How do you vacuum your carpeted stairs?

[popmom]

I'm in the market for a new vacuum cleaner. Or two...depending. 

 

I live in a relatively large house (by my standards)--about 2700 sq ft plus another 500 sq ft of finished basement. Basement is mostly carpet with a carpeted staircase to 1st floor, but there is some tile in heavy traffic/entry areas and bathroom. First floor is about 1800 sq ft--all hardwood except laundry and master bath which is tile. 2nd floor and staircase all carpet except baths. 

 

My two carpeted staircases are evil. ;) I am terrible not to vacuum them because it hurts my back so much. I have a central vacuum system, but it's no good on carpet. Plus the super long hose is unwieldy. What do you use? I'm looking for something lightweight--that won't hurt my back--but will do well on carpet. Does such a thing exist?

 

Is there a product that will do it all? Carpet + hardwood + tlle + carpeted stairs? My last cheapo vacuum was fine on my area rug, but terrible on hard flooring--just spit stuff out the back. I also have an old Eureka that is great on carpet but so heavy--and I can only use the hose on the stairs--lugging it up one stair at a time. Kills my back. 

 

Please recommend your favorite lightweight vacuum option so I can get my stairs clean! :) Or preferable make my kids do it!

 

***I am so aware how trivial this first world problem is. It's not keeping me up at night. It's really ok. I just want to make that clear. ;) 

[foxbridgeacademy]

We use a super duper hand vac with powered beater, the POWERED beater is key (stairs only).  Works great and other than having to bend over it's not hard, or at least DD 13 doesn't think so, I recommend you get a teenager to go along with the hand vac  :thumbup: .  

 

As for carpet up/down stairs I have Dh or DS lug the big vacuum or in a pinch I'll do.

 

For the hardwoods I use a dry mop/broom thing.

 

My tile floors I hand scrub because it's the kitchen and I like it clean but my kids are messy.

Edited April 11, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy

[popmom]

We use a super duper hand vac with powered beater, the POWERED beater is key (stairs only).  Works great and other than having to bend over it's not hard, or at least DD 13 doesn't think so, I recommend you get a teenager to go along with the hand vac  :thumbup: .  

 

As for carpet up/down stairs I have Dh or DS lug the big vacuum or in a pinch I'll do.

 

For the hardwoods I use a dry mop/broom thing.

 

My tile floors I hand scrub because it's the kitchen and I like it clean but my kids are messy.

 

brand name? model #? plz?  the powered beater/brush is what I need. I can't find such a thing in a hand vac. Please elaborate! I've got the teenager--I just need the right hand vac! :)

Edited April 11, 2017 by stephensgirls

[kolamum]

We had to purchase a new vacuum recently & ended up with the Shark Lift Away. Makes vacuuming the stairs a cinch! :)

 

[gardenmom5]

canister vacuum with a power head.

I had a kenmore that was made by panasonic.   It was a good vacuum, and I liked it.

 

I now have majority hardwoods, and bought a miele - which is very lightweight and much easier to haul around.  but the cord is shorter. :glare:

[foxbridgeacademy]

Here's the one that works for us,we have 2 dogs and a cat, the first one quit after a year, the 2nd is still good and going on 2 years.

 

ETA- The first pic is with out the beater attached the other pic has beater, also motorized beater is mentioned in description.

Edited April 11, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy

[Barb_]

Shark liftaway with the motorized hand held brush attachment. Love that thing.

 

https://m.costco.com/Shark-Navigator-Professional-Lift-Away-Upright-Vacuum.product.100300326.html

Edited April 11, 2017 by Barb_

[foxbridgeacademy]

Not sure but this one may be the same but more powerful

[Carrie12345]

Mine is a Shark Liftaway, and we've had several other perfectly fine vacs with good attachments, but I ultimately decided to tear up the carpet on the stairs.  Swish, swish, done!  ;)

[Guest]

I use a Shark hand vac with a beater brush on my stairs. Sometimes I do get out a little hand broom which I use to wisk out the crease and then I vacuum the stair treads.

