No vacuum excels at all types of cleaning— your home’s layout and even décor dictate the type you might need. That will become clear as you get ready for a thorough spring cleaning. Do you have lots of carpet or just bare floors? And it will be especially apparent if you have pets that are leaving little reminders of their winter coats everywhere you look.They’re a vacuum’s toughest job and rank highest on many people’s priority lists. Dirt tends to collect and hide in the carpet, and our feet can grind it in. The better bagged uprights, with beefy motors and wide brush rolls, clean the most deeply. But you want them to be maneuverable as well. In our tests, no bagged vacuum that was superb at deep-cleaning carpets was especially easy to handle, but five of the top bagged-upright models we recommend weigh less than 20 pounds. One of the lower-cost picks in our Ratings worth a look: the $150 Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Pet UH30310. It gets superb marks for pet-hair pickup and has a manual adjustment for carpet height.

At 17 pounds, it’s also light enough to maneuver easily.laptop cooling fan diagnostic If you have few carpets and lots of tile, bare wood, or vinyl flooring, you can get a bagless upright—say, the $260 Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away NV501—and enjoy easy handling in a lighter-weight vacuum. best upholstery steam cleaner 2014Other full-sized vacuums might do almost as well for carpets while excelling at bare floors, a relatively easy task.price for cleaning ac coils A heavy vacuum can be a true liability if you have stairs. what is the cost of dryer vent cleaning

The better canisters, led by the bagged Miele S 8590 Marin, $1,000, are heavier than most uprights—but you’re mostly moving just the hose and power head, not the entire machine.best vacuum cleaner for laminate In addition to our vacuum cleaner Ratings, our brand-repair history lists the percentage of upright and canister vacuums that failed or had a problem that was unresolved. the best hoover vacuum cleanerSometimes you need just a light cleaning before guests show up. For that, see our recommended handheld and stick vacuums. None of them can handle carpet deep cleaning, but they do a decent job. Which vacuum for which task On average, these are the lowest-cost way to deep-clean carpets. Bagged models in particular can deep-clean carpets and rugs, and all offer a wide cleaning swath.

Pulling, pushing, and carrying them can be hard, especially on stairs. For maximum airflow with both full-sized types, replace the bag or empty the bin before it’s completely filled. They’re superior for cleaning curtains, upholstery, and spots beneath furniture. Canisters are also easier on stairs because you move just the hose and powerhead. The top canisters are pricier than comparable uprights. When retracting the cord, routinely letting it snap can weaken the plug. Slow down the motion during the last few feet. Quickly picking up dry surface litter anytime you don’t want to or cannot bend. Most don’t pick up as well as hand vacuums, their dirt bin is usually small, and most are noisy. Frequently clean or replace filters, and clean out dirt cup to prevent bacterial growth when using both hand and stick vacs. Light, quick surface cleaning on carpets and bare floors, especially in tight spots that you can’t reach with a stick vac.

Some can handle pet hair on upholstery. Like stick vacuums, they don’t have much power compared with a full-sized vacuum. With cordless hand and stick vacs, charge the battery according to the owner’s manual for maximum product life. Top-rated: Kenmore Elite 31150, $350 CR Best Buy: Kenmore 31140, $200 Top-rated: Miele S 8590 Marin, $1,000 CR Best Buy: Panasonic MC-CG937, $330 Top-rated: Dyson DC59 Animal, $500 Top-rated: Shark Pet Perfect II SV780, $60 —Ed Perratore (@EdPerratore on Twitter) Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the February 2015 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. View and compare all Vacuum Cleaners ratings.Hoover Hardwood Floor Cleaner FloorMate SpinScrub with Bonus Hard Floor Wipes Corded Bare Floor Cleaner FH40010B "No hesitation - the best wet/dry Hardwood Floor Cleaner!" - By (Texas, USA) I, like many of you, had been shopping for a hardwood floor cleaner for over a year. I knew they were expensive, and frankly I was exhausted with all of the options.

So it's been me and my Swiffer WetJet for years. I ordered the Hoover FloorMate from Amazon after reading countless reviews, then comparison shopping. I found Amazon to have the cheapest price around. Plus, free shipping....how can you go wrong? So when it arrived in a week or so, I was ecstatic to try it out. Instructions were very easy to follow and within minutes I was experimenting with my tiled kitchen floor. One of the best features of this vacuum is that it does it ALL... full review Available from these sellers. Used & new (4) from $129.95 Shark Sonic Duo Carpet and Hard Floor Cleaner (ZZ550) Carpet & Hard Floor Cleaner Shark Sonic Duo Carpet and Hard Floor Cleaner, ZZ550 The Shark Sonic Duo promises a quick, powerful, and easy way to remove stuck on dirt that holds allergens & odors from carpets, area rugs, and hard floors. It is a Total Floor Care System that cares for, cleans, and finishes all hard floor surfaces and carpets. It is convenient to use and provides a better clean with less effort every time.

The Shark Sonic Duo comes with two scrub modes that allow you to further tailor your cleaning process to your unique floor care needs. For the first time ever you can have a powerful cleaner that breaks apart stuck-on dirt and grime, but is also gentle, non-toxic and safe around your kids and pets. You will have a Fun and Easy way to clean your floors with the power of two scrubbing heads that do the work for you. The Sonic Duo does all of the hard work so that you don’t have to. Stop scrubbing your floors and attack them with the power of Shark’s revolutionary Sonic Duo. Carpets & Area Rugs are rejuvenated and left looking cleaner and brighter, and smelling fresher. To get your carpets truly clean the Sonic Duo first removes the visible dirt on the surface of the carpet. Then, the carpet solution with Trap & Remove Technology penetrates deep and attaches to the stuck on dirt down deeper into the fibers. As the solution dries, it dehydrates the stuck on dirt --- unlocking it from the fibers, so it is easily vacuumed away later.

Carpets are left cleaner and fresher. Hard Floors are deep cleaned and are left with a beautiful non-streak finish with no dulling residue. To get your Hard Floors truly clean, the sonic action and specially formulated cleaning solution work together with the pad to get rid of the dirt—even down into the cracks. 1,000 Scrubs per minute. Sonic Scrubbing Technology removes stuck on dirt quickly and easily. Model- ZZ550 Surface Cleaning Types- Perfect for Carpets, Area Rugs, Hardwood, Tile, Vinyl, and Stone surfacess Swivel Steering- Yes Airglide Maneuverability- Yes Cord Length- 22 ft Product Weight- 18 lbs Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.4 x 29.3 inches Warranty- 2 Years 1 Carpet/Rug Cleaning Pad, 1 Carpet Scrub 'n Stain Pad, 2 Hard Floor Cleaning Pads, 1 Polishing Pad, 12oz Carpet Cleaner, 10oz Activating Pretreater, 12oz Wood and Hard, Floor Cleaner, 16oz Wood and Hard Floor Polish. 29.3 x 12.6 x 9.4 inches 3.9 out of 5 stars #74,757 in Home and Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home and Kitchen)