Not sure whether to buy a bagged or bagless vacuum cleaner? To help you decide, here are the pros and cons of a bagless vac.
Bagged or bagless? It’s one of the most common questions when choosing a new vacuum cleaner – and we’re here to help you make the right choice.
But before we get to the advantages and disadvantages, it’s important to point out that the right vacuum for your home depends on your requirements.
There are excellent bagless and bagged models available, so the key is to choose whichever type will make floor cleaning easiest in your home.
Advantages of Bagless Vacuums
Vacuum cleaners come in many different shapes and sizes, but there are two core types: bagless or bagged. Choosing between these two options can be surprisingly difficult, so let’s take a closer look at the advantages of a bagless vacuum cleaner.
1. No Ongoing Cost of Replacements Bags
The most obvious benefit of a bagless vacuum is that you don’t need to buy additional bags. While vacuum cleaner bags aren’t expensive, they can still add up to a significant cost over the lifetime of your vac.
The lack of a bag also means you’ll never run out. If you’ve ever filled your last vacuum bag just before guests arrive, then this will be a relief!
With that said, you’ll still need to perform basic maintenance on a bagless vacuum. This includes cleaning the canister and maintaining the filters. You may also need to buy replacement filters, which can offset some of the savings from not needing bags.
On a related note, not throwing away a bag every time you empty your vacuum is better for the environment.
2. Easy and Convenient to Empty
Bagless vacuums usually have simple trapdoor emptying systems with a transparent dust canister. This makes them straightforward to empty.
Some models allow you to detach the canister, so you can hold it in a bin before releasing the dirt and dust. Others have a fixed canister, so you need to hold the entire vacuum over a bin before opening the trap door.
Either way, emptying a bagless vacuum is quick and easy. Many people also enjoy being able to see how much dirt, hair, and dust has been picked up by their vacuum during a cleaning session.
This type of system isn’t the most hygienic, however, which we’ll discuss in the next section.
3. Wider Range of Options Available
In general, there are many more bagless vacuums available in comparison to bagged vacs. Brands such as Dyson and Shark, for example, only manufacture bagless vacuums. Even brands that are known for their bagged vacs, such as Miele, still produce bagless alternatives.
The number of options varies depending on the type of vacuum you want to buy though. If you want a cylinder vacuum, then there’s a solid selection of both bagless and bagged vacuums. Upright vacuums tend to be bagless, however, with only a few models still using bags.
And, if you want a cordless vacuum cleaner, then you’ll almost certainly need to buy a bagless vacuum. There are very few bagless cordless vacuums, with an exception being the Halo Capsule.
In other words, going bagless gives you a lot more choice when it comes to buying a vacuum cleaner.
4. Often Lighter Than Bagged Alternatives
Bagless vacuums tend to be lighter than bagged vacs. This isn’t always the case, and has begun to change in recent years, but traditionally bagged vacuums are heavier and bulkier.
With that said, it’s important to check the dimensions and weight of any vacuum before you buy. There are plenty of heavy bagless models, and vice versa, so don’t rely on this rule when buying.
Disadvantages of a Bagless Vacuum
Bagless vacuums aren’t the right choice for every household though. Here are some downsides of a bagless canister design:
- One of the main disadvantages is that bagless vacuums tend to have a smaller dust capacity. This means you’ll need to empty them more often, although it’s easier (and cheaper) to do so in comparison to a bagged cleaner.
- As dust and dirt isn’t contained inside a bag, the emptying process can allow a cloud of particles to escape. This makes bagless vacuums less suitable for people with allergies. If you suffer from allergies, make sure you get someone else to empty the vacuum into an outdoor bin.
- Another downside is that bagless vacs can be messy to empty. You might need to pull out clumps of debris by hand, which isn’t the case with a bagged vacuum. Some bagless models have an internal collar system to prevent this, although this feature isn’t found on most vacuums.
- As the true capacity of a bagless vacuum is often less than the total size of the canister, these vacs tend to be easy to overfill. This reduces the vacuum’s effectiveness and makes the dust bin messier to empty.
Bagged vacuums are often the best choice for people with allergies. Most bagged models have a self-sealing bag, so dirt and other debris is automatically trapped when you open the vacuum. You can then dispose of the full bag without worrying about escaped allergens or needing to pull out dirt by hand.
Additionally, the bag of a bagged vacuums acts as an effective filter to prevent particles from escaping.
Summary
There are pros and cons to both bagged and bagless vacuums. It’s important to choose the right option for your home, as there’s no “best” pick for every situation.
Bagless vacs are more convenient and don’t have the ongoing cost of replacement bags. There are also more bagless options on the market. The main downsides are that bagless vacs have smaller capacities and are messier to empty, so they may not be the best choice if you suffer from allergies.
In comparison, bagged vacuums are less convenient and pricier to maintain, but they hold more dirt. Bagged vacs are also the better option for allergy sufferers, as pet dander, dust, and other allergens remain contained within the bag.