Depending on how pedantic you are and how large is your living space – a vacuum cleaner might likely be one of the most useful cleaning utensils you will have at your disposal. Luckily for us, today we don’t have to sweep away dirt and dust with a broom and dustbin anymore, trying to pick up the small, yet never-ending, line of dirt that remains at the dustbin’s edge.
Instead, we can elegantly just suck up dirt to one place using a short hose attached to a motor – meet the very handy vacuum cleaner! But seeing how there is a huge variety of them on the market it might come as a challenge of how to choose a good one for your needs, so let’s see what are some things we have to consider.
How Often Will You Use It?
This is probably the most important thing to consider while searching for any appliance, counting also vacuum cleaners. Cleaning a home is a regular chore, but it may be more frequent or tougher to do if there is more dirt than usual.
If you have furry pets such as a dog or cat you will also have their hairs everywhere they are, especially in the summer months. More household members also mean more feet bringing in dirt from outside, etc.
If you judge that you will only casually be using the vacuum once a week to pick up some dust and a few breadcrumbs here and there – you can settle with a small and cheap one. Anything more and you might want to look for those with a more powerful motor.
Can it Be Repaired?
Everything gets broken in due time, especially if used a lot. Some household appliances are so cheap and expendable that you don’t even blink before throwing them away if they get broken, but vacuums are both larger and a bit more expensive.
If faced with a damaged vacuum consult howtohome.com to see if you can manage the repair yourself. Apart from that, your best bet would be to go through reviews beforehand to see which ones are repairable and opt for those when buying.
Type of Flooring
Another important thing is what type of floor covering do you have or intend to clean? Homes in the olden days used to have dirt floors that would have been impossible to clean with a modern vacuum, but they didn’t even have the option, did they? Smooth surfaces such as linoleum, polished wooden planks, or epoxy coatings are generally easy to clean with both vacuums and mops so you don’t need any special extension or add-on with your vacuum.
Carpets and carpet-like floorings are a different matter. Not only will they store dirt more easily but they will also be harder to thoroughly clean. That is why you have to make sure that the vacuum cleaner’s head you are buying has the special brush extension needed for these.
Wet or Dry Vacuuming
Conventional vacuums only suck up loose dry particles that are light enough that the airflow can pick up. While indeed this form of dry vacuuming is enough for most purposes in a home, workshops or areas that regularly have dirty floors benefit from having wet or wet and dry vacuums. These other types have built-in much stronger motors and also can be connected to a water supply, so they will wash or loosen up almost every piece of dirt that they encounter.
Even though they tend to be much more expensive and bulkier – they are a real time saver when it comes to cleaning up the place after a hard day’s work.
Wireless Solution
While cordless vacuums have been around for decades (remember the small, hand-held breadcrumb vacuum?) robotic vacuum cleaners are still a novelty to some but are worth looking into. Some popular brands such as Roomba and Neato have managed to popularise them to a wider audience and people have loved them. If you live alone or have long periods when no one is at home to clean up – these small robots can do that automatically for you.
Earlier models needed a map of their route to manage around the place, but today you can get them smart enough to figure and adapt to any place you put them.
Where to Buy
Lastly, where will you find them? Some can be found on garage sales, others online, or in appliance stores. This last option is probably the best one too, as you will get to see the item firsthand, and also talk to a clerk that, hopefully, can guide you through the selection and purchase.
Even though a chore – vacuuming doesn’t have to be fatiguing.
With the right tools, any job can become a breeze.
