Vacuum cleaners are used to suck up dirt from a carpeted floor or sometimes can also be used on a bare floor. The vacuum cleaners rely on an air pump that sucks up air along with the dirt, deposits the dirt in a reservoir (Vacuum bag or dirt cup) then expels the air back into the room. Vacuum cleaners can either be upright, canister, back-pack, robotic, hand-held or central vacuum units. The most common vacuum cleaner is the upright vacuum cleaner. This type of vacuum cleaner stands upright and has the motor located right above where they intake is. Upright vacuums are also installed with brushes that help agitate the dirt from the carpet or floor. The dirt is either deposited in a vacuum bag or in a dirt cup referring to the either bag or bag less vacuum. The vacuum bag is changed out when full and the cup emptied out when the dirt reaches a certain level.

There are many manufacturers of vacuum cleaners that are designing an array of different styles of vacuums that boast different functions. There are two new trends developing in the vacuum cleaning world today. The first is the upright bag less vacuum cleaner. This style vacuum cleaner was developed by James Dyson approximately 15 years ago. The Dyson vacuum cleaner does not use a bag and is considered on the most effective vacuum in the market place today. The Dyson does not loose suction and effectively has more cleaning power. The vacuum cleaner sucks in the air/dirt combination and uses the centrifugal principle to separate the dirt from the air. The air is then expelled from the vacuum after passing through a number of filters which keeps the air clean. Since Dyson introduced a bag less vacuum there have been many other manufacturers introducing their version. Dyson vacuums are however still expensive unlike the bag less competitions vacuum cleaners. The second trend is the robotic vacuum cleaner like the Roomba or the FloorBot. These are not vacuum cleaners per see but are self propelling and clean the floor and carpet of dust and debris. They are equipped with special sensors that allow them to navigate around the room and are efficiently programmed to cover the entire floor.

To comparison shop for vacuum cleaners you can visit the popular manufacturers websites. Miele, Dyson or eureka vacuum cleaner website have online product catalogues where you can read up on the various features of the vacuum cleaners. You can also visit some of the websites like epinions.com where consumers rate and review vacuum cleaners. This will give you a more unbiased opinion. Another good source for comparisons are Consumer guides. They do a thorough and detailed comparison of vacuums cleaners and summarize their findings. Vacuum cleaners can be considered a big investment with some of the more popular brands going for as much as $500 dollars and some for as little as $50. The high end vacuum cleaners boast high technology that makes them more effective. Allergy sufferers are being advised to purchase vacuum cleaners like the Dyson Vacuum that is designed to keep dust to a minimum.