“Along with changing sheets, vacuuming is my least favourite household task”, says Aggie MacKenzie, standing on a piece of carpet which has been befouled with sawdust and pet hair. “Lugging it up the stairs, changing the sockets, tripping over the flex: it’s annoying. I don’t even bother vacuuming stairs, I use a dustpan and brush.” It is comforting to hear this confession from the UK’s most recognisable cleaning authority, who for six years fronted the exuberant Channel 4 show How Clean Is Your House?, with Kim Woodburn. MacKenzie, a journalist, is rigorous in her investigation of the five, top-of-the-range vacuums arranged around her. Suction power is important but MacKenzie has other considerations. “It’s no good hauling a huge thing around,” she says, prizing instead the sleek, the nimble and the user-friendly. A vacuum should also look “at least a bit appealing, because it’s not an appealing job. You’ve got to be able to open the cupboard without hating the sight of it.”

She concludes: “You need to feel at one with your vacuum.” This is very hard to push, and that’s maybe because you are actually turning the brushes manually as you go. In that respect it’s like the old Bissell carpet sweepers, although even those were less stiff to use. And we certainly don’t want to go back to those days. It also looks like a prototype, like it’s not sure what it is, so it’s hard to have confidence in it. It’s hugely expensive considering it’s got such a small dust compartment, and I think the user will get fed up. Suction 62g Noise level 82db I’ve never had a cordless vacuum cleaner before, but I think they’re the future. This isn’t a bad little number. It’s flimsier than the others but it’s simpler, and it’s the only one that doesn’t leave any kind of mark on the carpet. The battery only has a finite life, 25 minutes or something, which would spur you to be more efficient. You’d just whip it round and get it done rather than lingering over it.

The canister is nice and big, it’s light – why would you want a corded vacuum if you could choose not to? It’s a huge step forward. Suction 36g Noise level 82db This is the only non-bagless, and I suppose that makes it more expensive long-term, but if you’re somebody with very bad allergies it’s probably better to have a bag. Emptying a bagless vacuum is a messy business, and what if you don’t want to see all the stuff you’ve vacuumed up?. This is a pleasure to use; it’s so effortless it almost leads you around the room. It may not have such strong suction as the Dyson, but I like it. I use a bagged cleaner at home and there’s something quite satisfying about throwing the bag away, when it’s all full and taut. Suction 59g Noise level 78dIt’s a blinking elephant! You wouldn’t need to go to the gym with this thing. What amuses me about Dyson is, whenever they bring out a new one, which is quite often, they say: “This one is the best Dyson ever.”

It makes you think: “I bought the previous Dyson – now I’ve got an inferior model, have I?” This one’s big and scary and unnecessarily over-designed. The ball might seem like a clever idea, but it scores deep lines in the carpet. It really is an ugly bugger: very loud, very heavy. You wouldn’t thank anyone for it. Suction 102g Noise level 80db These are supposed to be the most popular vacuum in Spain, and you can see the benefits: if you’ve got a dishwasher and washing machine, why do your own vacuuming? best way to clean parquet wood floorYou set it to wake up and it’ll trundle out of its docking station, clean the floor and go back to charge. best way to clean greasy range hood filterIt’s only worthwhile in certain homes – no clutter, lots of floor. hvac cleaning service chicago

It can’t handle stairs, and even though it’s quiet, it goes on for hours, so it’s best when you’re out of the house. You also have to empty the canister fairly often, but for big, unencumbered floors, it would be perfect. Suction 41g Noise level 65db The suction trial was conducted on a 3m² carpet embedded with 200g of fine MDF sawdust. The results represent the weight of the vacuums’ contents after 30 seconds of hoovering. The Roomba, which moves slower than a human-operated vacuum, was given three minutes of roaming. duct cleaning companies ctNoise levels were measured in decibels from a 50cm distance.best cleaner for worn wood floors Carpet supplied by Islington Flooring Company, pet hair by Love Your Pets, sawdust by London Cabinet Makers.best way to remove pee smell from couch

It’ll allow us to help you faster if you ever need support.Many of the best vacuum cleaners will be taken off the market from next month when a new EU rule comes into force banning the most powerful modelsHouseholds that need a powerful vacuum cleaner should ‘act quickly’ before all of the models currently available sell out, consumer watchdog Which? From September 1, manufacturers will not be able to make or import vacuums with a motor that exceeds 1,600 watts. Floored logic: Critics say the new regulation will not save energy because households will only vacuum for longer to reach the same level of cleanlinessBut Which? warned that many of the best models, which appear in its Best Buy tables, have motor sizes that exceed this.Of seven awarded ‘Best Buy’ status since January 2013, five have motors of more than 1,600 watts, it said.The maximum wattage will be lowered even further to 900 watts by 2017. Current cleaners boast an average of 1,800 watts.The move has angered manufacturers, who say it will do nothing to make cleaners more environmentally friendly and will simply reduce efficiency in the home.

