Finding the best vacuum for your large home

When it comes to finding the best vacuum for your large home, it can be difficult to determine what appliance is up for the job. Consider these questions.

As you eye the wall-to-wall carpet in your new home, it may have you thinking: Is my upright vacuum going to be able to clean all of this house with two kids, one dog and two cats? Here’s how to find the best home vacuum for you.

• To start, you need to ask yourself a few questions: How often do you vacuum? Are you vacuuming just carpet or also other flooring (such as wood or laminate)?
• Also, how mobile are you—how much weight can you drag around when vacuuming your home?
• Questions such as these help nail down the specifics of your needs—if you don’t vacuum often, for example, you may need an appliance that can handle a heavier duty job.

It essentially comes down to three styles of vacuums that are available these days, aside from the small handheld vacuum to clean up quick jobs.

Robotic vacuums. These are the appliances that essentially do the work for you. They’re pricey but effective for general sweeping and light vacuuming tasks, and you can program these disc-like vacuums to run on their own while you are doing something else. Just be sure that like for all vacuuming tasks, you clear the floors for cleaning.

Canister vacuums. Your basic model of vacuum, these transition to various types of flooring easily. These appliances have a hose and stick attached to a small canister trailing behind them to collect dirt and dust.

Upright vacuums. Best for carpets and deeper cleaning jobs, these appliances can be heavier but are more back friendly and let the device do the bending for you. And while they’re able to handle heavier jobs, they can be difficult to manoeuvre around stairs and corners.

This really about personal preference. Bagless is handy in that you don’t need to buy bags to collect dirt. But they are messy to empty and can spill easily. While units with bags are less messy, it can be tricky to fish smaller items out of should you suck something up accidentally.

These days you can find:

• Power brush attachments
• HEPA filters
• Back pack vacuums (with canister vacuums only)
• Extra-long power cords
• Quiet performance