Vacuums for Wood and Tile Floors
When it comes to cleaning floors, everyone wants the best results in the shortest amount of time. At Bona, we know what it takes to clean smarter, and sometimes, that just means getting the right tool for the job. For basic floor care maintenance, it’s important to clean your floor often so that they stay beautiful and healthy.
In the past, vacuums weren’t recommended for cleaning hard surface floors. Now, with the dominance of popular hard surfaces like hardwood, luxury vinyl and tile, vacuum manufacturers are making vacuums with hard surface floors in mind. If you’re looking to find the best vacuum for hardwood floors and more, here are few things to keep in mind.
Scratch Resistance
The brushes on a regular vacuum can scratch a floor’s or scatter debris. While some vacuums may have a rotating brush for deeper carpet cleaning, be sure to find a vacuum that has soft bristles, an option to turn off the rotating brush or no brush at all.
Pro Tip: If your vacuum has a beater bar, make sure it doesn’t hit the bare floor. Also, the wheels on a vacuum might damage the floor.
Style
Vacuums come in all shapes and sizes. Find out which type best suits your needs.
- Upright vacuums are better for carpets and have a wider cleaning path.
- Canister vacuums are easier to move around and are better than uprights at cleaning under floors, drapes and upholstery.
- Stick vacuums are extremely light, bagless and easy to store.
- Robot vacuums move by themselves, work in tight spaces and can navigate around obstacles.
Performance
Finding the right vacuum means balancing your wants with your budget. Here are some factors to consider to find the best vacuum for hard surface floors.
- Suction. Better suction means better cleaning. When vacuuming hard surface floors, you want a machine that is strong enough to get in hard to reach spaces between planks or tiles.
- Attachments. Vacuums are designed to handle multiple jobs. Make sure your vacuum has the attachments you need most to maximize use and value.
- Dust/Dirt disposal. Bagged or bagless? Bags offer simple disposal but cost more. When going bagless, make sure the disposal method is easy and reduces the amount of dirt that may be released back into the air.
- Extra floor protection. Since most vacuums are designed for carpets, look at how the machine will protect your floors. Choose rubber wheels over plastic and see how if the vacuum has pads/rubberized parts to reduce damage to floors, baseboards and furniture.
Comfort
While not deal breakers, thinking about these extras can help make choosing a vacuum for wood or tile floors easier.
- Weight. How comfortable will you be moving the vacuum around? Uprights are usually the heaviest of vacuum types.
- Sound. Typical vacuum noise is about 70 decibels. While it won’t cause any damage, some vacuums can get below 50 decibels. If you have lots of hard surface floors, a vacuum’s sound will be amplified.
- Storage. Do you have enough space to store your vacuum? If storage is an issue, consider more compact vacuum options.
Alternative to Vacuums for Hard Surface Floors
Vacuums are nice, but not necessary for getting wood, tile, vinyl and laminate floors clean. A Bona Premium Spray Mop uses microfiber to lock in dirt and debris and designed to be your comfortable, all-in-one solution for hard surface floor care. Here are other considerations for choosing a microfiber mop instead of a vacuum.
- Budget. If budget is top priority, a microfiber mop is a more cost-effective option than vacuums.
- Space. If you have a small space, it might not be necessary to go all-in with a vacuum.
- Efficiency. Mops don’t need to be plugged in or charged and often have a wider cleaning head than vacuums, letting you get floors clean faster.
If you’re interested in how a Bona mop can help clean, shine and protect your floors, discover the Bona Next Generation Spray Mop.
