Suck it and see: Vacuum cleaner choices

Checking out what's on offer and advice on the choice to suit your needs 

Plan ahead as to where this tangle of hose, body and cabling will be stored.

I have to come clean. Twenty years ago I was lucky enough to interview James Dyson for this newspaper. Apart from visiting the Hogwarts of appliance science in Wiltshire, I built my own little multi-coloured canister vacuum on the floor of a London conference room from a box of bits-and-bobs. 

Don't judge any machine including corded uprights on wattage alone. This Shark model includes a Lift-Away canister, allowing it to fly under furniture. Additional hose tool, 1.5m; from 220, argos.ie.