Choosing a Canister Vacuum Cleaner

Miele, SEBO and Electrolux canister vacuums

by Bob Cobe, AllergyBuyersClub.com Staff

The first question for most consumers choosing a vacuum is whether to buy a canister or upright vacuum cleaner. Assuming you have decided that canister vacuum cleaners are for you, how do you choose between them?

INFO LINKS Vacuum Cleaners Overview - view all Vacuum Cleaners sold by AllergyBuyersClub.com Vacuum Cleaners Comparison Chart - a comparison with pluses and minuses of all the best Vacuum Cleaners Compare vacuum cleaners by manufacturer: - Miele vacuum features - Eureka vacuum features Best Vacuum Cleaner Articles - Editor's top picks on vacuum info

The major criterion in choosing a canister vacuum cleaner is what floor surfaces you wish to clean versus the power of the vacuum.

Canister vacuum cleaners offer 3 choices of tools for floor surfaces.

1. A bare floor hard plastic brush about 10”-12” wide with soft bristles
2. A turbo brush that has a spinning drum roller with bristles
3. A power head brush that is similar to the turbo brush but is powered by a separate motor.

The turbo brush and the power head brush vacuum cleaners both have a spinning drum roller with bristles similar to that of an upright vacuum cleaner. While both brushes look and perform similarly, the power head brush vacuum cleaner has a small separate motor to turn the brush on the bottom of it, thus making it more powerful and aggressive than the turbo brush kind that is turned by the flow of air being pulled past it. These brushes snap the carpet fibers to allow air to get beneath the particles of dirt. If you can’t get air under these particles, you can’t suck them out regardless of how much suction power you apply with a vacuum cleaner.

When you purchase either turbo or power head vacuum cleaners to be used on carpet surfaces, you also receive a bare floor brush for non-carpeted areas.

The usual rule of thumb as to which model of vacuum cleaner to purchase is:

• The bare floor tool type of canister vacuum cleaner is best for smooth surfaces and no expectation of having rugs or carpeting. Best choices here would be Miele Orion S4780 and Sebo K3 Canister for bare floors.
• The turbo type of canister vacuum cleaner would be used for scatter rugs and low pile wall-to-wall carpeting. Best picks here would include the Miele Pisces S5280, Electrolux Harmony and Sebo Turbo Canister Vacuum Cleaners.
• The power head brush type of canister vacuum cleaner for wall-to-wall carpeting and is especially important if you contend with pet hair. Best picks here would include the Miele Capricorn S5980, Sebo Canister 3.1 and Electrolux Oxygen3 Ultra.

Some other important features for your canister vacuum cleaner choice would be: reliability, purchase price, hepa filter and sealed unit, cost of replacement bags and filters, weight, on board storage and quality of tools, location of controls, noise, adjustable wand, retractable cord, ease of changing attachments, bag change indicator, filter change indicator, swivel hose, and extra features such as dirt alerts.

Most canister vacuum cleaners are similar in size, have similar cleaning radiuses, and come with the same 3 tool attachments: a crevice tool, an upholstery tool, and a dusting tool.

Useful articles and charts at AllergyBuyersClub.com:

• Vacuum Cleaners Comparison Charts, which clearly indicates our favorite vacuum cleaners
• A listing of all of our Canister Vacuum Cleaners.
• Other useful articles to help you make a choice are
• Hepa Vacuum cleaners for Allergy Sufferers; and,
• Hepa Vacuum Cleaners - A Buyers Guide.

First Published: September 2003
Updated: April 2007

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