A vacuum cleaner is one of the most essential tools anyone will use to keep his or her home clean and dirt-free. A vacuum cleaner is great for cleaning up small messes, such as crumbs on the floor or counter tops, or for dealing with messes that cover large areas such as carpets or staircases. Especially for those people with small children and pets, vacuums are indispensible.

There are a number of different types of vacuum cleaners available to purchase, depending on the consumer's needs and available storage space. Many people actually have more than one vacuum cleaner, and rotate between them depending on the type of mess at hand.              

- An upright vacuum cleaner is just like it sounds, it stands upright with the cleaning brushes on the bottom-most part that comes into contact with the floor surface being vacuumed. They are operated by a handle that comes to around the waist level of the operator and also contain a detachable bag that gathers all the dirt, dust, and debris being vacuumed.

- Handheld vacuums are great little tools for cleaning up small messes, such as a crushed cracker on the floor or a small amount of cat litter. Having a hand-held vacuum will prevent you from having to pull out the large vacuum cleaner from the closet, plug it in, and then put everything away when you are done. Hand-held vacuum cleaners are operated by battery, so they need to charge when not being used.

- Canister vacuum cleaners are similar to the upright vacuum cleaner in terms of function and parts, however, the vacuum bag and machinery is housed in a separate unit that is connected to the vacuum brushes by a hose. These are often easier to maneuver and operate than upright vacuums.

- A wet vac is a type of vacuum cleaner used in more industrial and professional settings. This type of vacuum cleaner can suck up both dry messes and wet messes, such as water leaks and flooding, eliminating the need for two separate machines.

Vacuum cleaners, and vacuum cleaner accessories, of all types and sizes can be purchased any number of places. They are always available at mass discount retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart, appliance and home stores such as Sears and Macy's, and of course, on the Internet. When considering making a vacuum cleaner purchase online, you may want to weight the cost of shipping (as the item will be heavy) with the potentially higher in-store prices to see if it is worth the extra cost.