For example if you are going to be on the road a lot, a hand held car vacuum cleaner may be perfect for you, but this wouldn’t be good in a large house with a big family. On the other hand, if you are running a large office or establishment where the vacuum is going to be used a lot more than a regular cleaner you are much more likely to want a commercial vacuum cleaner as these will last a lot longer and should be able to handle anything that the office place can throw at them.

Once you’ve decided exactly what kind of vacuum you want, then and only then do vacuum cleaner ratings become important. They allow you to accurately compare the benefits and cons of vacuum cleaners of the same type. Don’t make the mistake of using cleaner ratings to compare different types of vacuums as this is like comparing a motorbike and car - it’s not a fair comparison. When looking for a vacuum you should consider factors such as durability, easy of use, weight, whether it is bagless or not, cost, whether it is cordless or not and many other things. Most of all you should make sure it is the right type for you to avoid you using your money on a piece of equipment that won’t live up to the job.

What power do they run of you say? Well in the future there may be wireless power transfer to gadgets such as these, but at the moment they run off a simple 6V battery that is rechargeable.

Some things you may want to consider when buying a cordless vacuum are the price - some you can get as low as $50, the type of surface it is used for and what type of vacuum bags it uses. Some of the better cordless vacuum cleaners have a switch allowing you to change between carpet and bare floor vacuuming for ease of use. You should almost always go for a bagless system as you’ll save money on bags and it will be a lot more convenient.

The downside of course of the cordless cleaner is that you need to recharge the batteries reguarly. You should check with the manufacturer before you buy the vacuum to see what kind of battery life it has which will give you an idea of how often it needs to be recharged. You should also take into account the weight of the cleaner and how quickly it charges. Most companies give a square floor coverage of the vacuum running on one battery life, for example the Electrolux Eureka can cover 1,500 square feet of ground before needing to be recharged.

To start with, you need to decide between a personal or commercial vacuum cleaner. that shouldn’t be too hard, it’s a fairly obvious choice! Next you need to decide on a budget. If you are looking to get the cheapest possible vacuum you may have to suffer on options such as suction, portability and other essential features of a vacuum, but you will save money.

Car vacuum cleaners are usually smaller than regular ones and hand hald making it easy to get to the hard to reach places of your vehicle. Some also run through power from the cigarette lighter socket so that you will never not be able to use them as long as your car has petrol.

Some of the brands of car cleaners you can get are Roadpro (who make their Cyclonic range), Metropolitam and of course the ever present in the vacuum world - Hoover.

The price of these vacuums ranges from a small $50 up to hundreds of dollars, depending on the features that they include. For example some have a wet dry suction feature meaning that you can vacuum up liquids that may have spilt in the car as well as dirt and debris. this is very useful if you have kids that like to spill things in the car!

Other features include a blow function so that you can get dirt out of small crevices that the vacuum wouldn’t usually be able to reach.

If you get a wet dry commerical vacuum you’ll be able to vacuum up liquids as well as dirt - as the name suggests.

When buying a vacuum cleaner for commercial use you should first have in mind exactly what you want it to do. Some contain a shampoo system, others can vacuum up liquid and some are more portable than others as well as having more storage. Depending on the job you want the cleaner to perform you’ll have to make a decision based on whether it can live up to the job for you. If you don’t already know what you want from a commercial vacuum then you’ll have no chance of buying the correct one.

You can also buy a variation called commercial floor sweepers which are able to pick up any debris on the form without using the same vacuum mechanism. You need to make sure that if you are using the sweeper for heavy duty work that you get a heavy duty sweeper. They can be expensive and  you need to make sure you get one that can handle the quantity of cleaning that you require otherwise it is pointless and will make the job for your staff more difficult.

Another consideration is what type of floor the vacuum or cleaners will work on. For example depending on your line of work you may require cleaning on asphalt, conrete, wooden floors and many others and you must make sure the commerical vacuum cleaner is up to the job to avoid any unexpected problems later down the line.

What’s even better is that there are now many vacuum cleaner accessories around that can make your job even easier than before. These are add ons or upgrades to your existing vacuum, that increase its usefulness, or allow your vacuum to keep going for longer. For example imagine how expensive it would be having to replace your hoover instead of just changing the bag! (of course Dyson saw to that too).

Most Common Accessories

The most common vacuum accessories are those that attach onto the end providing a different head. These mean you can have the perfect vacuum (or hoover depending on where you are from) with several different suction heads for each different job. You can also get vacuum filters which filter out anything unwanted from entering the bag which can be very useful depending on what you’re planning on vacuum up.

Another common form of vacuum cleaner accessories is that of replacement parts. The great thing about the internet is that you now don’t need to go to specialist shops to get the replacement parts you need, you can get them over the internet. Whether you need a new agitator belt, cleaner bags or filter a quick virtual trip to one of the big retailers will soon see you finding what you want no matter if you have a Dyson, Hoover or other brand of vacuum.

Along with accessories for the vacuum itself you can also get things to help with the carpet cleaning. For example you can get carpet deodorizers and stain precleaning products that help keep your carpet looking brand new and can be great if you want to entertain - the guests will want to know how you do it! Well, OK maybe I exaggerate again, but they are definitely a good buy.

Now a bit more about this site. Whether you want a commercial vacuum cleaner, a car vacuum cleaner, a cordless vacuum cleaner or just vacuum cleaner ratings you’ve come to the right place! Take your time to browse, there is lots of good information here.

You can also get replacement batteries if you are using an automated vacuum such as the iRobot. These are quite expensive but are obviously necessary, and take a lot of pressure off as you don’t have to do the vacuuming yourself.

You’d be amazed at the number of vacuum hoses that are also available online. If your vacuums hose breaks then chances are you’ll be able to find a new one ranging from $5 to $50 depending on the brand that you need. You can also get different types such as flexible, current carrying and slinky depending on the type of vacuuming you’ll be doing in the future.

It’s difficult to explain to people the sheer range of vacuum accessories that are now on the market - suffice to say it’s a lot. No longer do you have to spend hours searching car boot sales for the right replacement part for your hoover, the internet has changed all that for the better in my opinion.