5 Best Vacuum Cleaners for Asthma and Allergies

Did you know that more than 17 million adults and 7 million children in America alone suffer from asthma?

More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year.

If you look at the numbers all along, you could say it’s an epidemic but unfortunately we don’t take it seriously.

I suffer from allergic rhinitis. This type of allergy is caused by allergens such as pollen, dust, pollution from vehicles or secondhand smoke.

The best defense against any type of allergy is to keep your home environment clean and in this article I am going to share with you the best vacuum cleaners that you can buy for treating asthma and allergies.

Not only do these machines absorb dirt, dust, pet hair, etc., they must also have good enough filtration to keep these nasty things inside.

comparison chart

Rank	1	2	3	4	5
Model	Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog	Cebu X5	rainbow broom	Oreck Magnesium RS	Dyson Ball Animal 2
	Read the review	Read the review	Read the review	Read the review	Read the review
HEPA filter
Purification	0.1 micron	0.3 micron	0.3 micron	0.3 micron	0.5 micron
rope length	22 feet	40 feet	undefined	30 feet	35 feet
motorized brush
Brush on/off switch
rotates on axis
the Flashlight
Net weight	11.8 pounds	18.4 EGP	19 pounds	7.7 EGP	17.2 EGP
cleaning path	11.5 inches	15th”	Unavailable	12 inches	13.4 inches
Energy	1200 watts	103.8 cubic feet per minute	1.542 hp (high speed) .067 hp (low speed)	Unavailable	180 watt air
Guarantee	7 year casing and motor A year for the rest of the parts	5 years	rainbow guarantee	7 years	5 years
	Choice price	Choice price	Choice price	Choice price	Choice price

First, let’s take a look at the various features to consider

Vacuum Cleaner Type

Choosing the type of vacuum cleaner depends on the type of floor in your home.

If it has wall-to-wall carpets, then you will almost have to use a canister or a motorized head vertical vacuum cleaner because these cleaners are specifically designed to deep clean carpets.

Make sure to pick up something with a powerful motor and motorized brush. The latter is an even more important feature because stirring plays an important role in deep cleaning thick carpets.

Check what kind of roof you have in the house

Now, if your home has only a bare floor with a few area rugs and very little rugs, you can get rid of a less powerful vacuum cleaner or even a cordless vacuum cleaner.

Look around your house and note the height of the ceiling. If it’s really high, you’ll need something with a long hose and a stick. A vacuum cleaner with a flexible hose and adjustable wand would be a great plus because it can reach those areas.

Some rolls have a hose and wand feature but the reach is not very good.

Purification

Filtration is perhaps the most important consideration when choosing a vacuum for sensitivity. A vacuum that excretes allergens from the exhaust isn’t something allergy sufferers want to use because instead of removing allergens, these tools only make them airborne.

For people with allergies, HEPA filtration is an indispensable feature.

HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. This mechanical filter has a fine mesh construction that traps harmful particles such as pollen, dander, pet dander and dust mites.

Be sure to check the product label for this feature.

Packed or without bags

Despite the popularity of bagless vacuum cleaners, people with allergies should buy a packed vacuum cleaner because these bags provide another layer of protection from exposure to dust when emptying.

Although bagged vacuums require a higher cost to maintain (bags are not reusable!), they will save you medical bills in the long run because there is no exposure to allergens when emptying.

Make sure to buy the original bags and not the fake ones. You are at risk of exposure to allergens when purchasing counterfeit HEPA filters because the filtration will not be as good.

Most good brands have an auto-lock feature that automatically seals the bag when it is removed from the case.

Odor Elimination / Filtration

Keeping dust away is one thing but another thing to consider is how the vacuum cleaner handles the smell especially if there are a lot of pets inside.

Different brands use different methods to get rid of odor – some brands like Miele use a filter containing activated charcoal to absorb the bad odor.

Maneuverability / Ease of Use

Modern vacuums these days have a rotating mechanism that allows you to run a dime. This is especially useful when cleaning areas around furniture.

Other brands fold flat which means the body will lie flat on the floor, allowing you to push the entire vacuum cleaner under furniture as long as the base and body fit.

Another feature to look at are the fingertip controls that allow you to operate the motor or beater bar using a control located on the handle rather than bending and pressing a button. Since a lot of allergy sufferers are adults who may have back problems, this is a very useful feature that can protect you from additional back pain.

Tools / Attachments

To keep your home really clean, you will need to clean more than the floor. Allergens dust collects in a lot of nooks and crannies around the house – air vents, under the refrigerator, above the cupboard and other hard-to-reach areas.

