Cleaning Up

The breath of fresh air that’s in the vacuum-cleaner segment over the past 2 years is the presence of more-advanced technology in lower priced models. More manufacturers now use cyclonic technology in bagless upright vacuum cleaners. The goal is to create more suction, which results in less time going over your carpet and thus less time at a tiresome task. And that isn’t the only way that manufacturers have sought to make vacuuming easier.

You also will find more lightweight upright and canister vacuum cleaners than there were 2 years ago. We counted 92 upright and canister models that weigh 15 pounds or less, compared with 39 in 2009. Less weight means that the vacuum cleaner is easier to maneuver, and more upright models now have handles that allow you to swivel the machine, so the vacuum-cleaner head can reach into tight spots.

WHIRL BEATERS. The cyclonic process, as you might guess from the name, spins dust out of the air via centrifugal force within the dust chamber and creates clog-free performance. It works great in vacuum cleaners. Models that use multicyclonic technology create more than one cyclone, which manufacturers claim generates even more suction.

For most of the past decade, Dyson vacuum cleaners stood alone as models that have multicyclonic technology. But at least 13 models from four manufacturers now use multicyclonic technology. The good news is that the increased competition has swept in lower prices for the technology. In 2009, for instance, the least expensive multicyclonic model would have set you back $400. Now, you can find such models that start at $150 (The least expensive single-cyclone model in 2009 was $80. Now, prices start at $50.)

But you should know that industry experts are debating whether having more cyclones is better. Unsurprisingly, manufacturers line up behind their own technology. “Most people have [multicyclonic technology], but it’s really the size of the cyclones and how they work together that’s the difference,” Dyson engineer Robert Green says. Dyson models employ three different sizes of cyclones to separate debris from the air flow. Large cyclones handle large particles, intermediate cyclones handle regular dirt and dust, and small cyclones separate out the finest dust, the company says.

Mark Horton of Hoover says multicyclonic technology can reach the point of diminishing returns: Air would stop spinning and air flow would become a narrow stream instead of creating a whirlwind pattern. (Hoover models use up to 12 cyclones.) “It’s the air flow and the pattern it creates that gives you performance,” he says.

But another manufacturer that uses only single cyclones in its models argues that vacuum cleaners need only one cyclone to do the job effectively. “What matters is how much dust you’re separating out from the air stream,” Shark’s Dan Bilger says. “The advantage [of a single cyclone] is you have more room in the cup for dirt.”  

Randy Clarksean, who is president of Kevin Kennedy Associates, which is a mechanical engineering consulting firm, says air flow and air pressure influence the effectiveness of cyclonic technology. Multicyclonic models might have different air-flow rates than single-cyclone models have, he says, and this means that they go about cleaning in a different way but aren’t necessarily more effective.

Our hands-on evaluations show that the difference in cleaning performance was minimal between single-cyclone vacuum cleaners and those that use up to nine cyclones. Several models that we put to work performed almost identically when we used them to suck up a variety of debris that ranged from pet hair to food particles to paper clips from a medium-pile carpet. The bottom line: Multicyclonic technology shouldn’t be the deciding factor in your purchase.