The variety of vacuum cleaners on store shelves can make your head spin. We understand this abundance and find out what is not worth overpaying for. Ilya Sukhanov, head of the testing laboratory of NP Roskontrol, advises.
Sausis 5 2017
Price is not an indicator of the efficiency of the vacuum cleaner. For an impressive amount of money, you will be offered a loud brand, improved appearance, additional attachments, pleasant service upon purchase and, possibly, an extended warranty. If all of this is important to you, buy. But if a vacuum cleaner is required for comfortable and effective use for its intended purpose, then paying fabulous money is not at all necessary. To choose the right model, it is worth understanding the characteristics of this household unit.
For cleaning a smooth floor (tiles, laminate, linoleum), a vacuum cleaner with a suction power of 300-350 W, carpet – 400 W is quite enough. However, this characteristic often does not play a decisive role. What matters is how the entire apparatus is designed. Depending on the design of the nozzle, the cleaning efficiency with equal power indicators can vary greatly. Everything works together here.
It is worth noting that some manufacturers, in order to attract buyers, indicate in large print on the body of the vacuum cleaner not the suction power, but the power consumption, its figures are too impressive. It is easy to understand which parameter is in front of you: if the indicated value for a home wired model exceeds 1000 W, then this is exactly the power consumption.
Which filtration system to prefer: air or water is a matter of taste. However, it is worth noting that vacuum cleaners equipped with Aquafilter technology are more bulky and rather expensive compared to models with conventional High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) air filters. For allergy sufferers, for whom cleanliness is vital, a vacuum cleaner with H13 air filtration is suitable. Please note that replaceable HEPA filters from third-party manufacturers are usually of a lower class – H12, that is, they let in many times more dust particles. Be sure to read the labeling.
For smooth surfaces, a standard retractable bristle brush is sufficient. A nozzle for crevices will not be superfluous: it can remove small debris in the folds of upholstered furniture and along the baseboard. Note for pet holders: models equipped with a “turbo brush” with rotating bristles suck the wool much better. Moreover, the vacuum cleaner itself can be 300-watt, this is quite enough. The usefulness of other attachments, which often increase the purchase price, is a big question, since they are not used so often. As for the length of the cord, then 7-8 meters is quite enough for cleaning a small apartment connected to one outlet. It makes no sense to take a longer wire even for huge rooms, it will only get confused. It’s easier to just flip the plug into a nearby outlet.
IMPORTANT: Even a powerful vacuum cleaner with a turbo nozzle is not able to perfectly clean long pile carpets. They should be dry cleaned periodically.
Each type of bag has both pros and cons. Paper ones are cheaper, but they are afraid of moisture and tear easily. Reusable fabric bags can also save you a lot of money (bought and forgotten), but they are not hygienic. The best option is multilayer bags made of synthetic non-woven material. They themselves are good at sifting out dust, thereby extending the life of the main filter of small particles. Moreover, it is not necessary to buy bags of the same brand as the vacuum cleaner. For the most part, third-party products at a lower cost are no worse than the original ones. The advantage of bagless container models is the simplicity and speed of getting rid of accumulated dust and debris. Disadvantage: such containers need to be cleaned regularly, and for this they need to be disassembled, washed, dried. The same procedures will have to be done immediately, if flour gets into the vacuum cleaner, mold can easily start in a couple of days. In addition, container vacuum cleaners are less hygienic than bag “brothers”, they are more expensive (for the difference in price you can buy good bags for a couple of years) and are louder, particles of debris knock on the walls of the plastic bowl.
Many people believe that a powerful vacuum cleaner must be noisy a priori. This is wrong. The more modern the motor, the stronger the case and the better the noise insulation, the quieter the model. But there are no completely silent vacuum cleaners, there are not too loud ones. The norm is 60-65 dB (A). A model with an indicator of about 70-75 dB (A) will buzz obsessively, and a headache can be caused by devices with 80 dB (A). Rarely do any of the manufacturers indicate the level of noise on the box or in the description, if things are not the best in this part.
A good wired vacuum cleaner can be easily found for 10-20 thousand rubles. At the same time, one should refrain from buying inexpensive models, especially bagless ones (cheaper than 8 thousand rubles) and devices of little-known brands. Poor cleaning quality, high noise levels and low reliability are guaranteed. With 10 rubles in your pocket, you can count on a good bag model from a well-known mass manufacturer. If you want a high-quality vacuum cleaner with a container and a turbo brush, cook at least 000 thousand.