Best Backpack Vacuums for Fast, Efficient, and Ergonomic Cleaning

Backpack vacuum cleaners are designed to be comfortable, easy to maneuver, and effective to reach tight spaces. The type you choose will depend on your cleaning requirements. A small device may be suitable for cleaning a single office unit while cleaning a gym, school, theater, buses, or larger offices will require a robust unit with good power and run time. In this guide, we highlight the benefits of a backpack vacuum and reveal everything you need to consider when choosing the best backpack vacuum for your needs.

Backpack Vacuum Benefits

Choosing a backpack vacuum for your home or cleaning team comes with a host of benefits.

• Firstly, they are more ergonomic than any other type of vacuum. They are specifically designed to be lightweight, so don’t think that you’ll simply be carrying the weight of a regular heavy vacuum on your back. The lightweight design is also created to balance out evenly across your back. With the device, you don’t need to do as much bending and can adopt a more neutral posture while working. This significantly lowers the stress on your body and joints that occurs with long periods of unnatural movements.
• Since the vacuum is not a bulky separate device that needs to be pulled along behind the user, it is much easier to effectively clean areas that pose maneuverability obstacles such as staircases, closet areas, hallways, public transport, lectures rooms, and seating areas. Not only are the units easy to move around but they can be easily transported to different work sites.
• Backpack vacuums come in corded and cordless models. A cordless model eliminates having to coordinate outlets and extension cords, especially when cleaning a large building with staircases and multiple levels. It is also a great benefit when cleaning theater or stadium-type venues that require multiple extension cables which can become unsafe.
• With less time spent finding and organizing cables and outlets as well as reduced effort on pulling a big device around, backpack vacuums make cleaning much faster, allowing you to cover larger and more difficult-to-clean spaces in a much shorter period of time. For home users, this means your home can be cleaned without stealing too much time out of your day. For commercial businesses, this saves time and money, allowing you to service more clients, in an equally effective manner, in less time.
  
• Backpack vacuums generally have less hardware than other types of vacuums, which means less maintenance and repairs – another cost saver.
• Unlike stand-up vacuums, backpacks have long extendable handles and various attachments. These may include dust and floor brushes, upholstery cleaning attachments, and crevice tools for those really tight corners. The attachments allow the device to be used for dusting and cleaning air vents too.       

To ensure you get all the benefits you need within your price range there are a number of things to consider when making your purchase.

Choosing a Backpack Vacuum

Size

If you are using the vacuum for a house of one or 2 bedrooms only, a small unit will be ideal. You will need to consider a bigger backpack for commercial cleaning. In addition to the size of the unit, consider the stature of the person who will be wearing it. A heavy unit will not be comfortable for a petite or elderly person or someone with injuries, especially when using it for lengthy periods of time. In this case, it may cause more pain and discomfort than offer benefits. A generally healthy person can however handle a regular size unit quite comfortably.

Harness construction

Commercial cleaners may need to wear their cleaning backpacks for a few hours a day. This means it is important to consider the safe and comfortable construction of the harness or straps. 

Ideally, you would want something that is adjustable for different people to wear. This includes strap adjustment for height as well as harness adjustment to stabilize the vacuum canister. Shoulder straps should offer padding, sufficient support, and solid construction that is durable for long wear. The straps should be easy to get on and take off and should not have any protruding structural parts.

Besides the strap comfort, the lumbar padding is very important to protect the wearer’s lower back. The vacuum should not sit right against the wearer’s body as this will cause discomfort and will prevent sufficient airflow causing both the wearer and the machine to become hot.  

Suction power 

Many people mistake the unit’s wattage for its suction power. High wattage does not mean high suction power. The wattage simply refers to how much energy is consumed during the running of the vacuum but does not necessarily indicate performance.

Vacuum suction will generally be indicated with the terms ‘water lift’ or ‘vacuum’. A higher suction is better at removing dirt and dust. This is especially useful when removing dirt and settled dust from thick carpets. Low suction units will still remove dirt but only on the top surface of carpets. They are generally only sufficient for home use and not suitable for industrial or commercial use where more powerful dust removal is needed.

Air flow

The vacuum’s airflow is indicated in cubic feet per minute or liters per second. The power of the airflow is what moves the dirt along inside the pipe once sucked up. As with suction power, a higher airflow measurement offers better quality cleaning. Cord-powered vacuums generally have higher airflow although you may find some battery-operated units that match up. 

HEPA filter

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are pleated mechanical air filters that are designed to remove 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, and any other common allergens with a size of 0.3 microns. HEPA machines are highly recommended for any medical facility. Filter replacement is required periodically for maximum results.

Electric or battery operated

If you require a unit for cleaning in areas where it is difficult to access an outlet such as staircases, public areas, buses, and stadiums; a battery-operated option is ideal. It will however need recharging, so check the running time per charge. A battery-operated unit can also make cleaning around the house in different rooms a very fast and efficient ordeal since you don’t have to keep stopping to find a new wall outlet. 

Power cable operated units do sometimes offer better suction and cleaning power and of course, do not need recharging.

Cleaning attachments

Check the attachments and cleaning tools included in the purchase. Crevice or corner nozzles as well as different attachments for carpets or tiled surfaces are standard attachments that should be included. Some units may also have attachments for upholstery cleaning and a dust brush to use the machine for dusting.

All the attachments may sound unnecessary, but they make every job much easier, faster and allow for effective cleaning.

Ease of operation

The on/off switch should be easy to locate and tubes or pipes should fit securely without coming undone. Check the ease of filter replacement as well as whether the unit requires bags, how available the specific bag types are, and whether there are alternative options if required. You may also want to check whether the unit has any green cleaning features.