Best vacuum cleaner for carpets - upright or canister?

From Fife, 1 post

Doesn't matter how many reviews I read, I'm still not clear whether an upright is ALWAYS going to be better on carpets than a canister (or cylinder) vacuum cleaner. Most reviews focus on suction, manoeuvrability etc. but few refer to the effectiveness of the rotating brush on uprights and the lack of this on canister wands. In my limited experience it seems to make a big difference!

I have a 6 year old Dyson DC04 which has been great. Yes, it's heavy and cumbersome but it vacuums carpets brilliantly (well, it did until it died on me this morning - but hey, 6 years is not bad!). Given it's age I attempted to replace it with a canister model DC 08 (I think?) about a month ago. But a day later the DC08 was back at Argos. It was rubbish in comparison! I'm not convinced that the suction was any worse but the lack of a rotating brush made a huge difference. It was really hard to manoeuvre on carpet, and just didn't seem to leave the carpets 'as clean' looking. So I returned to my DC04, cleaned its filter (for the first time - it should be done every 6 months!) which improved its performance even more, and sods law a week later the damn thing has sucked its last pile of dust. Now the dilemma is what to get next. The Numatic Henry gets great reviews but IS IT ANY GOOD ON CARPETS??? And most of the other highly rated ones are canister models too - all bar the Seba.

Any wisdom appreciated!!

From UK, 4 posts

Ive had a lot of different brands pass through my hands.. I definately thnk uprights are better than cylinder vacuums; Im currently using a Sebo K1 cylinder with a turbo brush floor head and although it picks up threads and everything my upright does (my parents have my X1 Automatic) it feels very bulky at the end of the actual hose and pipes; the increased weight is felt most when cleaning acres of carpet and getting under furniture. Whilst cylinders are lighter in general Im not keen to pull a machine behind me.

In terms of carpet pick up an upright is much better, even though they may well get stuck on tassles of rugs; there is more weight from the permanently attached rolling brush and therefore pick up is more uniform than a turbo brush which has light springs to adjust itself on carpets with deep grit.

If your vacuum is getting clogged all the time then it could well be the filters which need checking but then again Ive never had a vacuum which has clogged unless its been bagless which is why I prefer bags.

1 post

I definitely think that upright vacuums are best for carpets, and canister vacuums are best for hardwood floor. I think it is because of the turning roller brush on upright vacuums that they were designed for carpets. Vacuum Cleaners Guide can give you more definitive answers on vacuums and their respective ratings.