{ vacuums }

i tried to figure out how many vacuums i’ve tried in my lifetime. it’s futile, there have been so many. when i first started my business, i used whatever vacuum my clients had on hand…so. many. vacuums. so i’ll try to keep this short-winded and just give a few tips on what to look for in a vacuum and then leave you with my favorite of all time.

 1. good suction

this is actually quite a difficult feat for most vacuum manufacturers. they focus on either being the best at carpet suction or the best at hard floor suction and then proceed to be bad at both. and who wants to have to store two separate vacuums? nobody. some people just get a good “carpet” vacuum and stick to sweeping their hard floors. this is completely a preference thing-i do not prefer it since sweeping always leaves debris behind.

2. tool attachments

make sure there are at least two good tools that come with the vacuum. it should have a long nozzle for getting in crevices and an upholstery head for getting stairs or furniture. the possibilities beyond this are endless. i’ve seen tools for the most specific and kind of unnecessary tasks, so be careful not to purchase a vacuum just because of all the fancy tools that come with it. odds are that you will rarely, if ever, use them. the vacuum i use now has a dusting wand and a motorized pet tool that i absolutely love, so those have been unexpectedly worth the purchase.

3. easy to use & take apart

the most important thing is that your vacuum is easy for you to understand. some of them do just take a little getting used to, but if it takes 5 minutes just to figure out how to empty the dust bin, i would say that’s a bit too complicated. this is another reason i love the vacuum i use-it has easy to see buttons marking each cool thing the vacuum can do. this is also crucial for vacuum maintenance. if the only person who can unplug a simple clog in the vacuum is someone at a vacuum repair shop, it’s too complicated! i can take apart my entire vacuum in 30 seconds and see through every tube/hose to see where the clog may be. so, so easy. same with filter replacement and brush roll cleaning. these are things you can easily do yourself and save tons of money on regular maintenance and repairs.

so my vacuum of choice, for those of you who are dying from the suspense, is a shark apex duoclean. it’s great on both hardwood & carpet, has a separate setting for thicker carpet & area rugs, can be taken apart for staircases and detail work, comes with some of the best attachments i’ve ever used in the industry, is easy to clean and even easier to take apart. it has a self cleaning brushroll (for REAL, i use it on 2-3 houses per day and i’ve had it for 4 months and still haven’t had to clean it!!) and a separate special brush roll just to pick up dust on hardwood. filters are inexpensive, easy to wash, and easy to replace. it has a rubber edge on the vacuum head so you don’t ruin your baseboards or furniture by bumping into them, and probably my favorite feature of all-it has lights on the vacuum head AND on the attachment hose when you take it apart to use. this means if you’re cleaning a dark corner, under your bed, or in a closet, you can see all the dirt so clearly and do a way better job at cleaning it. here’s a link in case you’re interested: Shark APEX

you can find it much cheaper from amazon’s refurbished program, but keep in mind it may be gently used and not come with all the stellar attachments.

i could go on and on about this topic because i’m a complete cleaning nerd, so let me know if you’d like to learn more about vacuum purchasing/care/repair and i’ll add some to our facebook page and instagram stories. 

have a lovely, gloomy winter day, everyone! xo