Photo: Miele
Guide: Technology
Battery or Eco? With or without bag? Turbo brush or brush roller? Tips to buy and use
There they stand - harmoniously next to each other in red, green, yellow, blue, beige and also in chic black. And which may it be? It is vacuum cleaner but vacuum cleaner, or not?
A look at the price tags quickly makes it clear that there must be a few other differences in addition to the color, so that the prices of around 100 to 300 euros and explain more. First off: You do not always have to buy the most expensive device, but not the cheapest. And: It should be a branded device. Because in practice, it shows again and again that it is the better choice. Whether suction, processing or accessories: they score in almost all areas.
These models are available
Upright vacuum cleaners are classics. Their housing with motor, blower, filter and dust bag or, more and more frequently, with bagless dust container runs on rollers and is simply pulled along. In the case of hand vacuum cleaners, the technology is integrated directly in the intake manifold. The slim dimensions make them easy to stow away. The dust bags have a smaller volume and need to be replaced more often. But the rigid pipe quickly makes vacuuming upholstery into an acrobatic exercise. The small vacuum cleaners are ideal for quickly picking up dirt.
Not yet mature, but pretty future: Vacuum cleaner robot. The battery-powered, space-sized devices clean floors as if by magic. They navigate around obstacles, stop in front of heels and return to the charging station to recharge.
Which type fits to whom?
Before buying, do a housing and usage analysis. For large apartments / families and frequent use, a vacuum cleaner with a long cable is the best choice. For small apartments / singles often enough a good hand vacuum cleaner. For textile or wooden floors special nozzles are recommended - there are two types of equipment. Rule of thumb: The larger the apartment and the more often the device is used, the higher the quality should be.
This is part of the basic equipment
Standards include automatic cable rewinding, telescopic tubes for adjustment to the individual body size, dust bag change indicator and an accessory compartment, often integrated into the housing, with upholstery and crevice nozzle and suction brush.
Which extras do you need?
For heavily used carpets, a turbo brush is recommended, either with a vacuum cleaner driven or battery operated brush roller. Powerful are electric brushes with their own motor, which ensures that the brush roller - regardless of the suction power set on the device - always evenly brushes and even traces removed. For sensitive wooden floors, special parquet nozzles are available with particularly gentle brushes or with rotating microfibre discs.
Special floor brushes are also available for tiles and textured hard floors, which absorb even the finest dust from joints and cracks.
With or without dustbag?
The vacuum cleaner bag is full to the brim, replenishment has to come, but the empty pack is not to be found. The search for the right bag has driven many to despair. Now many manufacturers offer devices that work with so-called cyclone filters. They lead the dirt into a transparent container that can be emptied at any time. After emptying, the box is wiped out and replaced. In the purchase, the devices are more expensive, but you save the bag costs - a mathematical example.
It depends on the filter
In addition to the suction force, the right filter is crucial. Optimal are multi-stage filter systems with antibacterial coated dust bag, motor protection filter, exhaust plus charcoal filter, which ensure that only purified exhaust air flows out of the housing. The dust bag picks up the coarse particles, the motor protection filter prevents fouling of the blower, and the activated charcoal filter frees the air from unpleasant odors, which may be caused by animal hair. Recommended: Devices with electronic fill indicator. Without indication it is advisable to change the bag every six to eight weeks.
So keep it clean
Simply vacuum any lint and hair adhering to the floor nozzle with the end of the hose after each vacuum, wipe plastic slides with a damp cloth every now and then.
