Our experts and sources
The people and sources behind our ratings. Every rating traces to a named person or a named source, so you can see exactly who stands behind it and why they are worth listening to.
Our staff
- Dallas, Store ManagerDallas manages the Vacuums R Us Arvada location, where roughly 200 machines a month cross his counter between repair check ins and new sales. He came to vacuums from retail about a year ago and turned out to be a natural fit. At home he runs a Riccar R30 Tandem Air four times a week in a small apartment shared with a large, generously shedding German Shepherd, and lifelong asthma and allergies mean he takes filtration personally. Every recommendation he makes starts with the same question: what actually works best for you?
- Dina, ManagementDina began her career in 2010 as manager of an Oreck store before taking over as CEO of Vacuums R Us in 2018. She navigated the company through the pandemic and the supply chain disruptions that followed, overseeing an expansion of both brick and mortar and ecommerce operations along the way. She still works directly with customers on the showroom floor and stays closely involved in repair and service flow across the company's physical locations, giving her both a hands-on and birds eye view of the industry most executives never get. Her dedication to her customers and staff is matched only by her intolerance for unfairness, and it shows in her drive to undo the damage that poor quality products leave behind.
Jeremiah, TechnicianJeremiah has been fascinated with vacuum cleaners since childhood, working on his first machine at age 4. By 10 to 12, he was already repairing vacuums for friends, neighbors, and his school, and thrifting used machines to recondition and resell. That early hustle grew into a personal collection of around 80 vacuums, with a particular soft spot for early Dysons, classic Hoover Convertibles, and an outright obsession with Mieles. He joined the Vacuums R Us team in 2025 and now works on 40 to 50 machines a week, giving him deep, firsthand insight into how these machines actually perform and hold up over time.- Josh, OperationsJosh started in the vacuum industry in 2010 as a technician, working his way through sales and store management before becoming Operations Manager. While he's spent time on both the technical and sales sides of the business, his real fascination lies in the business side of the industry and how those decisions ripple down to the customer. He closely tracks the pattern of private equity quietly acquiring major brands, running them into bankruptcy, and selling off the name to foreign entities, and what that means for the people left holding the machines. Josh monitors every layer of operations with that lens, staying keenly aware of how a brand's choices, from warranty processes to gatekeeping repair parts and data, directly shape the experience customers get long after the sale.
- Megan, Product ExpertMegan works the front end of the showroom, where she diagnoses customers' repair issues on the spot and recommends the right fix or service before they even sit down. She's an expert on every machine Vacuums R Us sells, demonstrating them hands-on and helping customers find the perfect fit for their home, their floors, and their priorities. Off the clock, she's a certifiable information junkie, the kind who falls down a research rabbit hole for hours and then shows up the next day ready to share everything she's learned, whether you asked or not. She's also been known to lose entire nights arguing the merits of one vacuum over another with strangers on the vacuum cleaners subreddit, and she does not lose gracefully.
Outside sources we draw on
Manufacturer spec
- Manufacturer Spec Manufacturers often publish testing data, performance metrics, and product claims, and we reproduce that information here. Much of it is valuable, and some manufacturers document their testing procedures thoroughly. More often, though, the origin of the data and the methodology behind it are not disclosed, which makes the figures difficult to interpret and in some cases unreliable. Published numbers are also frequently measured at the most favorable point on the machine or under ideal conditions that a customer will not replicate. We therefore present manufacturer data as reported, and in the absence of other testing we will rely on it, but we rate its quality low and give substantially more weight to independent testing when compiling reviews.
- Bissell The Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company traces its roots to 1876 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when Melville Bissell invented the carpet sweeper to clean sawdust from the floor of the family's crockery shop. His wife Anna helped build the business from day one, serving as chief saleswoman and overseeing supply and production, and her efforts helped land the product in early department stores and even in Queen Victoria's household.When Melville died in 1889, Anna took over as CEO, notably becoming the first woman in America to head a registered company. Under her leadership the company grew into the world's largest carpet sweeper manufacturer, exporting across Europe and Latin America, and it remains family owned to this day.
- Sebo Sebo is a German vacuum manufacturer known for building durable, commercial-grade machines designed to hold up under heavy daily use. The company has built its reputation on serviceability, using components that support long-term repairability rather than disposability. Sebo machines are widely used by cleaning professionals and are popular with allergy sufferers for their filtration performance.
- Tacony Tacony is an American company behind a family of respected vacuum and sewing brands, including Riccar, Simplicity, Powerflite, CleanMax, Carpet Pro, Baby Lock, and Tornado. Across its vacuum lines, Tacony builds durable, powerful machines designed for long-term, everyday use rather than short-lived convenience. These brands are especially popular among consumers who want extreme performance, longer lifespans and an eye towards usability. Tacony also maintains a strong presence in specialty vacuum stores, where hands-on demonstration and technical service remain central to how its brands sell and support their machines.
Independent test
- Carpet and Rug Institute, CRI The mission of The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) is to educate customers and consumers, help advance technical initiatives, and advocate on behalf of the carpet manufacturing industry. This work is informed by science and guided by their commitment to integrity in everything they do.
Expert reviewer
- VacLab, YouTube Bill runs VacLab, a YouTube channel dedicated to vacuum testing, measurements, demonstrations, and repairs spanning vintage machines to current models. His reviews are known for being independent and unfiltered. He doesn't accept payment for reviews, and every video posts publicly with no edits or approval from the manufacturer beforehand.
Lab measured
- Vacuums R Us Test Lab Here, technicians measure airflow, water lift, and pickup performance on carpet and bare floors, using the same criteria outlined throughout our review series. Machines are run through repeated cleaning cycles to see how they hold up over time, not just how they perform on day one. The lab also tests filtration, noise levels, and ease of maintenance, giving customers a clear picture of what to expect long after the initial sale. Every rating and recommendation you see on vacuumsrus.com traces back to results generated right here in the lab, not marketing claims from the manufacturer.