What To Look For In The Best Vacuum Cleaner?

Energy efficiency and lower utility bills are some of the biggest concerns for modern households. It’s important to make every item in your house as efficient as possible. You may have considered energy efficient fridge and washing machines, but if you haven’t thought about an energy efficient vacuum cleaner, you’re missing some various savings.

Vacuum Cleaners, the dirt suckers at home could be a costly appliance if it were used more often, usually just an hour a week but you still want to find a good vacuum that can actually stand up to the mess all over without spending much.

There’s a lot of vacuum cleaners on the market, upright, handheld, bagged? cordless? The possibilities seem endless. Discover how can vacuum cleaner contribute to your home’s energy usage and how it can make a big difference on your bill. Consider these factors:

Type of Vacuum Cleaners

Vacuum Cleaners comes in different styles that require a different amount of power, some are more energy-efficient than others.

A. Barrel Vacuum Cleaner

• Costs between 3.83c and 11.48c for every 10 minutes (depends on electricity rate & vacuum power)

B. Upright Vacuum Cleaner

• Single-segment stick that supports the handle and the recipient that will hold all the dirt
• Usually equipped with a rotating brush-roll that swipes away the surfaces and collects all the dust
• Direct-fan uprights use less power but have less cleaning power
• Fan-bypass uprights require two times more power, suitable to be used in both carpet and floor cleaning activities
• Costs between 2.39c and 6.69c in electricity usage every 10 minutes
• Weaker than a barrel vacuum cleaner
• Use less electricity between 500W and 1500W

C. Stick Vacuum Cleaner

• Powered by batteries which charge on a port
• Generally considered slightly cheaper to run

D. Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

Bring the usability required when cleaning up your car, complex furniture pieces, between sofa cushions or even clothing. This can easily remove pet hair, stains, spills and other stuff you want to go.

a. Cordless

• Costs between 0.11c and 0.43c each time to charge
• Powered by a rechargeable battery
• More powerful than cordless vacuum cleaners
• The battery’s capacity is measured in milli-amp hours (mAH), while the portable vacuum’s power is measured in volts (V)

b. Corded

• Costs you more in electricity – around 0.19c to 0.38c per minute
• Powered by a rechargeable battery
• Small battery capacity relative to its high voltage and usually won’t last long – around 10 to 30 minutes

E. Robot Vacuum Cleaners

• A nice trend in the industry is the emergence of robotic vacuums.
• Algorithm movement.
• Costs between 0.27c and 1c each time to charge.
• Rechargeable batteries- battery capacity is measured in milli-amps (mAH), its power is measured in volts (V)
• Certain lower end models are less powerful and have smaller batteries, meaning they don’t last as long but are slightly cheaper to charge
• Cheaper to operate than manual cleaner
• Many models are not powerful enough to replace a barrel or upright vacuum cleaner
• May reduce how often you need to vacuum, but it probably won’t eliminate the need entirely

Price Tag

You most likely want to buy the best product for your budget no matter how much money you have. Either buy a cheap product that will get you through the next couple of years or invest in one that can last for the next 20 years.

Suction and Power

This refers to the pressure difference created by the pump of the vacuum, 20 kpa is the common suction power of a vacuum cleaner. The pump actually lowers the pressure inside the vacuum from 100 kpa (the normal atmospheric pressure) to 80 pa. The higher the suction, the more power. Producers only state the input power in watts or amps which refers to how much electricity is consumed by the product.

Filters

Dust circulation is one of the biggest issues when using vacuum cleaners. Air exhausted by the pump contains small dust particles that are sent directly to the lungs of the user and ultra-fine dust particles and potentially harmful microorganisms still pass along into the air no matter how good the filtration system. Manufacturers have been trying to make a better compromise between the filtering effectiveness and guaranteeing optimal airflow, by building the following filtration options:

• Disposable filters. To be replaced every few months.
• Washable filters. Made out of foam-like materials that can last for years.
• Cyclonic separation. The air sucked into the vacuum is cycled so fast that the dust particles are forced by the centrifugal force to fall into the dirt recipient.
• Water filtration. The air sucked in passes through a water layer, wetting the dust particles which become heavy and cannot fly anymore. You must clean the water compartment after each use, for sanitary reasons.
• HEPA filtration. Designed especially for sensible allergic people and HEPA filtering traps most of the ultra-fine particles and releases virtually no amount of dust. HEPA filters 99.97% of dust particles – all particles with 0.3 microns in diameter and higher are filtered.
• Odor filters. Made out of active coils, eliminates dust along with any funny smell.

Weight

Buy one that has the self-propelled feature, which will come handy especially if you have to vacuum large surfaces. If weight is an issue to you focus on the stick versions. Vacuum cleaners that weight as low as 4-5 pounds but these models don’t work so well on deep rugs of carpets. Handheld vacuums are light and flexible.

With or Without a bag

Bagged vacuums need a new bag every couple of months, depending on your cleaning frequency. If you hate the idea of buying and replacing them then opt for a bagless model, an Eco-friendly approach but you have to clean the dust container.

Warranty

A warranty usually lasts between 1 to 5 years. Most common vacuum cleaners have a 1-year warranty, which includes both parts and labor costs.

Don’t just buy a vacuum, invest one.