Today bagless vacuum cleaners are by far the most popular choice. Contrary to popular belief however, a bagless vacuum cleaner will not necessarily perform better than a bagged vacuum. A bagged vacuum can also be the best choice if you or anyone in the household is asthmatic or suffers with a dust allergy. Before you buy, knowing the advantages and disadvantages of bag vs bagless vacuum cleaners can ensure you choose a vacuum best for you.
Bag vacuum cleaners
William H. Hoover started manufacturing the first domestic vacuum cleaners in 1908. Over the past century, they have evolved considerably and although not now as popular as the bagless vacuum in English speaking countries, there are still considerable advantages of bagged vacuum cleaners:
- Bag vacuum cleaners are hygienic and do not expose you to dust when emptying, making them ideal for asthma and allergy sufferers.
- Bag vacuum cleaners are low maintenance, with little filter cleaning required.
The main disadvantages of bag vacuum cleaners are:
- Using simple paper bags suction performance can deteriorate quite quickly depending on the type of dust being picked up as the bag fills. However our PUREFILTA HEPA bags utilise the latest in high tech filter media developments to ensure no loss of suction until the bag is completely full, whilst delivering improved cleaning performance and impressive H10 fine dust filtration-excellent for dust allergy sufferers and pet owners.
- It is not always easy to see when the bag is full, although some bagged cleaners have full bag indicator lights
- Bag vacuum cleaners require replacement bags which are typically available in packs of 5 or 10.
Bagless vacuum cleaners
Bagless vacuum cleaners have exploded in popularity over the last 20 years since the original Dyson DC01 was launched. They offer the following advantages:
- Bagless vacuum cleaners do not require any bags-but they do need filters changed typically every 12 months-even washable filters degrade!
- Many Bagless vacuum cleaners enable you to see the dirt and debris picked up, making it easy to see when the bin is full.
The main disadvantages of bagless vacuum cleaners are:
- Bagless vacuum cleaners expose the user to dust when emptying and typically need wiping down after emptying.
- Bagless vacuum cleaners are more complex and typically have a smaller dust capacity requiring more regular emptying.
- Most bagless vacuum cleaners require regular filter cleaning to work at peak performance and indeed many need their filters replaced every 12 months to ensure adequate performance. Filtamagic has developed Filtaclean to work with bagless cleaners using pleated filters in the dust bin. Filtaclean acts as a prefilter preventing dust and debris from clogging the main filter, extending its life and making it easier to clean the main pleated filter.
- Due to the spinning of the dust lots of static charge builds up and so all the airways in the cleaner become lined with fine dust that remains in the cleaner, leading to bad odours and lost suction that cannot be overcome without a complete strip down and thorough clean. Filtamagic has developed VacuumClean a cleaning kit for bagless cleaners incorporating Filtaclean to help remove this build up of fine dust in difficult to reach parts of your bagless cleaner for better cleaning performance.
