Comparison Karcher WD 5 vs Karcher MV 5

General type of vacuum cleaner.

The general features of the design and use of the unit depend on this parameter. In addition to conventional models, vacuum cleaners of the following types are also produced nowadays: robot vacuum cleaners, upright(regular and upright with handheld), workshop, handheld models for household(including for bed and for car) and handheld industrial, full-size industrial (construction), backsack and vacuum cleaners for fireplaces. Here is a more detailed description of each variety:

— Conventional. Traditional household vacuum cleaners are designed for cleaning apartments, residential buildings, small offices, etc. Such a unit consists of a relatively small body on wheels (for ease of movement on the floor) and a tube with a brush connected to the body with a flexible hose. It is this option that you should pay attention to if you need a “regular home vacuum cleaner” that is not designed to perform any specific tasks.

— Robot vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners tha...t work completely autonomously, without the need to control the device. The role of the user is limited only to auxiliary tasks (unloading the collected garbage, programming the work, etc.). The robot vacuum cleaner usually has the appearance of a flat disc. Low height allows it to pass under furniture and other interior items. And specific job features may be different. So, the simplest models move along random trajectories within the room, bypassing small obstacles and turning around when they reach walls or other large obstacles. In more advanced devices, it may be possible to set the map and/or cleaning schedule, access the unit via the Internet, etc. (See "Additional operating modes", "Robot features"). However, note that robots do not provide power and capacity. So it is hardly worth choosing such a device if you need high cleaning efficiency or a large cleaning area is expected. On the other hand, such a device is perfect for maintaining the already cleanliness in apartments, private houses and other similar conditions: a robot vacuum cleaner can be run at least every day without much difficulty.

— Upright. Vacuum cleaners of this type have a specific layout: the motor, dust collector and brush are fixed on a common vertical tube, while the hose is usually completely absent in the design. Such units are designed primarily for domestic use; they are not very convenient when cleaning hard-to-reach places (like the space under sofas or beds), but they do a good job with vast open spaces. Thus, upright vacuum cleaners are quite popular, in particular in large offices and private homes. And some of these units are equipped with bendable tube (see "Tube type"), which simplifies cleaning in the hard-to-reach places mentioned above.

— Handheld (household). Handheld vacuum cleaners for domestic use are light in weight, compact and have a one-piece layout: the motor, dust collector and suction nozzle (which can be worn with a brush) are combined in one body. Such units do not differ in power, but they are extremely mobile. In addition, most often they use batteries as a source of energy which gives even greater freedom of movement. One of the most popular ways to use handheld household vacuum cleaners is to clean the interior of a car. For this, some models can be equipped with a car cigarette lighter connection (both as an additional option and as the only source of energy). As for domestic use, such units are not suitable for full-fledged cleaning in an apartment/house/office. However, they cope well with auxiliary, specific tasks: cleaning furniture and various small surfaces, collecting small debris in hard-to-reach places, etc.

— Handheld (for bed). A variety of hand-held vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning beds, upholstered furniture, mattresses, pillows, etc. The main feature of such units is advanced disinfection and pest control, especially dust mites. So, an almost obligatory element of equipping bed vacuum cleaners is a UV lamp (see below), and their suction systems and operating format are designed to effectively draw in dust mites — even “burrowed” to a considerable depth. If necessary, devices of this type can be used for more traditional cleaning, but their main purpose is to clean furniture and bedding.

— Handheld (industrial). A type of industrial vacuum cleaner that does not have wheels and is designed to be carried from place to place in the hands. It is worth saying that for the most part, such units bear little resemblance to handheld household models (see above) — they rather resemble conventional vacuum cleaners with a hose, devoid of wheels and designed for transportation in hands or on a shoulder strap (although there are exceptions). Power is usually supplied from a battery; in some models, the possibility of working from the mains may also be provided. As a result, vacuum cleaners of this type are noticeably inferior in power to classic industrial models (also see above). On the other hand, they are more mobile — also due to independence from sockets — and at the same time, they are quite capable of coping with coarse construction waste.

— Upright with handheld. Models that combine the capabilities of upright and handheld household vacuum cleaners (see above). The traditional design of such a vacuum cleaner is a handheld unit with a motor, a dust collector and a nozzle, complemented by either a removable vertical bar or an extension tube. This design allows you to choose the format of work at your discretion and use one vacuum cleaner for general cleaning (in an upright format) and small specific tasks (in a handheld form). The main disadvantage of this option can be called a lower capacity than upright and conventional household vacuum cleaners — this somewhat complicates the use of large-scale cleaning. However, due to the versatility of the devices in this category, they are much more popular than purely upright units.

