Find out more about cookies. No vacuum excels at all types of cleaning— your home’s layout and even décor dictate the type you might need. That will become clear as you get ready for a thorough spring cleaning. Do you have lots of carpet or just bare floors? And it will be especially apparent if you have pets that are leaving little reminders of their winter coats everywhere you look.They’re a vacuum’s toughest job and rank highest on many people’s priority lists. Dirt tends to collect and hide in the carpet, and our feet can grind it in. The better bagged uprights, with beefy motors and wide brush rolls, clean the most deeply. But you want them to be maneuverable as well. In our tests, no bagged vacuum that was superb at deep-cleaning carpets was especially easy to handle, but five of the top bagged-upright models we recommend weigh less than 20 pounds. One of the lower-cost picks in our Ratings worth a look: the $150 Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Pet UH30310. It gets superb marks for pet-hair pickup and has a manual adjustment for carpet height.

At 17 pounds, it’s also light enough to maneuver easily. If you have few carpets and lots of tile, bare wood, or vinyl flooring, you can get a bagless upright—say, the $260 Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away NV501—and enjoy easy handling in a lighter-weight vacuum. Other full-sized vacuums might do almost as well for carpets while excelling at bare floors, a relatively easy task. A heavy vacuum can be a true liability if you have stairs. The better canisters, led by the bagged Miele S 8590 Marin, $1,000, are heavier than most uprights—but you’re mostly moving just the hose and power head, not the entire machine. In addition to our vacuum cleaner Ratings, our brand-repair history lists the percentage of upright and canister vacuums that failed or had a problem that was unresolved. Sometimes you need just a light cleaning before guests show up. For that, see our recommended handheld and stick vacuums. None of them can handle carpet deep cleaning, but they do a decent job.

Which vacuum for which task On average, these are the lowest-cost way to deep-clean carpets. gtech airram cordless vacuum cleaner john lewisBagged models in particular can deep-clean carpets and rugs, and all offer a wide cleaning swath.riccar radiance vacuum cleaner reviews Pulling, pushing, and carrying them can be hard, especially on stairs.miele s7 jazz upright vacuum cleaner review For maximum airflow with both full-sized types, replace the bag or empty the bin before it’s completely filled. They’re superior for cleaning curtains, upholstery, and spots beneath furniture. Canisters are also easier on stairs because you move just the hose and powerhead.

The top canisters are pricier than comparable uprights. When retracting the cord, routinely letting it snap can weaken the plug. Slow down the motion during the last few feet. Quickly picking up dry surface litter anytime you don’t want to or cannot bend. Most don’t pick up as well as hand vacuums, their dirt bin is usually small, and most are noisy. Frequently clean or replace filters, and clean out dirt cup to prevent bacterial growth when using both hand and stick vacs. Light, quick surface cleaning on carpets and bare floors, especially in tight spots that you can’t reach with a stick vac. Some can handle pet hair on upholstery. Like stick vacuums, they don’t have much power compared with a full-sized vacuum. With cordless hand and stick vacs, charge the battery according to the owner’s manual for maximum product life. Top-rated: Kenmore Elite 31150, $350 CR Best Buy: Kenmore 31140, $200 Top-rated: Miele S 8590 Marin, $1,000

CR Best Buy: Panasonic MC-CG937, $330 Top-rated: Dyson DC59 Animal, $500 Top-rated: Shark Pet Perfect II SV780, $60 —Ed Perratore (@EdPerratore on Twitter) Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the February 2015 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. View and compare all Vacuum cleaners ratings. Age 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and older Gender Male Female I just got this in the mail and was super excited! My trusty,heavy 15 year old Phantom Lighting had seen better days and finding replacement belts is near to impossible. After much browsing I opted for the Bissell Powerforce based on the reviews it has gotten. I opted for the bright pink and let me tell you it is BRIGHT PINK- Love it!! two screws and off I went vacuuming. I seriously couldn't believe the amount of dirt is had collected on my 7 year old carpet.The trouble began when I went to vacuum my hard wood floors. I adjusted the knob and it moved smooth-probably to smooth. I went to vacuum and noticed it shooting little things at me.

I tilted the machine and check everything and the stupid little height adjusting wheels are stuck on HIGH. I used a shoe and tried to beat it down in to position to no avail. I am taking this back to get another of the same kind- I love it, being the wheel issue my only problem. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () I bought this vacuum last weekend at Walmart. We were using an old outdated one and when I saw that this one was on sale, I decided to go ahead and try it after reading all the good reviews. I must say that I absolutely love it!! It has all the specs I was looking for: Bagless, lightweight, attachments, 5 adjustable height settings, 12 amps power, and washable filters. I have two cockatiels which get seed, pellets, food, dust, feathers etc. all over our carpet and this vacuum definitely stands up to the challenge. I had no idea what was lurking in our bedroom carpet until I used this vaucum. I took a couple of pictures of the first time that I used it and only about half of our bedroom was vacuumed and what is in these photos came out.

The only thing that can get a little annoying is how much air comes out of the front of the vacuum. It can blow stuff away. Other than this, it is AWESOME!! Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () Verified purchaser The kit was easy to assemble. It is a great cleaner, it picks up lint and dust, the carpet looked great afterward. The attachments work well and it has good suction when it's clean. It's not super loud either. Louder than some but not as loud as others I have had. It has the usual attachments and they works like a typical upright. It took me a while to figure out that you store the snout inside the extension tube. One disadvantage, there is no bag, which is good in some ways, no bags to buy or run out of, but the container fills up really fast and emptying it is messy. And cleaning the foam is another step that doesn't have to be done with a bag system. Maybe I'll get better at it with practice. I am definitely keeping it as it cleans well and that's what it's all about.

Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () Verified purchaser I needed an inexpensive vacuum with great suction power for the area rug in my living room. Hair, dust and lint were stuck on the carpet so much so that a simple stick vacuum wasn't cleaning the way I needed it to. This vacuum was easy to assemble and I was very impressed with the suction and power. The amount of dust and lint it picked up during its first use was very satisfying! I am glad that I didn't have to pay at least $80 to get a good vacuum that does what I need it to do. Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () My previous vacuum had broken, and I had been w/out a vacuum for a month, so my floors were HORRIBLY dirty! The first time I ran the vacuum, you will see what all it picked up in my pictures! I have really long hair, plus I have a cat, and it picked it all up and didn't get tangled or etc. inside the vacuum. It is so easy to take apart and clean. There are only maybe 5 pieces that you empty, rinse out, let dry, and reassemble.

It was very easy to assemble and put together, the instructions were simple and easy to follow. You do need your own screwdriver to put in 2 screws (which I found out the hard way, of course!#. I DID have a problem figuring out how to put everything BACK together, so I called the 800 number for customer service on the little booklet that comes w/ it. This was a DISASTER! First I had to wait on hold for OVER 20 MINUTES! By that time, I had finally figured out how to put everything back together, but I was so aggravated I asked to speak to a supervisor. Then I had to WAIT AGAIN! The supervisor was busy at the moment, so then they transferred me to the CORPORATE OFFICE. Well, I FINALLY was able to speak w/ someone, and I did my ranting and raving #in a nice and polite fashion!). In summary, I would say that the product itself is a great buy and great value, but if you need help w/ anything product related, I would probably try the website first before calling the 800 number, otherwise, be prepared to wait a while!

Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () This is a cheap vacuum, both in price and quality, but it does have it's good points. Awkward carrying handle placement Small canister The power cord is located on the lower left of the machine. There is a clip over the hose that keeps the cord off the floor that feeds the cord over to the right. But the holders that you wrap the cord around are back on the left, so you have to remove the cord from the clip to stow the cord. The carrying handle is on the back of the machine. This is fine if you're just carrying the machine around. But if you're using the machine and need to pick it up, say to vacuum an area rug without sucking up the edges, it would be much easier if the handle was on the front of the machine. I recently lost my dog, a 60 lb. chow chow/husky mix. She shed profusely and this vacuum would not have been sufficient to remove her hair from the carpet. I would have had to empty the canister every pass, because it's so small.

If you need to use the hose to vacuum more than a couple stairs, you probably won't be happy with this machine. The hose is very short, and does not stretch much due to the hard plastic it's made of. Luckily, the machine I'm replacing is also a Bissell, and it has a much longer, flexible hose that I can use for vacuuming stairs. Unfortunately, it only fits one end of the machine, so I have to switch back to the original hose to use it as an upright. I'm pretty hard on vacuums, I use mine just about every day and they tend to fall down if you try to overextend the hose for stair cleaning. I have a Dyson that I've owned for about 10 years and the only thing I've had to do is replace the hose. I wouldn't be surprised if it lasted another 10 years or longer. But that was a $400 vacuum. This Bissell is less than $50, so I don't expect to have a long life, but so far I'm pleased with the performance. Not really a deciding factor for me, but it does come in some cute colors. This would probably be a nice machine for a dorm room or small apartment.

Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () Easy to put together and, WOW! It cleaned my carpet so well that I don't feel as though I ever TRULY vacuumed before. I used my old, bag vacuum just a few days earlier, and after one pass, I maxed out the canister. Felt so much cleaner. I highly recommend this machine to anyone looking for a lot of power on a tight budget. Yes (5) No (0)  Report Yes (5) No (0) I had purchased this vacuum on Black Friday, along with the Shark steam mop. I was able to get it for the $39 in store, versus the $46. I had just recently moved into my new apartment and it was "cleaned", but you can never be too sure. We didnt have a vacuum yet, so we used my boyfriend vacuum from his work (which is an Oreck, which was HORRIBLE on our carpet (we have plush) because it was so hard to push). I used the Oreck probably twice since we moved in. But I wanted my own vacuum, and one that has a hose. I wanted something basic, and not one with all the bells and whistles cause its just two of us in a two bedroom apartment.

The reviews were decent, and I figured for the price, it would be worth a try. I got home that morning and assembled it (a whole two screws!) and started cleaning away. I only cleaned the living room, the small "hallway" and the bedroom. It picked up SOOO much junk that the Oreck missed and when the apartment complex "cleaned". I took a photo cause I just couldnt believe it (which is enclosed in this review). The vacuum moves nicely. Theres really no resistance at all. The hose has a nice suction to it. The only downfalls about this vacuum is the hose doesn't seem to stretch well (but this also could be because the vacuum is still new) and it doesnt get right up to the wall (but this is also where you can use the hose). So far, Im glad I bought this vacuum and hope it keeps me happy! Yes () No ()  Report Yes () No () I just bought this vacuum & can't say how much I love it without boring you.. Basically, put it together in about 5 minutes & started doing the carpets... I have two boxers and they are shedding their winter coat which ended up in the bag less cup along with a ton of other stuff..