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Is your vacuum cleaner making your allergies worse?
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Vacuuming regularly helps to relieve allergies because you’re removing allergens like dust from your living spaces. But it can also flare dust allergies while vacuuming – or immediately after – especially if your vacuum doesn’t clean very well or have a great filter.
While some vacuum cleaners perform brilliantly in our allergy retention tests, others are very disappointing – over 40% of vacuums we tested received only three stars out of five, or even less in this area.
We explain what you need to know about vacuuming and allergies, plus share our top tips and advice for reducing allergy symptoms in the home.
Discover the best vacuum cleaners and best corded vacuum cleaners according to our tests
Can vacuuming make allergies worse?
Vacuuming can make dust allergies worse by triggering symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, or red and watery eyes. These often worsen during or immediately after vacuuming or dusting since the cleaning process can stir up dust particles and unsettle debris and pollen from carpets, hard floors and other surfaces, making the particles easier to inhale.
Vacuum cleaners generally suck up most visible dust and debris – you might even spot them floating in the air after you've disturbed them. But plenty miss microscopic particles. Some vacs blast them back into the air and that's what aggravates allergies. This happens because vacs release air from the machine during vacuuming to help with suction.
The human eye can spot dust as small as 25mm, but it's the really tiny particles, which can be as little as 0.3mm, that can trigger dust-related allergy symptoms. If your vacuum has a poor filter, these tiny particles can get flung up into the air, causing you to cough and sneeze.
If you suffer from hay fever, discover these 10 ways to pollen proof your home
How to buy the best vacuum for allergies
There are three things you should look for when buying a vacuum cleaner for a household with allergy sufferers:
- Opt for a bagged vac - this will help keep dust particles contained
- Choose a vac with a good filter - this prevents the dust particles you’ve hoovered up being spat back out into the air your breathe
- Consider a self-emptying vac - if you prefer not to faff about with hoover bags, some premium cordless vacs automatically empty themselves into a sealed unit when you dock them back into their charging station.
Find out more about each of these points below.
Why are bagged vacuums better for allergies?
Bagged vacuums are generally better for allergies because, when emptying, you remove the entire dust bag and pop it in the bin. There’s less chance of being exposed to the dust directly or releasing too many allergens back into the air.
Most cordless vacuums are bagless and often have smaller capacities compared with corded models. This means you'll need to empty them more often and, subsequently, be exposed to dust during the process. It can be a messy job.
The emptying assessment is one of the key parts of our ease-of-use test. We check each vacuum to find out how messy the emptying process is and whether it's quick and simple, or not. Only the best models score the full five stars.
Browse our reviews to see how these bagged vacuum cleaners performed in our tests:
Why should you choose a vac with a good filter?
A vacuum with a good filter effectively traps any dirt or dust, locking up the particles tightly within a container so they're not released back into the home.
Allergy UK1 recommends using a high-filtration vacuum cleaner, especially one with a HEPA filter (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) – although we advise that you read our reviews and pay close attention to the allergen retention star rating. Some of the vacuum cleaners we tested were brilliant at keeping allergens locked up, but others were not so great.
Use the 'allergen retention' filter to discover which vacs score four or five stars for this feature:
Should you consider a self-emptying vacuum cleaner?
A self-emptying vacuum expels any dirt or dust it has collected into a larger container or sealed bag that’s typically stored in its base station. While you will eventually need to empty that container, most self-emptying vacs store it for a few weeks or more (depending on how much you use the vacuum), so you won’t need to empty it as much.
Self-emptying vacs tend to be more expensive because they’re usually premium products. The Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra, for example, is a cordless, bagless, self-emptying vac that typically costs around £800. However, we are starting to see feature in less pricey models – the Shark BU3521UK has an auto-emptying system and is typically priced around £200.
Popular Which?-tested bagged vacuum cleaners
Based on the number of visits to our vacuum cleaner reviews over the past six months, we've put together a list of the most popular bagged models among Which? users. But remember – 'popular' and 'impressive' are two different things, so make sure you consult our expert reviews before you consider buying.