— For workshop. Vacuum cleaners designed for professional cleaning in large volumes. Such units are popular in cleaning companies but can also be useful for private use. Typical examples of the use of business models are cleaning a home workshop or garage, hotel rooms, etc. In terms of layout, this type of vacuum cleaner resembles conventional models — a body with a tube on a hose — but they have several differences. The most noticeable of these are a large size and vertical layout of the hull with an overhead engine. In addition, workshop models are distinguished by high power and capacity (from 6 litres or more). They may provide wet cleaning, although most models only work in the traditional dry format (see "Cleaning type").

— Industrial (construction). Vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning industrial facilities — construction sites, factory floors, etc. In many ways, they are similar to the workshop ones described above: most models have an elongated body with a top-mounted engine, high power and large capacity. The main difference is that industrial units are designed for coarse construction waste, which more “delicate” types of vacuum cleaners cannot handle. And to collect such garbage in such units, containers are used in the form of rigid containers. Such containers may be supplemented with paper bags for ease of unloading, but this is not strictly required. In industrial vacuum cleaners, the water collection function is very popular (see below), although they are never made for washing and most often do not even provide wet cleaning. In addition, only bags are used as dust collectors; aquafilters and cyclones do not occur in such units.
Note that this category includes only industrial vacuum cleaners of the classic layout, moved on wheels. Hand and backpack models are placed in separate categories (see below).

— Backpack. Vacuum cleaners carried behind the back in the manner of a backpack — hence the name. This design combines the advantages of classic and handheld format vacuum cleaners: the unit can be made quite powerful, roomy and at the same time mobile. However, most models of this type are mains powered, and battery solutions are less common. Nevertheless, even when powered from the outlet, you can achieve good freedom of movement. It makes backpack vacuums well-suited for situations where performance and mobility are needed at the same time. The main disadvantage of this type is the rather high cost due to some design features.

— For fireplaces. Specialized vacuum cleaners designed to collect coals and ash in fireplaces, stoves, barbecues, charcoal grills, etc. One of the key features of this type of unit is resistance to high temperatures, which allows you to collect coals and ashes that have not cooled down to the end. To do this, the hoses and brushes of fireplace vacuum cleaners are made of non-flammable refractory polymers, and a metal container is usually used as the main container. In addition, filters in such models have increased efficiency and resistance to fine dust. For added convenience, a self-cleaning filter can also be provided (see below). Note that vacuum cleaners of this type are mostly quite expensive. Therefore, it makes sense to buy such equipment only in cases where you often have to deal with cleaning fireplaces — for example, if a fireplace is installed in a restaurant or hotel lobby and is used every day.

– Robot floor polisher. Devices for automatic wet cleaning of non-carpeted floors. The general principle of operation, as a rule, is as follows: water or a cleaning solution is sprayed onto the floor, which is then collected together with dirt on a special napkin. At the same time, as befits a robot, such a unit moves independently along the floor, changes the direction of movement when encountering obstacles and builds a route in such a way as to, if possible, process the entire floor in the work area. Many models are also capable of returning to the docking station on their own to charge the battery; and to increase convenience and efficiency, various additional functions can be provided: work on a schedule, mapping, IR barriers to restrict movement, etc.
It is worth considering that the performance of scrubber cleaning robots is low; they are designed mainly for residential apartments/houses, small offices and other similar conditions and, in general, are not intended for serious cleaning. In addition, corners and other hard-to-reach places are usually too tough for this technique; you still have to clean them manually. On the other hand, robots are excellent for “on-duty” maintaining order in a relatively clean room, and the user requires a minimum of effort - usually it only requires periodically pouring detergent and cleaning the napkin after the process is completed.

The presence of a self-cleaning filter function in the vacuum cleaner. If such a procedure is performed automatically, this point will also be specified in this paragraph; if there is no such specification, it means that the cleaning mode is turned on exclusively manually.

Filter self-cleaning is found mainly in certain types of industrial vacuum cleaners (see "Product type") — namely, in models with pleated filters, including cartridge filters (see above). The main advantage of this feature is that it allows you to remove dirt from the filter without removing it or disassembling the vacuum cleaner — this greatly simplifies maintenance. In this case, the specific principle of self-cleaning operation may be different. So, in some models, a vibration system is used: accumulated contaminants are shaken off the filter into a dust collector or a separate container. After that, they can be easily thrown away; and although you still have to partially disassemble the vacuum cleaner, it is still much easier than removing the filter and cleaning it manually. Another option is reverse blowing: the vacuum cleaner is turned on in reverse, and the accumulated contaminants fly out through the hose. Here, a minimum of effort is required from the user at all — it is enough to cover the hose or direct it in the right direction. In some vacuum cleaners, it is even possible to insert a hose into the dust collector and blow out the dirt there.
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As for automatic self-cleaning, it can be carried out according to a schedule, at certain intervals, or by a command from a sensor that detects filter contamination and a drop in suction efficiency. Such systems relieve the user of the need to independently monitor the condition of the filter. On the other hand, they are rather complicated and expensive. Besides, they can only be used for vibrational self-cleaning.

