There are literally hundreds of vacuums available on the market. They have claims that they can deal with carpets, hardwood floors, tile and more.  They range in price from $70 to many hundreds of dollars. Many people are wondering what the best vacuum for hardwood floors is. Also how to about picking a vacuum. Especially when you have hardwood floors and are worried about scratching your brand new hardwood floor.

Best Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

So how do you go about selecting the best vacuum of your home and for your hardwood floors? Like anything else it means establishing a set of criteria and evaluating each one based on those criteria. Even with all of that it is a good idea to also talk to your friends and family. Get their input on what works for them, what they like and do not like about their vacuum.

This will help you to form your own opinion on what works for you and what will satisfy you. The vacuum that your friends have may not be the right one for you based on your home and your personal likes and dislikes. So what criteria should you consider ? Here is our list with some thoughts behind each item. Decide for yourself what is important for you.

Criteria for Picking a Vacuum

Price – There are expensive and cheap vacuums. Your budget can only afford so much. It is good idea to establish your limit first and then work with this guideline as you are reviewing various vacuums.

Central or Non Central – This also is a major decision point and will take you between two major families of vacuums. They each have their advantages. Central vacuums can be vented outside which is important for anyone with allergies. They have a long hose which is easy to maneuver around furniture and rooms. Non central vacuums or traditional vacuums can be moved around easily in the home, outside and can move with you should you decide to change homes.

Attachments – Assess what attachments are included with the vacuum and make sure that there is a non scratch attachment for hardwood floors.

Wheels – If you select the personal vacuum or shall we say the non central vacuum type, check out the wheels. Ensure that they are non scratch so that you will not damage your floors as you move it around the floor.

Hose – central vacuums have a long hose which allows you to reach all of the locations in your home from several plugin hose bibs. You will want to cover your vacuum hose with a cloth covering. This will help to avoid damaging furniture and corners of walls as you drag it around the house.

Storage – This can be a big issue for many people with limited storage area in an apartment for example. Stand up vacuums or wand type vacuums are great since they can easily be stored in a closet with other items.

Power Supply

These wand style vacuums also come with battery powered fans. So you do not have to be concerned about plugging in a power chord. They do have a rechargeable battery which does need to be charged and has a limited life span. This can be an issue for many consumers.

Features – there are probably 10 or 20 other features that you may feel that are important to you. These are really personal likes and dislikes that we all have. We suggest that you list and prioritize them based on your own set of priorities. The main one of course is the floor tool for hardwood floors. Make sure that there is no opportunity for your floor to be scratched in any way.

In our next post we are going to review the wand style vacuum which is portrayed above. We feel that it can be a really good vacuum for people living in apartments. They need a small vacuum to clean up small messes quickly and easily.