
The allergens cannot escape the bag with ease

Cons of Bagged bin:

You need to change the non-useable bin every time
Non-useable bags are costly to maintain
Useable bags require thorough cleaning
Emptying the useable bin can cause allergy to sensitive person

A vacuum cleaner with Bagless bin:

In a bagless vacuum cleaner, all the waste is collected in the container bin, which can be emptied in the waste bin quite easily.

Pros of Bagless Vacuum Cleaner:

Easy to maintain as compared to a non-reusable bagged vacuum cleaner
Not expensive as compared to non-reusable bagged vacuum cleaner
Can be best suited for the sensitive person
Waste is disposed of with one button

Cons of Bagless Vacuum Cleaner:

Less storage space than the bagged vacuum cleaner
Sensitive bin and needs care to handle after every use
The filter of the bin needs thorough washing every time

Vacuum Cleaner that comes with Cord:

There are two ways to give power to vacuum cleaner. One is through cord. And second is through the battery system. Both have their pros as well as their cons.

Pros of Corded Vacuum Cleaner:

No interruption during the cleaning process
No fluctuation in suction during cleaning process
With good cord length maneuverability issue is resolved

Cons of Corded Vacuum Cleaner:

The operation of cleaning will be interrupted in those areas where electricity shortfall occurs

Cord length will hinder the maneuverability if the length of the cord is short

Cordless Vacuum Cleaner:

Due to the high demand for the cordless vacuum cleaner, the technology of battery is introduced in the vacuum cleaning business. This cordless operation has many benefits as well as backdrops.

Pros of Cordless Vacuum Cleaner:

Can increase the maneuverability manifold
People are not dependent on cord length for their cleaning operation
In electricity shortfall areas your cleaning process will not be disturbed

Cons of Cordless Vacuum Cleaner:

Battery life is limited
Cleaning operation like suction can be disturbed on low battery mode
Some models need to change the battery after a specific time which increases the expense

Checking the AMP of the Vacuum Cleaner:

If you are buying the vacuum cleaner make sure that you check the WATTS as well as AMP of the machine because this tells you about the whole power of the machine, which tells about the suction power of the machine.

Weight of the Vacuum cleaner:

Before buying any vacuum cleaner do research about the weight of it. You don’t need to buy a heavy stick vacuum cleaner or canister vacuum cleaner because you have to carry it for cleaning purposes and if you are a tidy person then you will face the problem in carrying out the Cleaner for your cleaning operation.

Role of noise and design in Vacuum Cleaner:

If you are looking for a vacuum cleaner with all the features, which we have discussed above then consider the noise level also as you don’t need to buy a noisy vacuum cleaner having same performance as compared to a less noisy one. Please also prefer the ergonomically designed Vacuum cleaner, because shape also matters.

Warranty/price/attachment of the Vacuum Cleaner:

If you are buying a budget vacuum cleaner do check the attachments you get with it, along with the warranty because you don’t want to buy any vacuum cleaner which gets damaged within a month and doesn’t have any warranty.

Final Verdict:

All vacuum cleaners have their pros as well as cons and are for specific purposes. If any vacuum cleaner fulfills your desired purpose or aligned with your lifestyle then go for it otherwise consider to buy a vacuum cleaner that has the following features:

Variable suction
Floor sense technology
Controlled by mobile app
Having different tools that complement the whole cleaning process
Good maneuverability
Works fine on every floor type
Comes with warranty
Having Allergen Sealed Technology
Suitable for pets
Bagless bin system

All the aforementioned functions can be found in an All-rounder vacuum cleaner, which in my view can be no other than the modern advanced Upright Vacuum Cleaner.

I hope so this guide helps you in making a better decision for buying the vacuum cleaner.