Some of the essential tools for cleaning, ventilation and upholstery include a dusting brush, an upholstery brush, a small motorized tool, and a crevice tool.

noise level

Annoying brooms can frighten not only pets but small children as well.

Noise does not necessarily mean power, it is caused by poor insulation, poor motor or the use of low quality fans.

Good brands that use good insulation, powerful motors, and good fans usually have lower noise outputs and will last longer.

Energy

Having more power doesn’t necessarily mean better cleaning performance.

To clean homes with carpets everywhere, a vacuum cleaner has to have the right mix of agitation and suction.

Agitation is important because this process helps dislodge the dirt stuck on the carpet threads. Then the suction pulls the dirt into the box.

Watts or amps do not necessarily mean that the vacuum cleaner has strong suction power. This means how much current the motor uses to operate.

The most accurate measurement is air watts. This basically measures the amount of suction in the most important place, at the entrance where all the dirt gets in.

height adjustment

Height adjustment refers to the ability to adjust the distance between the inlet (where dirt enters) and the floor to ensure a controlled airflow.

Having a tight air flow is important as this ensures that dirt will transfer to the trash. Some brands use manual control through the foot lever. Others use the dial. The latest vacuums do it automatically for you.

Edge cleaning

This is the ability of a vacuum cleaner to clean the edges of a room. Includes hard-to-reach areas such as baseboards.

Some manufacturers add a side brush to help move this area. Many overhead brooms come with a crevice tool or brush that can be used to clean the edges.

If you’re shopping for verticals, be sure to take a look at the brush width. Try to get one that extends to the edge as it will provide better cleaning of the edges.

certificate

You’ll notice that some (mostly packaged) vacuum cleaners will have this certification from the Asthma and Allergy Association of America proving that their products are allergy-friendly.

This is a paid service, so take it with caution. But manufacturers still have to pass their own stringent tests to get certified and won’t be risking a good reputation for a service.

So it’s still a good indicator of how well it does at filtering allergens.

Recommendations

Here are 5 of the best allergy and asthma vacuums that will help you keep your home free of allergens that cause dust or pet hair to build up and trigger allergy attacks.

Most vacuums can trap allergens as small as 0.3 microns, which is very small. But only a few can boast of a filtration system similar to the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog.

How small is the particle that it traps?

The AirClean filtration system can filter out allergens as small as 0.1 microns.

To be clear, Miele Complete C3 comes in 6 different variants from Amazon. These differ in the attachments that come with them and the level of filtration.

The C3 Cat and Dog is designed with the pet owner in mind because it comes with an Active AirClean filter with activated charcoal that absorbs and eliminates odors.

Features that make this a great choice:

• Fully sealed system with air cleaning system filters out 99.9% of allergens
• Specially designed filter with activated charcoal that absorbs odor
• It has six speed settings to give you the right suction for the surface you’re cleaning
• Bags have a capacity of 1.19 gallons of dirt – these bags have a spring loaded system that automatically seals itself when the bag is removed
• 36 feet cleaning radius
• Comes with the SEB228 Electro brush with electric brush
• Produces only 77 dB at the maximum setting
• 7 year warranty on engine and case and 1 year on other parts

• Great price on Amazon (one of the better priced Miele Complete C3 variants)

The part that houses the Sebo X5 may not look like some of the features that make it a high-tech vacuum.

First, it has an electronically controlled height adjustment feature that detects the type of floor and automatically adjusts the height for you.

This is a huge advantage that the Sebo X5 has over the Miele Complete C3. The latter requires you to push a lever to adjust the height.

The feature has a good and a bad side

Good because there is less part that can break and bad because you can’t control the height adjustment.

Another feature to like is the sealing strip located behind the motorized brush. It has multiple functions.

The first function will be a funnel for dirt bypassing the motorized brush. The funnel acts as a plow that removes dirt that the brush has not picked up.

The second function is to create airflow as it eliminates the space between the floor and the entrance.

The feature that you will be allergic to are cysts. Each will have 3 to 4 layers of filtration that ensure that dirt (which includes allergens) stays inside. And speaking of bags, these bags are bulky and capable of holding 1.4 gallons of dirt.

Reasons why you should consider this:

• Powerful motor and fine motion (with automatic height adjustment) deep clean your carpet
• Sealed bag system keeps allergens in place (down to 0.3 microns).
• In addition to cleaning floors, this machine comes with a wand and attachments that allow it to clean upholstery and other hard-to-reach areas.
• 5-year warranty on the entire vacuum cleaner plus a lifetime warranty on the belt
• The 40-foot long power cord gives you great reach without having to unplug it
• See actual reviews here

If you take a look at the history of vacuum cleaners, it is one of the first vacuums used for water filtration. But for some strange reason, manufacturers have moved away from this type of filtration.

Why don’t manufacturers use water as a filter?

One reason is weight. Water adds a great deal of weight to the vacuum. The second is profitability. You will eat into the manufacturers net profit because there will be no filters and bags to sell.

There are plenty of reasons to love water purification. Water is one of the best filters in the world. Once dust gets inside, it doesn’t get out. This element basically traps every molecule of dirt that enters.

Versatile and versatile

Another thing that sets rainbows apart from the other blanks on this list is versatility.

Not only does it deep clean the floor, but it also cleans the mattress. One of the triggers for allergic rhinitis is bed bugs that feed on dead skin cells.

Not many people know this but our beds may look clean but when you look at them on a microscopic level there are thousands of bed bugs crawling and crawling.

One of the best tools for cleaning your mattress is the Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner.

The biggest problem for me is the price. If you buy this from a Rainbow seller, it could easily cost you $3000.

What makes this a great option?

• Water traps virtually 100% of the dust, pet hair and allergens that get into it
• It is powered by a cyclone engine that produces 1.5 horsepower
• Aside from purifying the water, it also comes with a HEPA filter that prevents nearly 100% of dirt from coming out
• This will double as an air purifier that absorbs airborne allergens in your room
• You can buy this directly from the Rainbow seller or get it cheaper on Amazon or Ebay

Most of the blanks listed here weigh over 10 lbs. Although, they offer a lot of variety in terms of areas that can be cleaned. Moving something over 11 pounds can do a lot of damage to your back, especially if you wake up there in your old age.

So I’m adding a lightweight bag-packed vacuum cleaner just to give you the option of a lightweight cleaner that’s easy to move even on stairs.

Let me introduce Oreck Magnesium RS. This full-size bag weighs only 8 lbs.

How is this possible?

Instead of using clunky metal or plastic – this vacuum uses magnesium which is a pound much stronger than steel.

This allowed Oreck engineers to simplify the design and reduce weight as much as possible.

Keep in mind that this vacuum cleaner is just a floor cleaning machine and you will have to purchase a portable vacuum cleaner to complete it.

I will recommend the Dyson mattress because it has a HEPA filter that captures allergens down to 0.3 microns.

It also comes with a brush tool, crevice tool, and a small motorized attachment that can clean pretty much any nook and cranny indoors.

What makes this a great option for allergy sufferers?

• Weighs only 8 lbs – the lightest in this group
• Sealed system captures microscopic dust down to 0.3 microns
• Backed by a 7 year warranty
• It folds flat and has a streamlined design that allows it to be placed under furniture such as beds or sofas
• 30ft long power cord (no wire to rewind)
• Excellent agitation – brush rotates at 7000rpm
• Great price on amazon

I think this is a better choice from the Dyson Cinetic because it has more power and therefore translates to better performance on carpets.

This is also the cheapest option for Cinetic at under $500.

Another concern I had with Cinetic was how long the fluctuating tips would last in the long run.

The entire device’s HEPA filtration has been approved by the American Asthma and Allergy Association.

The biggest drawback despite being bagless is exposure to allergens when emptying.

But Animal 2 has the improved dirt container that will push dirt down. You don’t have to stick your fingers there to remove stubborn bits of dust.

What makes this a good option?

• Powerful suction – deep cleans carpets and upholstery
• Locks allergens down to 0.5 microns
• Strong suction and great excitement from the motorized brush roller
• Washable filters last the life of the battery
• 5 years warranty
• It comes with one of the best pet hair cleaning tools – the tangle-free turbine brush – none of the other brands listed here can touch it in terms of performance.

to finish

Dealing with allergies is all about management – reducing your exposure to pollutants such as microscopic dust particles and pet hair.

With the right tools, you will be able to keep your home as clean and dust-free as possible to help you live a better quality life free of allergy attacks.

Miele C3 Cat and Dog offers the best filter among the options packed at 0.1 mcg but it isn’t cheap.

The cheapest option would be the Sebo X5 upright. They will probably provide the best deep cleaning performance and 1.4 gallon bags will hold a lot of dirt.

In terms of pure product performance, it’s hard to beat a rainbow broom. Water is one of nature’s best filters. And it’s free!

Rainbow’s downside is the price. Buying one from an authorized dealer will cost around $3000! What is sold on Amazon is cheaper but warranty can be an issue.

Most of the options here have non-reusable bags, so they add to the cost of ownership. Dyson Cinetic would be a good alternative if you are looking for something bagless.

The biggest problem will be the long-term viability of the oscillating cyclones that replace the traditional filter. But it is a good alternative if you don’t like to buy bags over and over again.

If you think I missed a product, give me a call and tell me and I’ll take a look or comment below.