Five of top selling vacuum cleaners on Amazon.co.uk that will be banned when new regulations come in Numatic HVR200A Henry A1 Bagged Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner. 1,200W. Vax W90-RU-P Rapide Ultra 2 Pre-Treatment Upright Carpet and Upholstery Washer. 1,000W. Vax U90-MA-R Air Reach Multicyclonic Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner. 1,200W. Sebo X4EXTRA Automatic Upright Vacuum Cleaner. 1,300W. Hoover Smart Pets SM1901 Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner. 1,900W. Critics say cleaners satisfying the new rule may use less power, but householders will have to use them for longer so they are likely to use the same amount of electricity in the long run.For the first time, vacuum cleaners will have ratings from A to G for energy use, cleaning performance on carpets and hard floors and dust emissions.But manufacturers will create their own labels and will be self-regulated. warned that it is unclear whether the ratings will be tested at all by an independent third party. Specification: A sample of the label that manufacturers will put on all vacuum cleaners (Source: European Commission)It added that manufacturers that give themselves A ratings across the board often don’t do so well in its own independent tests, while those that do not score as highly often do better in the Which?

only offers its list of ‘endangered’ Best Buy vacuum cleaners to its paid subscribers. But popular cleaners still on sale at the moment which would be outlawed by the new rule include a Bosch Power All Floor Bagged Vacuum Cleaner, a Miele S6210 2000 Watt Bagged Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner and the Panasonic Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner Black 2000w.Despite his company not producing any vacuum over 1,400 watts, Sir James Dyson, the billionaire entrepreneur who pioneered ‘bagless’ vacuums, is also angered by the proposal. He says the eco-labels will be misleading because they will not take into account the cost and waste of vacuum bags and filters and will give an advantage to competitors who use ‘bag’ technology.He is seeking a judicial review of the proposal at the European Court of Justice. As many as 126 million vacuum cleaner bags were sent to landfill last year alone, according to Dyson, assuming that all the bagged vacuum cleaners use one bag a month. But the cost to households and the environment is not factored in to the new EU labelling.

But the European Commission believes the new regulations will mean better vacuum cleaners for consumers.‘As a result of the new EU ecodesign and labelling regulations, consumers will also get better vacuum cleaners,’ European Commission spokeswoman for energy Marlene Holzner said in a blog.'In the past there was no legislation on vacuum cleaners and companies could sell poorly performing vacuum cleaners. ‘Now, vacuum cleaners that use a lot of energy, that pick up dust poorly, emit too much dust at the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner, are noisy or break down pre-maturely will not be allowed on the market anymore. 'This means a better cleaning experience and less time and money spent on vacuum cleaning.’The new measures will be extended to other appliances, including water pumps, water heaters and tumble dryers. THE SURPRISE 'ENERGY GUZZLERS' HIDING IN YOUR HOME Beware of frosty shelves: An inefficient freezer can be a drain on households' energy consumption The European Commission is set to enforce rules that it says will make vacuum cleaners more energy efficient.

But could you have other surprise energy guzzlers hiding in your home? Here are a couple of common culprits: A frosty freezer: When was the last time you defrosted your freezer? Unnecessary frost forces the freezer to work harder and so can push up energy bills. It won’t add much on a daily basis, but it can add £100-£200 to bills over a year. Spotlights: We often think nothing of covering bathroom and kitchen ceilings with spotlights, but they can add a significant cost on to energy bills. One reader Kim Fox-Johnson discovered a few halogen spotlights in her kitchen were costing her almost £100 a year to run. She is now gradually replacing them with LED bulbs, which will cost her around £15 a year to run. This is Money has joined forces with energyhelpline to launch The Energy Switch, which could help you save even more.Readers can team up with thousands of other people and use their collective power to negotiate a unique offer on their energy deal will give you the chance to switch to a cheaper supplier ahead of