Why You Should Opt for a Floor Vacuum Instead of a Broom
An essential piece of equipment that we use at The Tidy People when we clean our clients homes, is a hard surface floor vacuum. A hard surface floor vacuum falls on my must-have home cleaning toolkit list. This type of vacuum is going to have a different function than a traditional vacuum that’s made for carpets.
The main difference between a carpet vacuum and a hard surface floor vacuum is whether it has a beater bar or not:
Hard surface floor vacuum: no beater bar for increased air flow, which results in better suction against a flat surface.
Carpet vacuum: a beater bar / brush roll to comb carpets for debris.
Using a vacuum to remove dirt, debris, and microscopic dust from your floors is going to make your home cleaning endeavors more efficient and effective. Floors are typically one of the last tasks done when cleaning, to allow dirt and debris to fall to the floor. Brooms tend to push dirt back and forth and kick up dust. This means some of the surfaces you’ve already cleaned, will get dirty again when you use a broom.
A floor vacuum is more hypoallergenic and minimizes the overall dust in a space. While brooms are the less expensive route, a good hard surface floor vacuum is a worthwhile one time investment.
An added benefit to investing in one of these vacuums is that it will replace two tools and help you consolidate: a broom and a hand vacuum. Most hard surface floor vacuums include a hand vacuum feature or attachment to help remove dust off of furniture, upholstery, and other small crevices.
The largest continuous surface in any home, are the floors. This is a surface you’ll want to prioritize if you want your home to look and feel cleaner. Here are a few recommendations for hard surface floor vacuums:
Dyson V15
Dyson has really upped their game over the last few years. Their technology has significantly improved across the board on all of their appliances. One of which is the Dyson V15 stick vacuum. Not only is the V15 highly effective for vacuuming floors, the experience in using it is quite seamless. After you install the mount, your V15 sits on a wall mounted charger when not in use. Keep this in an accessible location to easily vacuum up floor debris as you make a mess.
I like the fact that I can easily grab this vacuum after cooking a meal and do a quick cleanup of the kitchen floor. It’s one less step than a broom. You don’t have to empty the contents of a dustpan right away. And when you do need to empty the canister, it’s an easy eject button to make this happen.
If you have a larger home, you might benefit from their larger version, which is their Outsize. The canister is larger and it comes with two rechargeable batteries.
Bonus, the V15 also vacuums carpets too. Its built in sensor will automatically adjust to the carpet floor pile.
Backpack Vacuum
These vacuums are true workhorses. I’ve used these at The Tidy People to clean houses for 15 years. These vacuums have served us well. They’re powerful and make the experience of cleaning SO MUCH EASIER.
They come with a series of attachments, but I highly recommend this additional one that attaches to the hose to vacuum upholstery.
You can easily switch between using the wand for floors and use the hose to easily get into crevices for a more focused cleaning.
With this being a corded vacuum, the power is a bit greater than the Dyson V15. If you’re looking for a vacuum that’s going to pack a punch and get the job done, this is your vacuum. If you have carpets, you’ll need to keep a carpet vacuum on hand separately.
Additional Floor Vac Recommendations
Lastly, I recommend doing your due diligent research when purchasing a vacuum. Any cleaning tool that you purchase for your home, needs to not only work, but work for you. Factors to consider are functionality, battery power / corded power, ergonomics, storage, and design.
