Vacuum cleaner reviews: How to buy
Buying vacuum cleaners from the shops
Buying your new vacuum cleaner will give you a great insight into the huge range of shapes and sizes available.
Check out our Best Buys and the products we’ve tested to decide which will suit you best. Very few vacuum cleaners work well on both carpet and hard floors and if you suffer from allergies, check our allergen retention ratings.
Storage
If you're worried about storage space or if you're concerned about whether your new vacuum cleaner will coordinate with your decor, it's worth checking them out in the flesh before you buy.
Most retailers have vacuum cleaners on display so you can get a good idea of how much space they will take up.
Try before you buy
You’ll also have the opportunity to find out whether the vacuum cleaner will be too heavy for you to carry up stairs if you intend to use the same one for your whole house.
In addition, if you're used to using an upright and fancy switching to a cylinder or vice-versa, you could ask the shop to let you see how the vacuum cleaner feels in use and whether this suits you.
Buying vacuum cleaners online
Online stores often have a bigger selection, and many offer some great bargains too. The usual price searching engines, such as Kelkoo and Pricerunner, are a good place to start. Also, try Whichcompare.
Similar models
Most manufacturers have ranges of vacuum cleaners with subtle differences between each. Allergy versions may include a Hepa filter – filters which are designed to keep small particles like allergens in the vacuum cleaner once they've been sucked up.
More expensive models in a range might come with additional nozzles such as a turbo brush that can make cleaning a quicker job.
These can be valuable additions for allergy suffers and pet owners but check our ratings before buying, as dust pick-up and allergen retention can also be affected by other aspects of a vacuum cleaner’s design.
The inclusion of a Hepa filter or turbo nozzle doesn't automatically mean a vacuum cleaner will excel in these aspects of our tests.