Sink your toes into the newest carpet style, called ultrasoft or super-plush carpet, and you might decide that spending twice what you would on an ordinary carpet is worth the treat to your feet. But that comfort might lead to an additional, hidden cost: You might need to replace your vacuum. Many vacuums that work perfectly well on regular carpets stick to this new kind like a big suction cup. That’s because the plush carpet is so dense that air can’t circulate back into the vacuum’s intake, making the appliance almost impossible to move. Because ultrasoft carpets have become more popular—sales have grown to more than 10 percent of the market in the past five years—carpet makers have begun testing and recommending vacuums for them. (Examples of plush carpet include Caress by Shaw and Karastan by Mohawk.) Vacuum manufacturers are making models specifically for ultrasoft carpets, too. We bought several square yards of both carpet styles plus two new Kenmore vacuums designed for them, the Kenmore Elite Crossover Ultra 10335 upright, $300, and the Kenmore Elite 700 Series 81714 canister, $400.

They both cleaned well and moved easily on the ultrasoft carpet, though we found that they were easier to maneuver on standard (medium-pile) carpet.air duct cleaning facts We also ran our push/pull tests on some vacuums recommended by ultrasoft carpet makers. air duct cleaning worthwhileWe found three that moved fairly easily: the Maytag M500, $300, the Fuller Brush Mighty Maid FBMM-PWCF, $400, and the Oreck Magnesium, $500. how much does it cost to clean furnace blowerBut we don’t recommend them because they aren’t top performers overall.vacuum cleaner sale new zealand

If you have a new plush carpet and you aren’t ready to buy a new vacuum, we can suggest a workaround if your vacuum is sticking. robot vacuum cleaner best in testRaise the powerhead on models that come with manual height adjustment; best value canister vacuum cleanerthe control is usually on top of the powerhead. If your appliance automatically adjusts height and has suction control, you might try reducing the suction instead. Both of those steps may also reduce cleaning power, however, so you might need to spend more time going over the same spot of plush carpet to thoroughly remove dirt. For more vacuum choices, including the models that are the best at cleaning carpet, bare floors, and pet hair check our full vacuum Ratings and recommendations.Luxurious, super-soft carpeting has recently become popular, but it comes with one huge caveat: Your vacuum cleaner might not be able to clean it.

That's right, after you shell out thousands for new carpeting, you might also need to fork over more money for a new vacuum. Let me explain why.What to Know These new carpets are made with longer fibers (and more of them) than traditional carpets. This makes them soft underfoot, but also more challenging to clean. For a vacuum cleaner to glide easily on a carpet, air must flow into the nozzle and through the machine. Block the air flow and the vacuum seals itself to the carpet and is hard to push. And, unfortunately, that's what many consumers have discovered when their new carpeting is installed.Before you buy, check the websites of carpet brands you're considering, like Mohawk and Shaw, to see which vacuum cleaner models are recommended. For its soft Caress carpeting, Shaw recommends Oreck's Magnesium, a top performer in our Good Housekeeping Research Institute test of lightweight vacuums, and several models from Panasonic that carry the Good Housekeeping Seal. Other recommended brands include Hoover, Miele, Bissell, and more.

Do You Have the Right Kind of Vacuum? The best vacuums for plush carpeting are lightweight, have large wheels for easy maneuverability, and have adjustable speeds and brush height settings. Set the height so the rotating brush just skims the top of the carpet. You know you've got the right setting if the vacuum is fairly easy to push and leaves "clean" tracks on the surface of the rug.NEXT: 5 Biggest Mistakes You Make Vacuuming »Carolyn Forte is the director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute Home Appliances and Cleaning Products department. 6 Common Myths About Bedbugs Green Good Housekeeping Seal: Criteria for Textiles Best Cooking Gifts for Fathers Day We Tested It: Egg-Dyeing Kits Best Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day 3 Tech Trends You'll See Everywhere in 2016 6 Tasty Tipples for St. Patrick's Day Barnes & Nobles Is Celebrating STEAM Day This Weekend Meet the New Way to Make Your WiFi Faster — And More SecureSmartStrand carpeting from Mohawk and Karastan is becoming very popular because it both looks and feels good.

But it can be a little tricky to clean. Our favorite vacuum cleaner for cleaning SmartStrand Carpeting for 2016 is the Miele C3 Complete SoftCarpet. Many vacuum cleaners get “stuck” in high-pile SmartStrand carpeting. Either the wheels will sink into the carpet, or the long, soft fibers stop the brush from rotating. To find which Mohawk SmartStrand vacuum can overcome the challenge, we tested over a dozen vacuums from Miele, SEBO, Dyson, Electrolux, Sanitiare, Hoover, Eureka, Kenmore and Bissell. The first thing we found is that while some upright vacuums will move through the carpet, pushing and pulling a 15-20 pound upright on high-pile SmartStrand carpet can be very tiring. The second is that most vacuum cleaners with height adjustment will not clean deep down past the surface when raised high enough to be easy to push. In order to push the vacuum through the SmartStrand, you have to raise the cleaner head so far off the carpet that you lose a great deal of suction.

Most machines just don’t have the airflow to create enough suction to compensate. So you end up just “sweeping” the top of the carpet. You never get deep down into the fiber where the dirt gets embedded.  Lowering the head back down increases the suction and cleaning performance, but then makes the machine difficult to push. The best all-around performer we found is a Miele canister vacuum coupled with the SEB228 power brush. The power brush nozzle on a canister-style machine weighs only a few pounds, so it won’t push the brush down into the matting of the carpeting as much as an upright, and the design of the SEB228 offers the best balance of “deep down” clean and “able to push without a torn rotator cuff.” The Miele SEB228 power brush is different from other canister power brushes because it has extra-wide wheels that won’t “sink” into the carpet. It also has a height-adjustable bottom with a suction sealing strip that allows it to be raised very high to accommodate ultra plush weaves with minimal suction loss.

These features combine with the powerful suction of a Miele canister vacuum to let you push the power brush easily and safely across the carpet, picking up dirt and debris without it getting stuck or damaging the carpet fibers. The SEB228 power brush is standard with the Miele C3 Kona and Miele C3 Cat & Dog vacuums. It also is available as an option on any other Miele canister vacuum equipped with an electric brush, including the Miele C1 Delphi, Miele C1 Titan and Miele C2 Topaz canister vacuum cleaners. Vacuums with rotating brushes should not be used on SmartStrand loop-style carpets. A floor tool with a spinning brush is too abrasive. It can break the fibers so that they stand straight up, detracting from the look as well as wearing the carpet out long before it otherwise would. Instead, use a suction-only nozzle that deep cleans with intense suction, but has gentle velveteen thread lifters to help guide dirt and debris off the carpet and into the suction nozzle without harming the loops.

Both Miele and SEBO brands make excellent tools for this type of carpet. The Miele 285-3 Combination Rug & Floor Tool has no rotating brush. Large rubber wheels and a smooth metal bottom plate help glide the tool safely across the top of the rug. In addition, two thread lifter strips around the intake gently work through the carpet fibers to pull debris towards the intake. This floor tool also has retractable synthetic bristles used to sweep smooth floors surfaces. It’s standard on several Miele canister vacuums and can be added as an option to any Miele canister. The Sebo Kombi Tool, included with the Sebo K2 and Sebo D1 canister vacuums and the Sebo Felix Kombi, is another suction-only floor tool that works well to safely clean these delicate carpets. The Twin-Stream suction system and the crescent-shaped stripes with natural bristles guarantee dust will be collected for edge-to-edge cleaning on hard floors, as well as delicate loop pile. It also has two lint removers also pick up thread and fluff.