If you’re shopping for the best vacuum, you may wonder if a broom might fit your needs instead. Obviously, a broom won’t have the features of a vacuum cleaner, which can have many useful high-end accessories, but you can still get a deep clean with the manual option. In addition, you can reach under furniture and into tight spaces that a traditional vacuum might not reach. Especially if you have hard-surface floors, you need to consider a broom vs vacuum cleaner.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Vacuums can clean any type of floor, and they have excellent suction power for cleaning dust, dirt, and pet hair. Add in a leading carpet cleaner solution and your floors will look their best.
- Brooms are quick to use and yield reliably clean floors, and they are best used for small jobs on hard flooring.
- If you want the convenience of a broom, but for the carpet floor, consider a stick vacuum sweeper.
Comparing Brooms and Vacuum Cleaners
Unlike comparing central vacuums and upright vacuums, the differences are pretty clear between brooms and vacuums. Traditional vacuums and other common vacuum types use a brushless motor to pull dirt, dust, and pet hair from different floor types. That said, a broom is an excellent choice for cleaning a bit of dust or dirt on a beautiful hardwood floor.
Cleaning Power
Vacuum cleaners have a much higher dirt collection capacity than brooms. You can also find a stick vacuum for small carpeted spaces. So, power is the main advantage of vacuums, but brooms aren’t left in the dust entirely. Brooms can get to places an upright vacuum cannot fit. In addition, brooms can take care of most small messes by the time you’ve plugged your vacuum in.
Versatility
While a broom can agitate dust particles from carpeted floors, it won’t help you remove pet hair or dirt. On the other hand, a vacuum cleaner can cover all flooring types. In addition, you can use crevice and upholstery tools for furniture and baseboards.
Portability
While a stick vacuum is pretty portable, you still have to worry about battery life. Even a handheld vacuum will need up to 5 D-cell batteries. With a broom, you don’t have to worry about battery life or finding a wall plug.
Convenience
Only a robot vacuum matches the convenience of a broom. Brooms store away quickly, and there’s no setup to use one. That said, you may consider a stick vacuum sweeper for small jobs on the carpet.
See our guide to bagged vs bagless vacuums to see which model is the ideal convenient choice.
Insider Tip
Use your canister vacuum’s crevice tool for deeper cleaning in corners and the cracks in tiled flooring.
F.A.Q.S
Is it better to sweep or vacuum hardwood floors?
Either cleaning tool will work to keep your hardwood floors clean. That said, you might find that a hard-bristled broom is better for hard-to-reach places or deep grooves in tiled floors.
Which is the most powerful cordless vacuum cleaner?
You can find cordless vacuums with up to a 450W motor. That said, a powerful motor will deplete the battery faster.
Do electric brooms have filters?
Some electronic brooms have advanced filtration to catch airborne dust particles and pet hair. That said, you still want to clean your brush rollers just like you would on a stick vacuum for multi-surface cleaning.
Are electric brooms powerful enough for use in homes with pets?
Most electric brooms are great for multiple flooring types, including carpet matted with pet hair. As long as your electric broom has fast brush rolls and a beater bar, it should clean just like a corded vacuum.
STAT: According to EnergyStar, stick vacuum cleaners have a 12 percent market share in the United States. (source)
REFERENCES:
Warning
Never stick your hand into jammed brush rolls while your vacuum cleaner is powered on or plugged into the outlet. Your fingers could get smashed by the beater bar. Even with a cordless vacuum, unplug the detachable battery before removing carpet strips or pet hair from the vacuum.
