The best vacuum cleaners This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer's guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article here. We've spent 280 hours researching and testing vacuums over the past three years, a process that included interviews with about a dozen experts and several rounds of tests that had us sucking up cat hair and navigating furniture slaloms. If you're willing to pay for a top-performing vacuum that'll last for ages, the Miele Dynamic U1 Twist upright series ($450 to $650) is the best bet for a typical single-family house, and the Miele Compact C2 ($400 to $750) is a great choice if you live in an apartment. Why would you spend this much on a vacuum?The Dynamic U1 Twist has adjustable suction. Using the settings as suggested will help it clean carpets more deeply and roll more smoothly. Photo: Brendan NystedtThe best reason to spend $400 or more on a high-end vacuum is that it'll last a hell of a lot longer than a decent cheap vacuum, which costs about $150.

You'll have to buy at least two or three of those cheaper vacuums in the same amount of time that you'll own one high-end machine. In that sense, a great vacuum will usually pay for itself, even when you factor in the cost of bags and filters.Pricier vacs also need less maintenance and pick up more debris in fewer passes. On carpet, they pull up dust and dander that weaker vacuums can't touch. They can even improve the air quality in your home.How we pickedThe cleaning head on the Dynamic U1 Twist has lots of small features that ultimately add up to give it a big functional edge over other uprights. Photo: Brendan NystedtWe've learned from interviews with experts and our own experience that great, long-lasting vacuums cost at least $350 and use bags. Cheaper machines are made from brittle parts that break down over time. And although the best bagless vacuums cost just as much as our favorite bagged machines, they don't hold up as well, and they need much more maintenance over time.Certain specs are strong indicators of a vacuum's effectiveness, reliability, and longevity, too.

For example, a no-stretch belt maintains peak carpet-cleaning performance for years, and height-adjustable cleaning heads can compensate for different kinds of flooring. We homed in on models with as many of those features as possible.After we settled on the finalists, we ran a series of in-house tests that measure cleaning performance, handling, and ease of maintenance. Two of our favorites are the timed furniture-slalom test and a stress test where we purposely try to clog each vacuum with an abusive mix of debris.best solution cleaning leather car seatsThe best upright vacuumThe Miele Dynamic U1 Twist is the best vacuum for most typical single-family homes with open floor space and any amount of carpeting. car leather cleaning solutionPhoto: Brendan NystedtFor most people who live in a typical single-family home, the Miele Dynamic U1 series is the total package, and the base-model Twist should work well in most cases.pro clean duct service

It cleans as well as any vacuum we've tested, whether it's on carpet, bare floors, windowsills, or curtains. With proper care, Miele claims, this vacuum will last for 20 years, and the company backs it up with a seven-year warranty and an extensive dealer and repair network. No other vacuum brand offers that kind of assurance. This vacuum's filtration is among the best in the industry, so it's a top choice for households where clean air is a necessity. easiest way to clean blinds dustSince it's a bagged model, maintenance will take only a couple of minutes per year—and if you do need to clean out a clog or tangle, you usually won't need any special tools. dryer vent cleaning kit reviewsAlthough it's a big, burly machine, the ride is lighter and smoother than that of many other full-size models.dyson handheld vacuum cleaners best price

You can expect to spend about $15 to $20 per year on bags and filters. That's not nothing, but over time the cost of the vacuum and bags easily works out to be a better deal than any cheap vacuum. And the Twist actually costs less up front (and likely over time) than other high-end vacs.The best canister vacuum for apartmentsThe Miele Compact C2 (the Topaz model is pictured here) is one of the best canister vacuums out there, and it offers about a dozen configurations to suit all kinds of flooring and square footage. Photo: Brendan NystedtA high-end canister vacuum will be a better fit than an upright for some people in some homes. Even among canisters, you'll find no one-size-fits-all option for every home. But if you live in an apartment with mostly bare floors plus some area rugs or light carpeting, we think the Miele Compact C2 Onyx is a great option. It comes with a parquet tool for bare floors, as well as a turbine-powered head for carpet work. Compared with a high-end upright, this compact canister is easier to maneuver and takes up less space in storage.

We like the Onyx (and other Miele canisters) for a lot of the same reasons we like the company's Dynamic U1 uprights: They're great cleaners, and they last for ages. One vacuum service technician we spoke with told us he's seen Miele canisters that are 30 years old.Wrapping upThe Miele Dynamic U1 Twist cleans as well as any upright vacuum around and should last as long as, if not longer than, all the others in this class.This guide may have been updated by The Sweethome. To see the current recommendation, please go here. From around the web ear iconeye icontext fileRobot vacuums are all the rage. These adorable little cleaning devices have captured the popular imagination like few other appliances, and it’s not hard to understand why. From Rosie the robot maid to R2-D2, movies and TV shows have been selling us the dream of the personal robot assistant/cleaner/homemaker for decades. And who wouldn’t want a device that promises to keep floors clean without any appreciable effort?

Credit: Flickr User "chrisinplymouth" Don't throw out your regular vacuum just yet. You might be wondering why "Should I get a robot vacuum?” is even a question. But before you drop the cash on a self-aware sweeper, be sure to ask yourself the following crucial questions: For those with disabilities or those who are too frail to operate an upright or canister vacuum, a robot vacuum could be a real godsend. With minimal effort on the part of the occupant, robot vacuums can help keep dust and dirt in check and provide a greater level of independence in the home. Credit: Flickr User "bestboyzde" Light and easy to use, robot vacuums are a boon for the elderly. Our tests have shown that robot vacuums work best on hard surfaces and shorter carpet lengths—anything less than an inch thick. High pile carpet is usually too thick for robot vacuums' tiny wheels to traverse. And every time your vacuum gets beached like a sad little robotic whale, you need to reset it. (Trust us, it's really annoying.)

Credit: Flickr User "avi-shmueli" Robot vacuums aren't known for their intelligence. Robot vacuums have really come into their own as maintenance appliances. Think of them as support troops in the war on filth. Having an iRobot or Miele vac programmed to give your floors a once-over every day makes a proper cleaning on the weekend that much easier. In fact, the simple truth of the matter is that robot vacuums are designed with this use in mind. Credit: Flickr User "boltron" Cleaning got you climbing the walls with frustration? You might want to consider a robot vacuum. Robot vacuums aren’t really built to handle large homes, and until iRobot develops an airborne Roomba, multi-story houses are a no-go. But if you live in a studio or a one-bedroom apartment, a robot vacuum can be a great way to keep your living space tidy. Once you start adding additional rooms into the mix, the cost of running a robot vacuum begins to skyrocket. With the exception of the priciest Roombas, most robot vacuums can only effectively clean a single room.

A Roomba can be set to clean additional rooms through the use of an iRobot Lighthouse (sold separately), which acts as a homing beacon, but the majority of robot vacs will get lost if they stray too far from home. Credit: Flickr user "Chris Bartle" This long exposure perfectly demonstrates the cleaning path of your standard robot vacuum. If you have cats or dogs, you already know how much of a hassle it can be to keep their hair under control. A robot vacuum will definitely save you a lot of time in this department—time you will now be able to spend recording and posting adorable “pets riding on Roombas” videos to YouTube. Still, robot vacs have small dirt receptacles and can get clogged easily if your Great Pyrenees likes to bed down on the carpet. Credit: Flickr User "eiriknewth" Cat + robot vacuum = Hours of entertainment. Credit: Flickr User "kordite" Not that kind of robot vacuum... If you like robots—and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?—you could probably find something to love with even the most basic robot vacuum.