Posted on Feb 15th 2014
Have you ever vacuumed on a sunny day and noticed particles floating in the air of the room you just cleaned? Some vacuums remove dirt from your floors but then blow that same dirt right back in to your air. These vacuums will affect your homes air quality in a bad way.
A-1 Vacuum has tested the emissions on over 50 models of vacuum cleaners using our particle scanner. The particle scanner measures the amount of fine particles per cubic square feet in the air. We have found that the worst vacuums for air quality are bagless vacuums, many of the bagless models expelled up to 20 times the amount of fine particles that were already in the room's air. Bagged vacuums tested much better, even the cheapest bagged vacuum was able to contain dirt better than the bagless models.
Bagged vacuums can differ greatly in our testing due to the different types of vacuum bags & filters. Paper bags are great for trapping large particles but many fine particles can pass through the pores of the bag, for better containment of fine particles, we recommend a Hepa bag. The best vacuums we tested were completely sealed bagged vacuums that forced all out going air through a Hepa Filter. (A Hepa Filter is an air filter composed of a mat of dense fibers arranged in folds, designed according to federalstandards to trap at least 99.97% of airborne particles measuring 0.3 microns in diameter.) These vacuums actually improved the air quality in the room.
Be careful when purchasing a vacuum with a Hepa filter. If the vacuum is not a sealed system, the out going air may not be passing through the Hepa filter before entering your room's air. Only sealed vacuums force all the air through the Hepa filter.
Check out our Miele, Riccar and Sebo vacuum cleaners. These vacuums have been tested in our store and each brand carries several different models that will read zero on a particle scanner, which means you are essentially vacuuming with an air purifier! See the list below to see which models are the best for pet owners and allergy sufferers!
Completely Sealed HEPA Vacuums include:
Miele Complete C3 Calima
Miele Complete C3 Alize
Miele Complete C3 Marin
Miele Complete Brilliant
Miele Complete C3 Kona
Miele Dynamic U1 Jazz
Miele Dynamc U1 Auto Eco
Sebo Automatic X4 Upright 9501AM
Sebo Automatic X4 Pet 9559AM
Sebo D4 Premium Canister
Riccar R40 Radiance Premium
Riccar Retriever R30PET Brilliance
Riccar R30P Premium Brilliance
Riccar R30D Deluxe Brilliance
Riccar Immaculate Canister
Riccar Impeccable Canister
Riccar Pristine Canister