The noise level produced by the vacuum cleaner during operation. Usually, the value for normal operation at maximum engine power is indicated here. With less power, the loudness of the unit may be lower, but the key is precisely the maximum indicator.

Regarding specific numbers, keep in mind that the decibel used to measure the noise level is a non-linear quantity. Therefore, it is worth evaluating specific indicators using special comparative tables. In general, vacuum cleaners are quite noisy appliances; so in this case, models are considered quiet if this indicator does not exceed 65 dB — this is the level of a loud conversation between 2 – 3 people at a distance of 1 m. The quietest of these models give out only 40 dB — this is the average volume of a person’s speech in normal tones (and the minimum volume allowed for constant noise sources in living quarters during the day). For louder units, the comparison table looks like this:

— 66 – 70 dB — loud conversations between several groups of people at a distance of about 1 m;
— 71 – 75 dB — the volume of a cry or laughter in full voice at a distance of about 1 m;
— 76 – 80 dB — the volume of a mechanical alarm clock or the engine of an old truck;
— more than 80 dB — a very high noise level, exceeding the leve...l of a loud scream; when working with a vacuum cleaner having such specifications for a long time, it is highly desirable to use hearing protection.

Also note that the noise level largely depends on the engine power, as well as some other features (for example, it is strongly affected by the presence of an aquafilter — see "Dust collector"). At the same time, there is no hard connection here, and units with a similar set of specifications can differ markedly in actual loudness. In such cases, when choosing here, it is worth proceeding from the fact that a quieter vacuum cleaner will be more comfortable to use. However, it will most likely cost noticeably more.

The type of rigid tube supplied with the vacuum cleaner.

The most popular are telescopic tubes, extension tubes are much less common, and with some upright with handheld vacuum cleaners (see "Type"), tubes with a hinge are supplied in the kit (they are also "bendable" or "flex"). Here is a more detailed description of each option:

— Telescopic tube. Non-separable tube folded telescopically — by inserting one section into another. This option is the most convenient from the user's point of view. Firstly, such accessories are easy to unfold and fold — just press or slide the release key and pull or push the halves in the right direction. Secondly, many telescopic tubes are equipped with a mechanism that allows the structure to be unfolded incompletely. Thanks to this, you can adjust the length during the cleaning process (for example, reduce it to work in cramped conditions). Thirdly, the individual parts of such a tube can't be lost, which simplifies storage. The main disadvantage of this option is considered to be somewhat lower strength and reliability than that of extension tubes. However, this difference is noticeable only at high loads. Thus, telescopic tubes are very popular in conventional vacuum cleaners (see "Type"), but they are found in other types, including industrial (construction). The “telescope” cannot be found in only three types of vacuum cleaners: in robots (they...do not use tubes), as well as, in industrial handheld units and fireplace models — they most often work only with a hose.

— Extension tubes. A tube consists of several parts connected during operation and disassembled for storage/transportation. Such designs are somewhat less convenient to use than telescopic ones, but they endure high loads much better and last longer. Thus, extension tubes are rarely used in conventional vacuum cleaners, but they are popular in professional units — industrial, workshop, etc.

— Bendable tube. A tube has a hinge in the middle and can bend at an upward angle. It is a rather specific option, used in some vacuum cleaners of the "upright with handheld" type. This design makes it much easier to clean with such a vacuum cleaner under sofas, beds, tables, etc. By bending the tube, you can effectively treat such places without lowering the vacuum cleaner body to the floor. On the other hand, the hinge significantly complicates the design and increases its cost, and far from all users, these disadvantages are outweighed by the mentioned ease of use. That is why this type of pipe is extremely rare.

System of automatic winding of a power cord. Usually, it is a special spool built into the body of the vacuum cleaner. To unwind a wire from such a spool, just pull it, and to rewind it, you need to press the button — and the built-in spring will twist the coil in the opposite direction, winding the cable around it.

The main advantage of the cord rewind system is obvious: it allows you to easily and quickly roll up the cable for storage and transport. In addition, in many vacuum cleaners with this function, the wire can be partially unwound, choosing its optimal length depending on the situation. The disadvantages of automatic cord rewind include some bulkiness and poor suitability for portable units. Such equipment nowadays can only be found among "full-size" vacuum cleaners — conventional (see "Type"), workshop and industrial.