“Oh, did you buy a stick vacuum cleaner? Aren’t you afraid that it sucks less than your old sled?“How many of those who have gone from an antique sled to an innovative broom have heard this question? And it is legitimate. We have come across sled vacuum cleaners in our homes for many years, while brooms are much more recent and some think, perhaps wrongly, that they are not as accomplished. Furthermore, to power their motors, the sleds have an electric cable which brings them energy from the home, while the brooms do not have to their arrangement than a set of batteries for a necessarily less generous energy supply.
A classic stick vacuum cleaner, The Dreame Z10.
But in absolute terms, is a stick vacuum cleaner less efficient than a canister vacuum cleaner?
The Moulinex Compact Powercyclonic.
To find out, we established the average efficiency rate of the different models that we have been able to test for several years, for four situations: 30 seconds of suction on hard floors, on fine carpets and on long-pile carpets. plus one measurement for 120 seconds on the latter surface. In fact, whatever the vacuum cleaner model, it is very rare that more than a minute of cleaning is necessary to obtain an immaculate floor, except for long-pile carpets. Except on this surface, the differences are therefore visible from the first 30 seconds of use. Note that for stick vacuum cleaners, we established this average in normal mode and boost mode, the rating for canister vacuum cleaners being the best result we were able to obtain by playing on the power, the brush or even the opening of the vacuum cleaner. variator.
On hard floors:
Undoubtedly, the stick vacuum cleaner performs better on hard floors.
Efficiency rate on hard floors.
Although they are not exceptional, the differences are very real.
On fine carpet
Once again, the stick vacuum cleaner is more effective on this surface.
Efficiency rate on fine carpet.
The differences are much more marked, especially when the stick vacuum cleaner is set to its boost or turbo mode.
On long pile carpet
This time, it’s the sled that comes out on top.
Effectiveness rate on long pile carpets.
We notice that the differences are much more notable than in the first two cases, whatever the suction duration.
When depression isn’t enough…
Why this difference? The reason is to be found on the side of the suction head. While very few sleds have a rotating brush, stick vacuum cleaners have had this element since their beginnings. By brushing the floor, they propel the debris towards the suction tube and the air flow finishes the job by directing dust and debris towards the collector if they are not too heavy. Typically, canister vacuums can only rely on their suction power to clean the floor, and sometimes that’s not enough.
On long pile carpets, the rotating brush of stick vacuums is not sufficient to compensate for the lack of suction power compared to canister vacuums. In addition, when beating the carpets, the bristles of the rollers sometimes tend to push the debris towards the depths of the loops, where they can never be dislodged by vacuuming alone.
Choose the right tool
The choice between a stick vacuum cleaner or a canister vacuum cleaner cannot be based on the sole criterion of power. Above all, you need to know how to analyze your needs. Because many other elements come into account such as the versatility of the device, its size, its noise, its ease of maintenance, its filtration capacities… Aspects that are difficult to fully understand in the store, but which our tests return to in detail.