 

I don't think any one vacuum does all things well. I do have a Shark Navigator that works very well on carpet, tile and hardwood. You turn the brush off on hard floors. That is a great vacuum. The only thing I don't like on that vacuum is the tools and tube. I use a Dyson when I need the tools.

[prairiewindmomma]

Our Dyson does well on carpet, tile and hardwood. The hose easily extended up 12 stairs.

[PrincessMommy]

I cannot stand trying to carry a big vacuum on the stairs so it usually gets skipped.   I have this and I love it:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Eureka-EasyClean-Corded-Hand-Held-71B/dp/B0006HUYGM/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&qid=1491907963&sr=8-26&keywords=mini+vacuum

 

It's light enough that it the chore of cleaning stairs was given to my son when he was 11.  

 

 

[JudoMom]

I love my Shark liftaway. I use the dust away hard floor attachment for hard floors and the hand held brush attachment on stairs. You can't beat the performance on carpet, either. I love the thing.

[trulycrabby]

Our Dyson cordless was great until we installed hardwoods and put carpet rectangles on the stairs. For solid carpet though, the Dyson cordless would be great.

[mlktwins]

I do most of the vacuuming, but my DH loves to buy them -- LOL.  We have a lot of stairs, tile, carpet, and hardwood in our current house.  A LOT!  We have a Shark Rocket (corded) that I still use on occasion.  I used to use it everywhere and it did a great job on the stairs.

 

Then, DH bought me this https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=dyson+v8&spf=113  except the last model V6, with the 20 minute charge.  The one I linked would be even better with the 40 minute charge and so worth the money, but it came out right after we got ours.

 

Because it is cordless and powerful (you should see what it picks up), I find I vacuum more.  Not all at once, but I will do the stairs one day, the 1st floor another, and will "spot" vacuum more.  Because it is CORDLESS and powerful :-).  I didn't realize how much of a pain it is to deal with the cord while vacuuming until this.  It is also very easy to change from the hardwood/tile attachment to the carpet attachment.  My almost 12 year olds are starting to take over some of the vacuuming with this vacuum, even the stairs. 

 

I've had several handheld vacs over the years too, for stair and cleaning out cars, etc.  This Dyson is awesome!

[winterbaby]

I use a broom, but it's low pile and my main concern is pet hair.

[KungFuPanda]

I have a Miele canister. I use it on all hard and carpeted surfaces and on my stairs. I think I use the upholstery attachment and do about 5 steps standing at the bottom. I rest the canister upright on a step and stand behind it (so it doesn't fall while I'm moving the hose) to get the middle steps. Last I move it to the top and hit the top few steps. Once it's up, I hit the upstairs floors. I'd never bother with buying upstairs and downstairs vacuums because I have to move the vacuum up the carpeted steps anyway. I think carpeted steps are safer, so I'll keep them that way. I DO tend to put off vacuuming the steps, but I don't know why because it's a fairly quick job.

[popmom]

Thanks for all the suggestions! It's very helpful. 

[Ellie]

I have 1500 sq. ft. of hardwood downstairs, carpeted stairs, and 1500 sq. ft of carpet upstairs. I have an Electrolux canister for downstairs, and an Electrolux upright for upstairs. I use the canister vac and its upholstery attachment for the stairs. The upright has attachments for hard floors, but obviously it's unwieldy to drag it up and down the stairs.

[Barb_]

I'm seeing two different Shark Liftaways. One is purple, one is gray. The gray one is more expensive. Does anyone have an opinion of which Lift Away is better if carpeted stairs are part of what you want it for?

Different sharks have different attachments and canister sizes. Some have lights. Some have fronts that swivel. They all have the same motor though.

 

You want to be sure you get the liftaway style rather than the fixed, and you want to be sure it comes with the powered brush attachment. Link the ones you're looking at.

