With a price
differential of more than £350 between the top of the range
and the basic budget buy, you’ll want to know whether you get
what you pay for. We tested 18 cleaners to help you make the
best choice. Even if you’re not shopping for a new one right
now, cut out this guide and keep it safe. It could save you a
fortune.
I’ve got a mixture of carpet and hard
flooring in my house. Should I choose a cylinder or an upright
cleaner?
We got good results from both types in our
tests. If you’re vacuuming a carpet with an upright, the
beater bar will lift the pile and brush out the dust, but if
you’re using a cylinder, you need a turbo brush attachment to
get the same effect. For hard floors, switch to a standard
cleaning head on a cylinder or turn the beater bar off on an
upright, so you don’t scratch the surface.
My son
has an allergy to dust mites. I’ve heard that some vacuum
cleaners can help – what should I look out for?
Look
for a cleaner with the British Allergy Foundation seal of
approval (http://www.allergyfoundation.com/ has a full
list), such as the Dyson DC07 and DC11 or the Morphy Richards
Premair 2000w.
Are bagless cleaners better than
bagged ones?
Not necessarily. Some bagless cleaners
retain full suction power even when they’re full, but our
tests show that’s not the whole story. When we looked at
cleaning performance based on average full and empty scores,
bagless cleaners did no better when considered as a group. On
the plus side, they’re generally easier to
empty.
There are lots of stairs in our house and I
struggle with my upright cleaner. Would a cylinder model be
better?
That’s the obvious choice, but an upright with
a long hose is a good alternative. The Dyson DC07 and the
Electrolux Glider z5747 both reach 12 stairs in one go,
compared with seven on most uprights.
What’s the
best way to tackle pet hair?
Use an upright cleaner
with the beater bar on, or a good cylinder with a turbo brush
attachment. Both worked well in our tests.
Which
type of cleaner is best for someone with a bad back?
A
lightweight upright, such as the Oreck, is one possibility, as
you don’t have to bend over to use it and it takes little
effort to push across the floor. Alternatively you could try a
cylinder cleaner with a telescopic wand – the Dyson DC11
Telescope, for example.
CYLINDER
CLEANERS
Compact and easy to store, these cylinders,
below, are great on carpets and even better on hard
floors.
Compact for storage
Dyson DC11
Telescope Allergy+ bagless cleaner
£289.99
Carpet score:
92/100
Hard floor score: 100/100
If you’re short of
space, this is perfect for you. It cleans well and picks up
pet hair without effort, but edge cleaning on carpet is poor.
The telescopic hose fits neatly on top and the tools fit onto
the side. The cleaning head contains a turbo brush that can
easily be turned on or off. It also has the British Allergy
Foundation seal of approval.
Stockists: 0870 527 5104; http://www.dyson.co.uk/
Good
value
Bosch SPHERA Pro-PetS BSG71825GB
£149.99
Carpet score: 78/100
Hard floor score:
100/100
Unbeatable on hard floors, this well-priced cleaner
is easy to use and glides along both hard and soft surfaces.
It cleans right up to the edges of the room and its turbo
brush removes pet hair in one efficient sweep. Our testers
were particularly taken with the large power switch that can
be operated by hand or, unusually for a cylinder cleaner, by
foot. The bags are self-sealing and easy to replace and
remove.
Stockists: 0870 727 0446; http://www.boschappliances.co.uk/
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UPRIGHT
CLEANERS
If you need to vacuum large areas of carpet
quickly, an upright cleaner is the best choice for you – they
have larger cleaning heads than cylinder cleaners, so they
cover more ground in the same time. In general, they’re also
easier on your back.
The lightweight
investment
Oreck XL7
£429
Carpet score:
99/100
Hard floor score: 94/100
At 5.2kg, this is the
lightest upright cleaner we tested (the others weighed from
6kg to 8.6kg), but it’s also the dearest. It isn’t possible to
test how well it performs when the bag is full because of the
way the cleaner is constructed, but when it’s empty the amount
of dirt it picks up from carpets is astounding. The Oreck is
well designed, simple to operate and easy to manoeuvre. It
comes with a good range of tools and a separate canister
cleaner with a shoulder strap.
Stockists: 0800 684 684; www.oreck.co.uk/ghk45k
Clever
features
Sebo X4 Extra
£249.95
Carpet score:
73/100
Hard floor score: 100/100
This machine raises or
lowers its cleaning head automatically, depending on the type
of floor you’re cleaning, and it alerts you when the bag is
full or clogged. It removes pet hair effortlessly and is good
on carpets and hard floors. The Sebo folds down flat enabling
it to clean under furniture easily, but its downfall is poor
edge cleaning. The attachments fit neatly onto the machine and
the dust bags are easy to use. They come with a plug that
seals the bag to reduce mess.
Stockists: 01494 465 533; http://www.sebo.co.uk/
Top marks
for cleaning
Dyson DC07 Allergy+ Low Reach Tool bagless
cleaner
£289.99
Carpet score: 98/100
Hard floor
score: 98/100
This machine is easy to steer and the
attachments fit securely onto the cleaner. Its performance is
excellent, whether the dust canister is full or empty, and it
cleans well right up to the skirting board. It’s equally good
on carpets and hard floors, and removes pet hair in one sweep.
It also has the British Allergy Foundation seal of approval.
On the down side, at 8.6kg it was the heaviest
tested.
Stockists: 0870 527 5104; http://www.dyson.co.uk/
Bargain
price
Electrolux Hi Light Z2910
£69.99
Carpet
score: 87/100
Hard floor score: 68/100
Not brilliant on
hard floors, but this is excellent value for an all-round
cleaner that can remove pet hair in one sweep. It has a sensor
that automatically adjusts the beater bar to the best height
for the flooring type you set. Bags are easy to fit and
remove, but the machine is let down by its edge cleaning,
leaving a 2cm margin untouched on both hard floors and
carpet.
Stockists: 0870 6055 055; http://www.electrolux.co.uk/
Other
models tested:
CYLINDERS Siemens Dynapower VSO 8G207
£299.99, 79/100; Morphy Richards Premair 2000w £89.99, 73/100;
Sanyo SOC78 £69, 64/100; Numatic Henry HVR200 £95, 63/100;
Hoover Dustmanager TD3824 £99.99, 52/100; Dirt Devil DD2402
£34.99, 47/100.
UPRIGHTS Karcher CV30/1 £238, 81/100;
Electrolux Glider Z5747 £179.99, 79/100; Hoover Dustmanager
4490 £149.99, 72/100; Bissell Cleanview 3590E £99.99, 68/100;
Vax Turboforce 1700 £129.99, 64/100; Panasonic MCE468 £73,
63/100.
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