With the holidays right around the corner, you know you're going to need a reliable vacuum cleaner to pick up after guests who make a mess! Consumer Reports has a new tally that covers many popular canister vacuums (both bagged and bagless). The real lesson from their findings is you'll have to shell out at least in the mid $200 range to get quality. No sub-$100 vacuum for you! Before we get into the best and worst, here are the seven criteria the magazine looked at to determine these rankings: How the vacuum performs on carpet, bare floors, tool airflow, noise, emissions, handling and pet hair. Read more: Online Shopping Guide: How to get the best price possible Consumer Reports tested vacuums in a wide range of prices, everywhere from $150 for a Hoover Multi-Cyclonic SH40060 to $1,500 for an Aerus Lux Guardian Ultra. What they found is that their recommended models were all clustered from the mid $200 range to the mid the $300 range. Among bagged canister vacuums, the magazine like two brands in particular: Panasonic and Kenmore.

Here are the individual models they called recommended buys: When it comes to bagless models, the same two brands dominated, with an honorable third place mention to Hoover. Again, all of these models are recommended buys: One big surprise in the findings: Dyson. The ultra-chic vacuum maker's Cinetic Animal ($550) and Ball Compact Animal ($450) models got the two lowest scores in the entire tally! Read more: High quality toilet paper comes cheap! Want more money-saving advice for your home? See our Homes & Real Estate section.The increase in the number of asthma cases has heightened our awareness of how indoor air quality affects our general health. Asthma is one of our nation's most common chronic health conditions. Many substances can aggravate allergies or increase the severity of asthma symptoms in individuals who are sensitive to these allergens or irritants. Vacuum cleaners can remove many of these irritating particles from the air. The filtration efficiency of a vacuum cleaner may significantly affect airborne dust and allergens in indoor air.

To prevent these minute particles containing allergens from being re-circulated into the air, a vacuum cleaner's filtration system must be very efficient at trapping small particles. To really get a carpet clean, pass the vacuum cleaner over the target area as many as eight times. Only use vacuum cleaner bags until they are half filled. As the bag fills up with dirt and dust, airflow becomes limited and the vacuum cleaner loses its suction capacity. Using a vacuum that has a HEPA or ULPA filter may help reduce allergens. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) is a filter that meets standards for collecting 99.7 percent of all particles at 0.3 microns (a human hair is about 60 to 80 microns). Most HEPA filters are disposable and must be replaced every 6 to 12 months. A HEPA filter is placed at the last stage of filtration. Then, all the air flowing through the vacuum must pass through the HEPA filter. ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) is a filtering efficiency specification for filters that retain all particles to 0.12 microns at an efficiency rate of 99.999 percent.

If your family has anyone who suffers from chronic allergies or asthma, a central vacuum system is the best choice. Dirt is either collected in a container in the basement or garage or pumped directly outside the house, not back into the indoor air. Central vacuum cleaners are generally more expensive, and consideration should be given to the cost of installation as well as the design. There are no onboard tools, and the system uses longer hoses than typical vacuums.bosch upright vacuum cleaner Micron and electrostatic filters have high filtration efficiencies, around 98 percent at 0.3 microns. vax vacuum cleaner dealsThese filters trap fine dust particles and create an electrostatic charge as air passes through them. vacuum cleaner dealer in kolkata

Micro-lined vacuum bags are available for most major vacuum cleaners. They are 2-ply construction and contain Bactrastat™, an anti-bacterial agent. These filters offer 99.7 percent filtration. Contact your local University of Illinois Extension office and visit these web sites: Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes Carpet and Rug InstituteThe Kenmore 31150 (MSRP $299) offers an exceptional balance of price, performance, and mobility. When it comes to raw cleaning performance, this $300 upright beats out vacuums that cost five times as much, and is well-suited to a variety of situations, from shag carpet to hardwood floors. Grains of dirt large and small are cleaned up with equal zeal, and if all that wasn't enough, this model is self-propelling, so you won't need to strain your back vacuuming an entire large home. Just be aware that convenience disappears if you have to lug all 20 pounds of the 31150 up any stairs, and a clunky design makes spot cleaning and storage a real chore.

If you live in a one-story or don't mind the weight, this is the upright to buy. Standard attachments, plus a dirt sensor The Kenmore 31150 comes with a pretty standard repertoire of accessories. There's a crevice tool, a telescopic wand, and what Kenmore calls a Pet Handi-Mate—an attachment with thick bristles, great for pet hair and stair cleaning. Conveniently, all the attachments clip right onto the back of the vacuum. Combine these with the 33-foot long cord, and the user-friendly 31150 will easily clean most rooms without the need to unplug and replug at all. Unfortunately, a few important convenience features have been omitted. The power cord, for example, doesn't automatically retract, and that Pet Handi-Mate—useful as it is—isn't motorized. The dirt sensor is a extra that we didn't expect. A light illuminates when an onboard sensor detects your vacuum is still picking up dirt, so perfectionists can be sure they've cleaned the floor as thoroughly as possible.

Or, here's another idea: Tell the kids that their vacuuming chores aren't done "until the light goes out." Self-propelled means less back pain for you, sort of One of the major drawbacks of uprights versus canisters is weight. A typical upright is much heavier and requires more push force to get the job done. The Kenmore 31150 moves forward on its own, meaning you expend almost no effort pushing this upright forward. The Kenmore 31150 is self-propelled so you need to exert very little effort to move it forward. On the other hand, you might strain yourself moving furniture. The 31150's profile gives it poor clearance. This vacuum requires at least 4 vertical inches to sneak under the couch, and even then it can only reach in about 7 inches before abutting the rest of the body. You may also have issues using this vacuum on stairs. This model weighs a little over 20-pounds, so keep that in mind if you've got more than one level to clean. The strong self-propulsion also makes the unit difficult to pull backwards.

While using the extension hose, we found the 31150 does have a tendency to tip over. Classification as an "upright" makes us think the Kenmore 31150 should, you know, stay upright. So just be aware of this design flaw if you're cleaning the Ancient Antiquities wing at your local museum. $449.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond Eureka Brushroll Clean AS3401A $549.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond Here's where this Elite lives up to its name. This Kenmore's suction power really is "Elite." This vacuum captured dirt like a magnet, especially large debris. We used rice and macaroni to simulate the aftermath of a messy eater, and the 31150 cleaned up the mess entirely. In our dirt test, the Elite left our test carpet spotless within two passes. It didn't matter if we were vacuuming up against the wall or in the middle of the room—the 31150 performed equally well. Shag carpet is difficult for any vacuum, but this Kenmore did well compared to its competitors. We calculate it will take about three passes to remove all the dirt out from a very thick carpet.