[Barb_]

This is s good one. https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/shark-reg-rotator-reg-nv682-powered-lift-away-speed-trade-vacuum-in-blue/1044753276

 

Use a 20% off coupon to bring the price down. I car remember if they do free shipping but if they don't have it in store, they will order if there in the store and ship it to you free.

[Karen A]

Regarding the shark Liftaway--a few weeks ago I bought one from Costco, and I'm not 100% sold--stairs being one reason.

 

 In the past, I've taken my upright cleaner, set it (handle vertical) with the front of the cleaner abutting the side (wall) of the stair.  Then I pull it until the back of the cleaner hits the other wall, turn the vacuum 180 degrees, and pull it halfway back the other way--thus all the carpet gets "brushed" in two swift passes.  The Shark (why, oh why) does not rotate the brushes when the handle is in the upright position, so this technique does not work.  Instead I have to use the liftway with the attachment that is 4 INCHES wide.  It takes much longer.  Complicating this is a 9x4? landing halfway up the stairs that I need to use the vacuum in it's regular form for.  So it's not the vacuum I hoped for.

 

Reason #2 I'm doubting the purchase is that it doesn't have an adjustable height setting for the brush roller--one has to adjust the suction instead.  The carpet in our condo is (I think) about 20 years old, but still looks pretty good.  The Shark roller brushes up SO MUCH carpet fiber that I have to empty the filter every 2 rooms.  Although they are old, I was hoping to get a few more years out of them, but every time I vacuum I feel like I'm partially destroying the carpet as well.

 

I hoped I'd agree with the thousands of Amazon users that love this vacuum, but I don't...

[CadenceSophia]

I didn't know stairs were a problem.  My 11 year old dyson animal has a long enough tube to vacuum the entire staircase, perhaps just missing the last step which can easily be done from the top. I don't even use an attachment, just the round hose top.  Hubby cracked the whole top off my vacuum last weekend though so I guess I'll need to research carefully in the replacement. 

[popmom]

I didn't know stairs were a problem.  My 11 year old dyson animal has a long enough tube to vacuum the entire staircase, perhaps just missing the last step which can easily be done from the top. I don't even use an attachment, just the round hose top.  Hubby cracked the whole top off my vacuum last weekend though so I guess I'll need to research carefully in the replacement. 

 

You didn't know stairs are a problem? LOL You must be under 40 with a healthy back. Or your stairs aren't carpeted.  ;) I'm happy for you, but using just a hose to clean each step takes forever--even if you don't have to lug a heavy vacuum up each step--treads and risers both--and it really kills my back. I'd love to find something with an attachment that covers a wider area or a hand vac that has a wider opening than just a standard vacuum hose. So I can cover more area in the least possible time! --which also means I can pawn the job off on a kid with the hope that they'll actually do a thorough job. ;)

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Edited April 12, 2017 by stephensgirls

[Barb_]

These are the two I was comparing:

https://m.costco.com/Shark-Navigator-Professional-Lift-Away-Upright-Vacuum.product.100300326.html

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shark-Navigator-Lift-Away-Bagless-Upright-Vacuum-NV351/15528564?action=product_interest&action_type=title&beacon_version=1.0.2&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&client_guid=8642476f-547c-4335-8adc-847686b857a9&config_id=106&customer_id_enc&findingMethod=p13n&guid=8642476f-547c-4335-8adc-847686b857a9&item_id=15528564&parent_anchor_item_id=15706090&parent_item_id=15706090&placement_id=irs-106-m3&reporter=recommendations&source=new_site&strategy=PWBAB&visitor_id=aTrWAI3xCXtjPXIrI4fLC0

I would go with this one over either of the other two:

