Consumer Reports Finds Vacuums' Claims to Remove Allergens Mean Less Than They Suggest

While vacuum marketers continue to push allergen relief along with the usual cleaning,
results from a new Consumer Reports test show that those promises mean less than they suggest. Months of rigorous testing on vacuums at all price levels also showed that some new names and designs didn't cut it in Consumer Reports' evaluations.

Some uprights, including models from Bissell, Dirt Devil, Dyson, Electrolux, and Oreck, claim to filter allergens. Dyson touts an Asthma Friendly seal from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America certifying its uprights are "proven more suitable for people with asthma and related
allergic sensitivities," and many of its models carry a Seal of Approval from the British Allergy Foundation for products that "restrict or remove allergens from the environment of allergy sufferers." Vacuums that made those claims did, indeed, pick up allergen-sized particles in Consumer Reports tests. But so should others, since pollen, mold spores, and other typical allergens are large enough to fall to the floor, where they're easy to capture.

CR says it also found two models that quit -- the Electrolux and the Eureka Optima. The Electrolux suggests using its Twin Clean canister's "powerful brushroll" for deep-cleaning, which this model did well in the carpet tests. But the tough pet-hair test stopped it cold. The latest Eureka Optima was better than earlier versions at capturing larger particles. But it scored a "Poor" in the emissions tests. Two samples temporarily shut down after those tests triggered their thermal-overload protection.

Two less-familiar brands also proved disappointing. Koblenz markets its U-610-ZN ($440), upright for commercial use, yet it delivered less-than-stellar cleaning, won't accept tools, and was noisy enough to require hearing protection. Metropolitan's ADM-4PNHSF ($600), canister
proved fine on carpets and floors, but only "Fair" in our hose-airflow tests.

"With all the promises, it's easy to get confused when shopping, especially if you have asthma or allergy concerns. But at roughly 100 times larger than the smallest specs we measure, allergen particles should be easy game for practically any vacuum. And models that scored at least Very
Good in our dust-emissions tests will nab the bad stuff," says Bob Markovich, Home & Yard editor at Consumer Reports. "Our long list of Quick Picks and CR Best Buys includes vacuums that cost as little as $60 and proved capable at a variety of cleaning tasks."

The vacuum story is in the October issue of Consumer Reports which goes on sale at newsstands and everywhere on September 4.

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