TLDR: new house, no carpets, decision-making part of my brain is super tired out, only big box store nearby is Home Depot. Realtor said I needed to get a swiffer since mopping is too wet for it.
I spent way too much time just deciding which hoses/sprinklers to get and need to save my brain power for which Electrician to hire and which Plumber and so on.
My preference is canister, don’t mind cords, but bag or no bag, HEPA filter? etc.
and I love to use a bucket and mop but I guess I need an alternative but don’t want to be forced to buy scented stuff for a swiffer.
I’m a major fan of Miele vacuums. Have vastly out performed any other vacuums I have owned over the years. I use that AND a mop and bucket. But then maybe I’m old school. Congrats on the new house - I moved last year, still exhausted.
Shark Lift Away. We’ve had ours for many years. Very smartly engineered. The lift away feature of the canister allows you to get under furniture easily. It also has washable filters so you’re not shelling out money for that. I’ve had several vacuums in the last 40 years or so, and this one is the best of the bunch. It’s also one of the highest rated vacs by many rating services.
Don’t fall for vacuum mops. I got a Bissel one and while it’s good to use, it’s an absolute pain to deal with when you’re done. You have to take out the roller and clean it, and clean out the container with the wet goo that is a mix of what you vacuumed up and mopped. And you have to stick your finger up into the hole between the head and the canister to get whatever wet goo (in my case, dog hair) got stuck there. Also when you’re done cleaning you have this wet mop head on the bottom of your vacuum that will leave a little puddle on your clean floor that you have to wipe up by hand.
While Bissel is a great brand, I looked into some other brands to see if they were easier to deal with (Shark, and a random one sold at Costco) and users report the same thing. Does a good job on your floors but you’re left with a very annoying mess after.
So, don’t be enticed by these “all in one” machines. Totally not worth the hassle.
Our Dyson cordless is awesome on our tile and hardwood floors. We also use one of those spin mop buckets. You can get the mop plenty dry for wood. We hate Swiffers as well.
I second the recommendation for Miele vacuums. One thing I like about them is that they are QUIET. Like “cats won’t get scared” quiet. Make sure you get a vacuum rated highly for hard floors.
Don’t buy a vacuum that needs bags. It’s the same scheme as with inkjet printer cartridges, the companies make their money with the constant necessary purchase of the bags/cartridges. I’ve had a Dirt Devil with a canister for quite some years now, for an affordable price, with the same performance as vacuums I had before that used bags. Also easy to clean the filters.
I’d love to have a battery powered Dyson, but first I can’t afford one, and second their CEO is an asshole I don’t want to give money. Maybe when the Dirt Devil breaks, I’ll look for a Dyson alternative, there seem to be battery powered vacuums from different companies that work well too by now.
a lot of people on Reddit disagree with that but I understand what you mean. but there are other considerations besides having to buy the bags. better filtration and vac motor lasts longer with bagged models apparently.
I like ProTeam Backpack Vacuums, and have their ProVac FS 6 Commercial Backpack Vacuum with HEPA Media Filtration and Restaurant Tool Kit. Fantastic for uncarpeted floors. I also have their beater bar carpet attachment. These are excellent and powerful and convenient.
I also have a Eufy robotic vacuum that keeps my office and shop floors spotless.
I think it’s very unfortunate that vacuum cleaner makers have adopted cyclone designs with see-through housings instead of bags, which put on an exciting display but tend to send fine particles back out into your home air. I spent the first 17 years of my technical career in air filtration science, and I think these gimmicks are worse than useless. The bag is the heart of the cleaning process.
I prefer bagged, myself. Just like I don’t like cleaning out my mop-vac components (which nobody would enjoy) I also do not like having to make a bunch of dust by dumping my canister all the time. Replacing a bag is so much easier! And I’ve never noticed a cost issue…
