My first guide for The Sweethome went up this week—vacuums! I stopped myself from making any obvious puns. This is a weird category. They’ve been around for 100+ years and widespread since before WW2—about as mature as any category out there. Prices bottomed out in the 80s. Two generations of people have gotten used to buying super-cheap vacuums, almost expecting them to stop working after a year or two. Upkeep is a foreign concept.

This guide is for people who want to break that cycle and buy a vacuum that’ll last for a couple decades. It took about 70 hours of research and testing to settle on the winners—the Miele Twist upright, and Miele Delphi canister. Learn more than you ever wanted to know at The Sweethome.