Best Multi Surface Vacuums in 2023

Upright Vacuum Cleaner

An upright vacuum cleaner has an all-in-one design and power beater brush that efficiently loosens and lifts dirt. This type of vacuum is ideal for cleaning large, carpeted rooms in your house.

Upright vacuum models tend to have onboard attachments that add to their versatility.

For cleaning across carpets and hard floors, look for an upright vacuum with height adjustment features or floor settings. This will make it easy to transition across your floor surfaces.

Or, consider an upright vacuum with a brush roll shutoff. This will stop the brush roller from spinning when you’re cleaning hardwood surfaces to avoid damaging them.

Most upright models have bulky designs, so make sure you look for the lightest option. Or, consider one with wheels.

Otherwise, you may struggle to maneuver them on thick carpeting or rugs. For example, see this Eureka PowerSpeed Upright Vacuum.

Stick Vacuum Cleaner

Stick vacuums are lightweight and offer the convenience of a hand vacuum cleaner but with the sturdy design of an upright vacuum. So they’re ideal for cleaning hardwood or hard floors.

A stick model is most ideal for quick cleanup areas. For example, they’re perfect for cleaning bathroom and kitchen floors.

Stick models are also great for light carpeting and small area rugs. However, they tend to have less powerful suction than other vacuum models.

So a stick model may not be the best vacuum for cleaning thick or high-pile carpet. For example, see this Dyson V15 Detect stick cleaner.

Canister Vacuums

Canister vacuums have sleek frames like a stick cleaner. But, they offer the power of an upright vacuum cleaner.

These vacuums have a separate canister with wheels and a long wand. They’re perfect for cleaning carpets as well as bare flooring.

If you have hardwood surfaces to clean, make sure your canister has rubber wheels or bumpers to prevent damages. Hard or plastic wheels can cause scratches or dents on your hardwood floor.

A canister vacuum can feel difficult to maneuver on high-pile carpet or thick carpets. But their long wands make them suitable for a variety of different cleaning tasks such as cleaning upholstery or furniture.

For an example of a canister vac, see this Miele Complete C3 Alize PowerLine bagged canister vacuum.

Robot Vacuum Cleaners

Robot vacuum cleaners are high-tech units that do the work for you. So they require little effort from you for cleaning.

A multi-surface robot vacuum can save you a lot of time. But, they can also reach into places that traditional vacuums can’t, such as underneath furniture.

Most vacuums that are robotic also have sensors to detect and measure the cleaning environment. For example, they feature cliff sensors, bump sensors, and wall sensors.

Plus, some robot models feature mapping across many floors to make cleaning different surfaces even easier. These features are important to consider if you have different floor types in your home.

If you have hardwood floors, you should also make sure it has soft rubber wheels instead of plastic. Otherwise, your robot vacuum can scratch the surface as it cleans.

Finally, it’s important to note that most robot vacuums have a max height range. So they tend to be suitable for low-pile carpet and medium pile carpets.

But, they won’t work on high-pile carpets such as shag-pile carpet.

Handheld Vacuum

Handheld vacuum cleaners are small and compact cleaning machines. They’re best for quickly cleaning up small spills or messes.

A handheld vacuum cleaner is also ideal for cleaning hard-to-reach areas that traditional vacuums can’t access. However, they aren’t suitable for general floor cleaning as this would take a long time to clean with a handheld unit.

For example, see this Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ handheld vacuum.

We recommend using an upright vacuum for multi-surface cleaning. An upright vacuum will be the most versatile option if they have the right settings or features.

In most cleaning situations, higher suction power is a good thing. However, it’s better to have less suction when you’re cleaning certain types of surfaces.

For example, lower suction is best if you have thick or shag carpets to clean. If the suction power is too strong it may cause your vacuum to get stuck in the long carpet piles.

For cleaning hardwood floors, suction that is too strong may be ineffective. Because there are no fibers for the suction to get into, it may cause a tornado effect.

In this case, a powerful bare floor vacuum may scatter debris and dust particles around your hardwood floors instead of picking it up. So, a vacuum with an adjustable suction setting is the best choice for multi-surface cleaning.

To measure the suction on your vacuum, look for the CFM rating. This indicates the cubic feet per minute of airflow from your cleaner.

This tells you how much force is used by your vacuum to pick up dirt and dust from your floors.

Air watts are another measure of flow. However, this measurement is often only used by Dyson.

Otherwise, you may struggle to carry a heavy vacuum up and down your stairs during cleaning. A heavier vacuum will also be harder to push on high-pile carpet.

So in this case, you should consider a stick or handheld model. These will be more lightweight than a canister or upright model.

For example, this Bissell Cleanview Upright Vacuum has a lightweight design for easy maneuvering.

Attachments

For example, when cleaning a variety of surfaces, consider a vacuum with a soft roller brush. A parquet brush or soft roller brush is the best multi-surface vacuum attachment for hardwood flooring.

The best vacuums designed for hardwood floors will have these features. For example, this Elite Multi-Floor canister vacuum has an extra soft brush to gently remove debris from hard floors.

You should also consider a vacuum with a beater bar brush. This is a rotating brush that reaches deep into carpet fibers to fluff them and remove embedded dirt and pet hair or debris during suctioning.

Another tool to consider is a duster attachment. A duster tool gently removes dust and debris from fabrics, upholstery, and other soft surfaces.

Lastly, a mini motorized brush can add a lot of versatility to your vacuum. These help to deep clean upholstery and fabric surfaces.

Features

A great feature to look for if you have multiple floors is handheld conversion. Many stick cleaners can be easily converted into a handheld vacuum for cleaning tight or narrow spaces as well as stairs.

This feature allows you to detach the handheld vacuum from the main unit for quick clean-ups and spot-cleaning.

A mopping feature is also a versatile addition to have. But, make sure the mopping function is suitable for cleaning on both carpets and delicate floor types.