It is a common misconception that all vacuum cleaners do the same job, and therefore your purchase should be based on price rather than features. However, there are many factors to consider when buying your vacuum, in order to ensure that the cleaner you buy is perfect for you. Are you looking for the best handheld vacuum cleaner, or perhaps a stronger, more powerful upright?

Below is the outline of the five main factors you should take into account when you go vacuum cleaner shopping:

1. What type of mess are you trying to clean up?

When you are buying a vacuum cleaner, you are buying it for a specific purpose. This purpose can vary from cleaning up pesky pet hair on carpets, accidental spills made by children, hard to reach areas, hardwood surfaces, your entire house, cleaning windows and cleaning surfaces that hold moisture.

One vacuum cleaner cannot effectively clean up these different types of messes, and that is why you need to buy a cleaner that is custom to your needs.

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Corded Hand Vaccum 33A1-B is suited for pet hairs, the Vax H90-GA-B Gator Handheld Vacuum Cleaner is good for dry spills, while the Eureka Easy Clean Hand Vac, 71 B is an excellent choice for wet surfaces, mirrors and windows.

2. Corded or Cordless?

Another popular question is whether to buy a corded or cordless vacuum cleaner. A cordless cleaner is extremely convenient, light, easy to store and avoids the annoying power cord entanglement. However, it needs to be charged in between uses. The Dyson Digital Slim DC44 and Hoover Linx Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner are some of the most popular cordless cleaners on the market, marrying easy to use features and efficient clean up.

However, because cordless cleaners run on charge, they can only operate for between 10-20 minutes. This is fantastic if you are planning to clean a small area e.g car interior, but if you would like to clean a larger area a corded cleaner is advisable. Corded cleaners have also been known to have greater suction power-though they may be inconvenient and bulky at times, they get the job done.