Vacuum Cleaner

Vacuum Cleaner Features: What To Look For When Buying A Hoover

• Suction Power

  This is usually expressed in watts, so that the more powerful the suction power of the vacuum cleaner the greater is the listed wattage. Alway make sure to check and choose carefully to match the power of the cleaner to the space you need to clean.

• Bagged or Bagless

  Bagged vacuum cleaners require you to empty the bag when it is full, or throw away the full bag and replace it with a new one. Bagless vacuum cleaners, on the other hand, have an integrated dirt bin, often transparent, that can easily be tipped into your household bin. Take note though that bagged cleaners have much greater capacity so you will be emptying the integrated bin on a bagless cleaner a lot more.

• Upright or Cylinder

  A key consideration. Upright vacuum cleaners are easy to push around, so that anyone with difficulties bending down would be advised to opt for one of these. For many, uprights are the traditional vacuum cleaners and they're the clear popular preference. Cylinder models are smaller and easier to store. Their flexible hoses mean that nooks and crannies are more easily accessed. If there's no power difference between the two, it will just be a matter of taste.

• Corded or Cordless

  Corded vacuum cleaners are the mainstream choice, requiring a plug point when in use and limited on physical range by the length of the cord. Cordless cleaners operate on inbuilt rechargeable batteries so are cord-free around the home. The downside is that they have a limited period on full charge and then require a longer period of recharging. Some cordless machines come with their own handy wall holster. Always check the battery life and charging time before committing to buy.

• Charging Time and Battery Life

  These are the key considerations when considering a cordless vacuum cleaner. Battery life is expressed in the number of hours of use you can expect from a fully charged battery before it will need recharging. It's a good idea to work out how long it would take fully to vacuum your home and compare this with the listed battery life. Charging time is how long the battery will take to recharge when it's fully depleted, likely to be substantially longer than the battery life.

• Cables

  On corded machines always check how long the cable is. It's an often overlooked detail but a critically important one because it defines how far the machine can operate from the nearest plug point. Another useful cable feature to look out for is automatic cable rewind, which saves you the trouble of manually rewinding the power cable after use.

• Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

  These are compact, cordless vacuum cleaners, which are light and easy to use. They're designed to be secondary machines around the house, for quick clean-ups of crumbs, dirt or dust. They'll need recharging after use and like their larger cordless cousins often come with their own recharging holster, to be wall-mounted.

• Capacity

  Always check for this in the vacuum cleaner's specifications. Capacity is the amount of dirt the cleaner can take before requiring emptying, expressed in litres. The higher the capacity, the fewer times you'll need to change the bag, on bagged machines, or empty the inbuilt bin, on bagless models. Check too, whether there is a bag full indicator, which is hand so as to avoid problems with an overfull bag.

• Filtration

  There's a wide variety of filtration systems, some of which require ongoing maintenance, such as when a filter needs to be changed. Always check in the individual vacuum cleaner's specifications. Special pet filters are available on some vacuum cleaners, which are designed to clean up dog or cat hair. Allergen filters can be fitted too. Some vacuum cleaners, such as those with a cyclone device, require no or little maintenance barring the occasional plastic filter rinse. Again, check the specifications before you buy.

• Weight

  This is another often ignored statistic but a really important consideration. Will you need to carry your vacuum cleaner upstairs? Perhaps there's a need to carry it around the house, or some distance from a storage cupboard. The cordless machines tend to be the lightest but, again, always check and measure the weight against what you can easily carry.

• Noise Level

  All vacuum cleaner manufacturers have to list the noise level of their products, which is expressed in decibels. The lower the decibel number - dB for short - the quieter the machine. The easiest way to understand this is simply to compare one vacuum cleaner with another and then to consider whether noise level is important in your household, if you want to vacuum early in the morning, for instance, while others may be sleeping.