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shark-Rotator-Professional/21094420?action=product_interest&action_type=title&beacon_version=1.0.2&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&client_guid=39c2fb7f-8b92-4cba-820f-3074a6a70699&config_id=106&customer_id_enc&findingMethod=p13n&guid=39c2fb7f-8b92-4cba-820f-3074a6a70699&item_id=21094420&parent_anchor_item_id=15528564&parent_item_id=15528564&placement_id=irs-106-t1&reporter=recommendations&source=new_site&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=AuYiBfrJSOQEAUZ_6RDaak

 

Or this one comes with the hard floor attachment and is $166 after a 20% off coupon

 

https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/shark-reg-rotator-reg-nv682-powered-lift-away-speed-trade-vacuum-in-blue/1044753276?skuId=44753276

Edited April 12, 2017 by Barb_

[popmom]

I would go with this one over either of the other two:

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shark-Rotator-Professional/21094420?action=product_interest&action_type=title&beacon_version=1.0.2&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&client_guid=39c2fb7f-8b92-4cba-820f-3074a6a70699&config_id=106&customer_id_enc&findingMethod=p13n&guid=39c2fb7f-8b92-4cba-820f-3074a6a70699&item_id=21094420&parent_anchor_item_id=15528564&parent_item_id=15528564&placement_id=irs-106-t1&reporter=recommendations&source=new_site&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=AuYiBfrJSOQEAUZ_6RDaak

 

It's not a lift away. How long is the hose? I like that it has a wide pet upholstery tool. That could be good for stairs. But not if I have to lug the vacuum up each stair cause the hose won't reach and then the vacuum is positioned precariously on the tread and tries to fall down the stairs everytime I move. lol 

[Barb_]

It's not a lift away. How long is the hose? I like that it has a wide pet upholstery tool. That could be good for stairs. But not if I have to lug the vacuum up each stair cause the hose won't reach and then the vacuum is positioned precariously on the tread and tries to fall down the stairs everytime I move. lol

You're right! Sorry. Check out the other one I linked:

 

https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/shark-reg-rotator-reg-nv682-powered-lift-away-speed-trade-vacuum-in-blue/1044753276?skuId=44753276

 

It's $207 on sale and you can still apply a 20% off coupon to make it $166. If you need one, just sign up for email updates and they send you one. This is the best deal by far

 

https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/shark-reg-rotator-reg-nv682-powered-lift-away-speed-trade-vacuum-in-blue/1044753276?skuId=44753276

[CadenceSophia]

You didn't know stairs are a problem? LOL You must be under 40 with a healthy back. Or your stairs aren't carpeted. ;) I'm happy for you, but using just a hose to clean each step takes forever--even if you don't have to lug a heavy vacuum up each step--treads and risers both--and it really kills my back. I'd love to find something with an attachment that covers a wider area or a hand vac that has a wider opening than just a standard vacuum hose. So I can cover more area in the least possible time! --which also means I can pawn the job off on a kid with the hope that they'll actually do a thorough job. ;)

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Maybe I am really type B? My stairs are carpeted. I don't bend over or reach up really high. Just rub the tube over each step (at an angle) and give an extra jab in the corners and creases. I guess if I really wanted an attachment to line up and give full suction to each step it would be harder to maneuver. I kneel about halfway up the stairs as I finish the top so I don't have to stretch. Idk :)

[popmom]

Maybe I am really type B? My stairs are carpeted. I don't bend over or reach up really high. Just rub the tube over each step (at an angle) and give an extra jab in the corners and creases. I guess if I really wanted an attachment to line up and give full suction to each step it would be harder to maneuver. I kneel about halfway up the stairs as I finish the top so I don't have to stretch. Idk :)

 

Ha! I am type b myself--EXCEPT for cleaning. Then I become a perfectionist. Which I'm sure is part of my problem. That and I have this really BAD carpeting that everything sticks to. And it still sheds--and it's 20+ years old. I have 4 daughters with HAIR. I can't believe all the lint and hair and stuff that sticks to the carpet--even the risers. I wish I could get new carpeting made from a better material, but all my money goes to college for the foreseeable future.