Many of use floor vacuums more out of habit than reason. Our parents had an upright, so we buy one to, not really considering if that is the right kind of vacuum given our needs. But if you live in a house with many corners, or stairs, you should seriously consider switching from a canister or upright vacuum to a backpack vacuum cleaner.

Backpack vacuum cleaners have undergone a major transformation in recent years. Long preferred by cleaning specialists for tough jobs that require a lot of walking, models that have been designed for home use are exceptionally lightweight (often weighing less than 10 pounds) yet very powerful with many add on features available.

With a backpack vacuum you will no longer be literally tied to your vacuum cord. You will not be constantly searching for outlets, and you will be able to take the vacuum to places you would never consider using an upright for (for example, they are great to use to vacuum inside cars). What's more, they are easy to use on stairs, to get into tight corners, under furniture, and with some of the special attachments available you can even use them to vacuum on top of ceiling fans and lamp shades.

If you suffer from allergies, there are backpack vacuum cleaners available with special filtration systems that equal and even surpass many of those on standard floor vacuums. Given their ease of use, you will also be able to reach many areas of your home that you couldn't reach using an upright vacuum and be able to eliminate more of the annoying dust particles that may be contributing to your allergy problems.

Given all these advantages, why do not more people use backpack vacuums? One reason is because they are not as widely available in retail stores as their floor counterparts, so when people go vacuum cleaner shopping they are often not aware of this option. Fortunately, there is an excellent selection of backpack vacuums available from Amazon.com and other online retailers. Another possible reason is the mistaken impression that they are heavy and cumbersome to use. Simply trying on a model to use will dispel this myth for most users.

You can find some excellent recommendations of backpack vacuum cleaners below as well as an instructional video about the advantages of backpack vacuums for home use. For more information and articles on how to use and select a backpack vacuum, you can also visit the Backpack Vacuum Cleaners website.