12/01/2022
Vacuum Cleaner Types
Most popular vacuum cleaner types include upright vacuums, canister vacuums, stick vacuums, cordless vacuums, robotic vacuums, and similar.
Each type has its own pros and cons with some models being designed as convertible units, having features of two or more vacuum types.
Upright Vacuums
Upright vacuums are one of the most popular vacuum models, especially models with additional cleaning hoses, which allows them to clean both floors and elevated surfaces.
Upright vacuums are mostly corded, bagless units intended to be used as the main vacuum cleaners in both homes and apartments.
Canister Vacuums
Canister vacuums feature canister (hence the name) with wheels, suction motor, air filters, and dirt cup/dirt bag, and often the foot controls of the vacuum.
The canister is attached to the flexible cleaning hose, which is attached to the cleaning wand with the main cleaner head.
Since the user carries only a cleaning hose/wand, canister vacuums are somewhat easier to use, although most uprights are designed to have most of the weight resting on the transport wheels.
Canister or upright vacuum cleaner is often just a matter of personal preferences.
Cordless Stick Vacuums
Cordless stick vacuums are lightweight vacuum cleaners being powered by the onboard battery. Many cordless stick vacuums are designed as 2-in-1 units and may easily be converted into handheld units and back.
Although initially designed as second vacuum cleaners in larger homes and apartments, thanks to the improvements in technology, more and more cordless stick vacuums are designed even as the main vacuum cleaners.
Corded Stick Vacuums
Corded stick vacuums are very similar to cordless stick vacuums, except that they are powered using long power cords and often feature stronger suction motors.
While the autonomy of the cordless units is limited by the energy stored at the onboard battery, the autonomy of corded stick vacuums is limited only by the length of their power cords.
Handheld Vacuums
Handheld vacuums are mostly cordless units intended for quick cleanups and cleaning in emergencies.
Handheld vacuums are small, compact, and lightweight units that can be easily used even by elderly people and even children - children under supervision by adults.
In order to make them more versatile, handheld vacuums often feature additional cleaning tools, including Crevice Tool, Dusting Brush, Turbo Pet Tool, Upholstery Tool, etc.
Robotic Vacuums
Robotic vacuums are autonomous vacuum cleaners intended for vacuuming large floor areas.
Robotic vacuums differ greatly in suction power, air filtration level, autonomy, sensors, the intelligence of the onboard computer, and similar, but so do their prices differ.
Good robot vacuum cleaner, especially with the self-cleaning brushroll and automatic dirt disposal can really be helpful in cleaning home and making it more pleasant to live in, but it can't vacuum elevated surfaces.
Some robotic cleaning systems combine robot vacuums and robot mops in one unit.
Mops
Mops are used for cleaning of the bare floors using mop pads.
Also, mops can be steam mops (combine hot steam and mop pads), spray mops (combine cleaning solution and mop pads), vacuum mops (combine vacuum cleaning and mop pads), and similar.
Note: when cleaning sensitive floors using mops, be sure that the floor is certified for such cleaning.