Do you need a vacuum cleaner?

Well, I suppose the first question should be addressed first. A vacuum cleaner is surely a step up from a dustpan and brush, and makes cleaning floors less laborious, with most vacuum cleaners these days being equipped with HEPA filters, (high-efficiency particulate arrestors), that will help keep dust allergens at bay.

Getting a vacuum cleaner is a minefield, and none of mine have lasted as long as my mother’s old one, an ancient and hefty thing with an emptiable bag, that she had for as many years as I was a child. I remember one of my chores was to empty it – you simply turned the bag upside down over a newspaper, held it firmly with two feet, and shook it like mad until all the fluff and dirt came out in a dusty cloud.

Corded or Cordless?

Nowadays, getting a vacuum cleaner is full of choices. Bagless? Cordless? Stick cleaner or a canister? How many watts should it have? If cordless, what is the run-time between charging, and how long should it take to charge? Which will clean the best?

So many questions, but a lot of it is personal choice, so make comparisons before buying. In my opinion, bagless ones are better options because they ensure low dust discharge, and with some having transparent storage bins, you know exactly when to empty them.

Light and manoeuvrable

Cordless ones seem to be the way to go to a lot of people, and I myself went this route recently. I don’t have carpets, only tiles, so it needed to be powerful enough to suck up the animal hairs and dust. The slimline, portable design of the one I selected is light and convenient for whipping around the house, and another plus is The Husband doesn’t mind a little play with it now and again.

However, their small dust capacity and the limitations of the battery life means they aren't suitable for every home, and apparently not many can match the cleaning power of the best corded vacuum cleaners. With regard to life, generally they are supposed last for 2 to 5 years if the battery is not replaceable, but can last for as long as 8 years if you can replace the battery and follow maintenance and cleaning procedures. They are not restricted by cord length or proximity to power sockets, and many have a handheld option for awkward jobs such as cleaning the car or stairs.

Smaller and easier to store they may be, but their capacity is smaller and therefore need emptying more often. In addition, they are limited in runtime by the battery size, but many come with wall mounts that could be placed near a socket for recharging when not in use.

So what about a corded one?

A corded one is the way to go if you have a big space to clean - they have bigger dust containers, and depending on how often you clean and how big your space is, you won’t need to clear out the container so often. Carpeted floors need to have a vacuum with plenty of suction power and an effective brush-roll that can lift away debris, and some models have adjustable height brush-heads for different heights of carpet pile.

Corded ones will have consistent suction power and will retain good suction strength, even on high-power or on turbo, whereas battery-powered vacuums will progressively lose suction power as they lose charge.

On the downside, corded vacuum cleaners will probably need to be plugged into a power socket in every room, and that cord could be a tripping hazard, but they will retain good suction strength, even when on high-power or on turbo. They are often bigger and heavier than battery-powered vacuums, although there are some space-saving stick variations.

Most traditional household vacuum cleaners range from around 600-2000W, and the higher the wattage, the more powerful the suction is likely be. Stick or handheld vacuums use 100 to 200 watts owing to their smaller size and lighter cleaning chores.

You could even go the high-tech robot vacuum route, and increasingly, wet-and-dry cleaners are attracting attention.

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan