How To Choose A Car Vacuum Cleaner?

If you want to have the best vibe of having a car, maintenance is the key to it. Believe me, you can never feel the convenience without proper maintenance. A car vacuum is a crucial part and necessary tool of this car maintenance part. No matter which car vacuum you choose, you have to use one. Most buyers get confused about the car vacuum cleaners. That’s why you have to know about them first. After that, you can get one according to your criteria and preferences. Read this article till the end to know the in-depth details about car vacuums and find out how to choose a car vacuum cleaner. So, let’s not keep you waiting anymore.

What is a car vacuum?

If you know about the normal vacuum cleaner, the car vacuum is exactly the same. The only difference between both is that it’s specially manufactured to be used for a car and the specifications are also convenient for cars. A car vacuum is a cleaner machine for cars that uses suction power to suck all kinds of tiny dust particles including lint, crumbs, sand, and all. It usually has a sucker nozzle, a motor machine, and a pouch or storage box.

What are the types of car vacuum?

There is a wide range of car vacuums available in the market these days. However, most of them follow the 4 categories that are given below.

Corded/Cordless

The corded vacuum is also known as a “Plug-in” vacuum cleaner. It comes with an adapter to plug in and uses electricity as a power source. And, the cordless ones don’t use electricity as the power source. Instead, they use batteries. They both have their own pros and cons. You don’t have to change or recharge batteries for the corded ones, and you can use them as much as you want. But the drawback is that you have to find a power source to plug in and cords can’t reach everywhere. For the cordless ones, you can reach your cleaner anywhere that you want without any power source but you’ve to purchase new batteries all time.

Wet and Dry

These types of cleaners are usually a bit bulkier than the others but have some mesmerizing features to amaze you. The wet and dry vacuums can do both dry and wet area cleaning. The vacuum usually has 2 types of storage filters with it, which are paper bags for dry cleaning and foam filters for wet area cleaning. Suppose, your kid has spilled juice in your car or someone has spilled something liquid in the car. Cleaning them is a real mess, even more, when it’s a car. Yet, the wet and dry cleaner can do your job easier because it’s a 2 in 1 cleaner, which not only does the job of an ordinary car vacuum but also removes the liquid substances from your car.

Handheld

The handheld vacuum cleaners are extremely lightweight yet highly efficient. They are manufactured with some powerful HEPA filters which can remove the nano dust particles from your car. General vacuum cleaners can’t clean the nanoparticles but the particles cause allergies in many people. So, the handheld cleaners are excellent for those who have dust allergies.

Shop Vacs

These have a huge capacity in them. Generally, they are the bulkiest among the 4 categories and don’t fit in the car. However, they are extremely powerful. If you have a flexible hose, then any complications won’t show while using it. Most of these cleaners come with a flexible hose. So, make sure to buy one with proper research and knowledge.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Car Vacuum cleaner

Motor Power

Motor power is the first and foremost thing to look at. The motor power remains between 1200W to 2400W. Some cleaners offer the option of adjusting the power and others don’t. You can’t adjust the suction power on the non-customizable vacuums. The suction power of the vacuum will mostly depend on the motor power. There are some cleaners that come with a potentiometer. You can only adjust the power which comes with this sensor. That’s why you should consider this fact before buying a car vacuum. 

Suction Power

We can define the ability to collect the dust of a vacuum cleaner as its power of sucking the dust particles in the minimum possible time. It’s known as the suction power, The minimum the suction time is, the greater the cleaner efficiency. The suction power of the cleaners varies between 250W-600W. We consider at least 350W to be a standard. While the suction power of most car vacuum cleaners depends on their motor power, some still have an amazing suction power without a powerful motor.

Dust Container Size and Type

There are a variety of container sizes in a car vacuum cleaner. The number of replacing or cleaning the container depends on its size of that. The bigger the vacuum cleaner, the larger the container space. A few types of them are:

Textile Bag

These bags can clean dust particles sized not less than 100-200 microns. However, these are a bit tougher to clean and maintain. Besides, their working style flowers the efficiency of the vacuum motor. That’s why they’re rarely used in the modern configuration of car vacuum cleaners.

Paper Bag

Paper bags are able to suck out small to very small particles even if it’s sized 1 micron. They’re better than paper bags as they don’t affect the vacuum suction quality at all. Besides, they’re easier to replace, providing more hygiene. However, they mostly need a frequent replacement.

Plastic Container

This is the simplest and trendiest car vacuum dirt storage system. There is a plastic-type container in which the dirt particle gets stuck. In this, the air rotates in a spiral form and the dirt gets sucked and stuck inside the filter. The best advantage of it is that you won’t need to change them. The cleaning process is also very simple. Besides, you’ll get a stable suction pressure.

Filter Type

There are 2 types of filters in-car vacuum cleaners. One is the “Electrostatic” and the other one is known as the “HEPA” filter.

Electrostatic filters are able to remove extremely tiny particles which are even sized less than 0.3 microns. However, HEPA filters are the trendiest of both because they can even clean the radioactive dust. It can clean 99.97% of the dust particles in the air.

However, if there is a scope to get outside air inside the car then the HEPA filter won’t work efficiently. Yet, if you want to get the trendiest model then the HEPA ones are the best pick for you. It’s also a good pick for those who have dust allergies.

Replacement

Some tools of car vacuum cleaners need frequent replacements, such as batteries, filters, and storage. If you don’t change the filters after a time, there will be a chance that the motor will heat up and you may face issues while running the cleaner. Besides, the machine efficiency will decrease with time.

That’s why you should choose those brands which provide the replacement items as well. And, they should be easily available both online and offline if possible. Other branded tools may not work properly with your cleaner. So, it’s better if tools are available in the same brand.

Power Source

As I’ve mentioned before, some car vacuum cleaners work with electricity, and some work with batteries. Both have their own positive sides and drawbacks. You should consider both before buying and choose as per your preference.

If you choose the battery ones, then also consider the battery type and shelf-life before buying. Purchase some extra batteries if possible.

Noise Level

The noise level is very important especially if you’ve children or old people in your house or neighborhood. The machine noise is extremely disturbing. However, it depends on the machine’s construction and quality.

The standard noise range is 54-85 dB in-car vacuum cleaners. However, the lower the quality, the more the noise.

Warranty

Warranty is a noticeable point to consider while choosing a car vacuum cleaner. Machines can get dysfunctional anytime. Besides, some of the cleaners get faults while getting manufactured. That’s why a warranty is very important even if the company has a good brand impression. If the machine gets any fault, you’ll be able to get a free replacement or repair in the warranty period as per the brand’s warranty policy. Though the warranty policy varies among the brands, we suggest having at least 6 months as the warranty period.

User Reviews

Never ever miss this step. If you’ve selected a cleaner, see its specs and competition specs first. Then see all types of reviews available online. You can see its e-commerce site reviews like Amazon or ask in forums like QUORA and REDDIT. Besides, you can go through the Youtube and Google reviews.

Don’t just see one or two reviews. Instead, see them all, especially the negative reviews. Though it’s a time-consuming step it’s worth the time.

Extras

Last but not least are the extra configs such as additional tools, product shape, and size, brand value, etc. Some brands provide a good price combo and value for money deal. Some brands may offer additional tools. Some may offer a longer warranty period and good specs. It’s always best to research well before buying a car vacuum cleaner. Then, you can get one according to your budget and preference.

Final Words

That’s all for today. I’ve tried to mention each and every point in detail that can help you to choose a car vacuum cleaner. Now you won’t have to think about how to choose a car vacuum cleaner anymore.