Look for attachments that suit your housekeeping needs, whether that’s crevice tools for tight spaces or pet hair removers (The Independent)
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Uprights may not be the most modern-looking of the vacs on the market, but there is something to be said for a powerful, corded machine on wheels to tackle hard floors, reach deep into pile and leave satisfying swishes on your rejuvenated carpet.
The benefits? You’re not working against the clock for a start; no need to frantically cover ground before the charge runs out, as with cordless models. Uprights can also feel easier to push around than many cylinder vacs and with the weight of the main body supported and on wheels, you may find them comfier to use for extended periods than top-heavy chargeable models.
Choose an upright vacuum cleaner and you’ll have a choice of bag capacities, cord lengths and weights, with many models offering technology that will automatically alter the height of internal rollers and brushes to clean both hard and soft surfaces automatically.
Adjustable suction comes in handy when you could do with a boost to tackle ingrained dirt or want to go easy on lampshades, cushions and curtains using a hand tool. Talking of which, our test selection featured everything from crevice tools to pet hair removers, mattress cleaners to soft brushes that worked wonders on laptop keyboards. There’s sure to be an attachment for your housekeeping needs.
We tested a selection of upright vacuum cleaners, all with filters to help allergy sufferers by containing dust once collected. The vacs collected dirt in integral bins or disposable bags and most adjusted, manually or automatically, to tackle differing weights of carpet and hard surfaces.
Testing them on rugs, stairs, long and short-piled fitted carpets and a selection of soft furnishings, we looked for manoeuvrability, cleaning power and the versatility to tackle all sorts of cleaning jobs with the accessories provided. When needed, we used a nifty Pikk-It cleaning tool to free any trapped debris or tightly wound hair, to keep rollers and brushes spinning.
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A bargain choice, this Beldray vacuum cleaner looked great in glossy black and rose gold and had a smaller footprint than most other models, making it an ideal option if storage space is tight. Although this model was easy to use all over the home for a quick whizz around, it might not have the wattage power to tackle very heavy-duty clean ups. That said, pick up was impressive for this specification and if little and often is your cleaning mode, this is a serious contender as it’s great value for the money and looks good too.
For larger homes with lots of carpet, this is the vacuum with the capacity to keep going without emptying – as it has a huge 5.3kg bin bag. This model doesn’t have a swivelling head like others here, so we wouldn’t recommend it for smaller spaces with lots of furniture and obstacles. But the A-rated filtration here is excellent so it’s a great choice for allergy sufferers. An optional hose extension is needed for reaching a full staircase, however, as the one included will only reach around halfway. This model is not recommended for hard floors, but it does a fantastic job on rugs and carpets, adapting to different piles with ease and rejuvenating the look of tired floors.
Guarantee: 12 months, with 10 years free parts guarantee
With the longest cord length of any vac in our round-up, this model also had a super-stretchy tube for connection to the hand tool which could reach to the very top of the staircase, leaving the main body of the vac safely at ground level.
We loved the extension tube on this model – reaching previously-neglected cobwebs was easy and the generous cord length (like the Sebo X7, with the longest in our round-up) meant we could wander the whole house without having to unplug. This Hoover upright model looked good in metallic blue and grey and the LED headlights on the head ensured we picked up every last bit of grit from dusty corners with its impressive suction.
For all-round cleaning power and the versatility to tackle everything we threw at it, the Shark duo clean got our vote. It’s expensive, but not only was it quiet and easy to use all over the house, the results were there to see, with astounding levels of dust in the bag and tired carpets looking spruce again. For non-stop, long-range cleaning, the Hoover model was a workhorse and great value at under £200.
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