Upright Vacuum Cleaners
It is a generally accepted fact that upright vacuum cleaners are best for carpet, although most upright vacs can also clean bare floors. However, if you mostly have bare floors with just a few rugs, a canister vacuum might be a better choice. Canister vacuums are also easier to carry up stairs or to the garage, though they tend to be more expensive than upright vacuum cleaners. We will create a separate report on canister vacuums at a later time.
I subscribe to Consumer Reports and pay a great deal of attention to their reports. Consumer Reports performs the best vacuum cleaner testing, and in their latest review, 37 upright vacuums are rated for cleaning ability on carpet, bare floors and with tools, as well as for noise, emissions and ease of use. Their editors also test how well vacuums can pick up pet hair on carpet. Which? magazine is the U.K. equivalent of Consumer Reports, and they also test upright vacuums. Although not all tested vacs are available in the U.S., editors go into great detail about Dyson vacuums, including reliability issues and company response. Consumer Reports and Which? Online are easily the most comprehensive reviewers of vacuum cleaners.
Gladys, our Roomba automatic robot vacuum is difficult to clean after she does her thing. The lint gets wound tightly around the rollers and has to be picked out with a knife blade. This is one of the few things that irritate me. It would have been better had they designed it so the roller would easily come off, this would not be a problem.