“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.cheap above ground pool sand filters Suction 36g Noise level 82dbpool halls las vegas strip 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. robotic pool cleaner testEmptying a bagless vacuum is a messy business, and what if you don’t want to see all the stuff you’ve vacuumed up?. best method to clean linoleum floors

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. pool filter sand vs glassI use a bagged cleaner at home and there’s something quite satisfying about throwing the bag away, when it’s all full and taut. carpet cleaning equipment auction 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? You set it to wake up and it’ll trundle out of its docking station, clean the floor and go back to charge. It’s only worthwhile in certain homes – no clutter, lots of floor. 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.

Noise levels were measured in decibels from a 50cm distance. Carpet supplied by Islington Flooring Company, pet hair by Love Your Pets, sawdust by London Cabinet Makers.Stick vacuums are lightweight, smaller versions of the traditional upright vacuum. They are extremely handy to keep around for quick pick up jobs, like spilled flour, dust bunnies, pet hair, or the crumbs that seem to follow small children everywhere. In the past, stick vacuums were considered appropriate only for cleaning hardwood floors and very low-pile carpet. However, some of today's stick vacuums are more powerful than ever, and some people will be able to use them as their main vacuum. They're not the best choice, though, for deep-pile carpet or for extended cleaning jobs (most cordless stick vacs have a limited run time, whereas corded stick vacuums limit your range). If you need a vacuum for heavier, longer tasks, upright vacuum cleaners and canister vacuum cleaners, both of which we cover in separate reports, are better choices.

Regardless of your home size or floor type, a stick vacuum can be a great time-saver compared to hauling out the bigger vacuum, and they can't be beat for spot messes. Stick vacuums are also more convenient than a broom and dustpan because you don't have to bend over during use; they also pick up smaller particles and do a more thorough job because of their suction action. Stick vacs don't use bags, they capture debris in a dirt cup which makes disposal simple, though sometimes messy. Stick vacuums are also better suited than upright vacuums for sweeping under furniture; plus, because of their light weight, they're easy to lift and carry. Some stick vacs come with a swivel head that makes cleaning around obstacles an easy task. Included attachments can help with cleaning hard-to-reach areas. Many stick vacuums come with an integrated, detachable handheld vacuum. These 2-in-1 models share a single dirt collection container and are as compact and lightweight as stick vacuums that don't convert.

If you need to clean both floors and other surfaces, this type of stick vacuum can be a cost-effective solution. If you want a simple vacuum just for clean ups on something other than floors (upholstery, for example), you might be interested in our separate report on handheld vacuums, where we recommend the best choices. Cordless stick vacuums are better suited for quick cleaning tasks because they can only run for about 15 to 30 minutes per charge, and recharging takes several hours. However, the lack of a cord makes them very convenient to use; you don't have to plug and unplug it and deal with the range limits of a power cord. Many reviewers say cordless vacuums are faster to use than corded vacuums and the run time is plenty long for most tasks. That said, cordless stick vacs rely solely on battery power and when the battery dies, you can't continue with a cleanup until the battery recharges. Some models use replaceable batteries and you can extend your cleaning time by swapping out a depleted battery for a fully charged one.

However, spare batteries are sometimes expensive and buying one will add to the overall cost of ownership. Corded stick vacuums don't have any limitations on power, but they do tether you to a cord that might not be long enough to clean a whole room without unplugging it and plugging it back in elsewhere. Some smaller, cheaper vacuums have very short cords; larger, more expensive vacuums usually have longer cords. Corded stick vacuums tend to get better reviews overall for durability; some models in this report are still going strong after 5 or 10 years, according to owners. Stick vacuums are quite popular and, as a result, there are a good number of professional tests and expert reviews and roundups available. Good Housekeeping and Real Simple also have useful roundups, but their testing methods are less well explained and they name just a few models. , , to name just a few. These user reviews give the best overview for how each stick vacuum operates in real-world, long-term use.