Choosing the Best Vacuum For Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are awesome – they look great, they feel great and they last forever! That is, if you take good care of them. And that’s where hardwood floors become a major pain in the neck… Most manufacturers recommend regular vacuuming of the wood floors, but not every vacuum will work for hardwood floors – a regular vacuum cleaner might… ouch!… scratch that precious wood!
That’s why you need to pay special attention when choosing the best vacuum for hardwood floors.
What To Look For When Choosing The Best Vacuum for Hardwood Floors
There are a few things you should consider when choosing a vac for hardwood floors:
1. It should be lightweight
This serves two purposes: first, it’s easier to carry around (who likes to lug a heavy vac all around the house?) and secondly, with a smaller weight there’s a smaller chance it will scratch the surface you roll it around on.
2. It should be powerful
A common complain is that not all vacs are good at picking up dust from the space between the floorboards.
3. It must include a soft head/brush
This is a must – you need it it to pick up the dust and litter and NOT scratch the surface.
4. Take a look at the wheels
Even if you’ve found a good vac with a nice soft brush, you still stand the chance of scratching your hardwood floor. The wheels are the number one reason of scratches on the wood. Take a look at the wheels and try to get an idea whether they would scratch the surface or not. The best vacuum for hardwood floors would be the one with some kind of soft wheels, maybe made of rubber or something like that. You still need to be careful when vacuuming though.
5. Upright or Canister?
Uprights are probably better suited for hardwood floors as they are easier to carry around and unlike with carpets, there’s nothing that could get in their way when you’re pushing a vac. Plus, as it lacks a canister with an upright vacuum there’s one LESS thing that could scratch your floor.
6. Are your floors hardwood only or will be cleaning the carpet as well?
If you plan to use the vac on both the hardwood floors and on the carpet, I would take a closer look at canister vacs as they are easier to use when cleaning the carpets – you don’t have to push the entire device through your carpet.
Other nice to have features to look for in the best vacuum for hardwood floors!
Cordless: some new vacs are now cordless and use a rechargeable battery. No more cords getting in your way when you’re doing your cleaning!
Bagless vs Bag: there’s lots of confusion here and lots of different points of view. While bagless vacs are indeed easier to maintain, they also are prone to actually releasing the collected dust back into the air when you’re cleaning them. Some people go as far as to say they only clean they bagless vacs outside. And what if snowing and freezing outside? Ouch…
OK, so now we have successfully determined the important features of our best vacuum for hardwood floors, let’s see which vacs actually meet all the criteria and are a good choice for hardwood floors.
The TOP 4 Contenders for The Best Vacuum For Hardwood Floors Title
Ok, now let’s take a closer look at the 4 best models for hardwood floors.
Best Cordless Vac for Hardwood Floors
Hoover LINX Cordless Stick Vacuum
This vacuum is getting raving reviews on amazon. It’s works great on both hardwood floors and on carpets. It’s got an accurate and useful charge indicator, the filter is very yeast to clean, plus it handles edges very well. It’s also good for pet hair – if you’ve got pets, this is a great machine to pick up the hair they leave on the floor, the rugs and the carpet. Being bagless and cordless makes it VERY MOBILE. It’s a perfect vac for those who want to clean several rooms at a time without having to lug around the canister, though if you need to clean the whole 4500 feet house in one pass, you’d probably be better off looking at other options.
Best Upright Bagless Vac for Hardwood Floors
Shark Navigator Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
If you are looking for an UPRIGHT and BAGLESS version of the vac for hardwood floors, then look no further then Shark Navigator. With it’s lightweight design and smooth-gliding wheels it’s a perfect choice for cleaning larger areas while also being safe for the precious wood.
Best Canister Vac for Hardwood Floors and Carpet
Miele Olympus S2120 Canister Vacuum Cleaner
Besides the famous German quality, Miele offers a very light vac. Olympus S 2120 is an ideal candidate for a UNIVERSAL vac – the one that would easily clean your hardwood floors as well as your carpet.
Best Bagged Upright Vac with Canister, for Hardwood Floors
Hoover Platinum Lightweight Upright Vacuum with Canister, Bagged
Now this is a BEAST! It’s actually 6 products in one – besides being an ordinary vac it also has a portable canister with a shoulder strap for all your above floor cleaning needs. It’s also bagged, so if you decide to go a bagged way – this one’s for you.
If you are looking to buy the best vacuum for hardwood floors that would clean your beautiful floors without scratching them, the four options above are the best choices. Take a look at each, read user reviews and come back to tell us which vac did you end up getting!
With best regards,
Best Vacuum For Hardwood Floors team.