Numatic Henry Quick Pro
The Numatic Henry Quick Pro is a cordless, bagless vacuum cleaner. What’s interesting about this vac is that it captures up to one litre of dust and dirt in fleece bag pods to reduce mess when emptying. It’s also versatile and easy to use.
But does it keep all the allergens in the container? Read the full Numatic Henry Quick Pro review to find out.
Miele Guard L1 Allergy
The Miele Guard L1 Allergy is a corded vac, designed especially for allergy sufferers. It uses a HEPA AirClean filter to contain dust in a 2.9L container. It does need disposable bags, which you’ll have to buy separately.
Is it as good for allergy sufferers as it claims? Read our full Miele Guard L1 Allergy review to find out.
AEG Clean 5000 AB51C2DR
The AEG Clean 5000 AB51C2DR is a cylinder vacuum cleaner that uses disposable bags for the dust and dirt. It has a 2.1L capacity, which is medium for a corded vacuum, so you won't need to change them too often.
Find out how well it cleans and locks up allergies in our full AEG Clean 5000 AB51C2DR review.
Our Best Buy vacs tick all the boxes. Discover the best corded vacuum cleaners and best cordless vacuum cleaners according to our lab tests.
How we test vacuums for allergy retention
A good vacuum cleaner should keep the fine dust and allergens trapped in its filters, which is especially important for serious allergy sufferers.
We award the best vacuums with a full five-star rating for allergen retention. Receiving top marks means that nearly all the fine dust and allergens the vacuum cleaner picks up are locked tightly within a container and are not released back into the home. Those with lower ratings simply shot more of the particles back up in the air.
During our test, we hoover up a pre-weighed amount of dust (with particles ranging between 0.4mm and 25mm) over a 10-minute period. During this time the number and size of dust particles entering the vacuum cleaner and the number and size of dust particles exiting is measured in our test chamber.
The filtration efficiency of the appliance is reported in percentages (the higher the value, the better) and these are turned into our star ratings. The allergen retention test has a significant impact on the overall score of each product.
For more information on our in-depth testing, read how we test vacuum cleaners
How often you should vacuum if you have allergies
According to experts, your home doesn't need to be visibly dirty to trigger a reaction to dust-related allergies such as dust mites – the particles are too small to be seen. If you have such allergies, it's important to vacuum regularly.
It's generally advised to vacuum your house once or twice a week, as well as clean furniture and other areas that collect dust quickly.
Allergy sufferers may also wish to wear an N95 filter mask while vacuuming, since it can take more than two hours for the dust to settle after a thorough cleaning.
Fight dust and allergens and get more cleaning tips in our guide to how to vacuum your home effectively
Which? advice for people living with allergies
- Choose wood flooring over carpets. Carpets are generally harder to clean effectively as they collect more dust deep between the pile.
- Use 'allergen-proof' covers on your mattress and pillows, and wash all of your bedding weekly, using hot water.
- Consider using a steam cleaner to deep clean your home. The high temperature of the steam kills harmful bacteria and can eliminate the dust mites that cause asthma and allergies. Check out the best steam cleaners according to our tests.
- Vacuum at least twice a week – and don't forget to vacuum upholstered furniture too.
- Change clothes when you get home. This will prevent you from spreading any pollen that's stuck to your clothes around your home.
- Dry your clothing indoors. This will prevent from pollen particles settling on your clothes and causing hay fever symptoms.
- Consider using an air purifier. It can help improve air quality by trapping any floating particles and then circulating the clean air back out. Find out which ones we rated top in our pick of the best air purifiers.
Vacuum cleaner allergy FAQs
Why do I sneeze after vacuuming?
You may notice that you sneeze more while vacuuming or afterwards, and there's a reason for that. While vacuums help to relieve allergies by removing dirt and allergens, they also release air during vacuuming, which can blast microscopic particles back into the room. That's why you need a vacuum with good allergen retention.
Do anti-allergen vacuums work?
While anti-allergen vacs promise to lock up allergens and help reduce your symptoms, the key is to find a vacuum cleaner with a good filter. Our testing has found non-allergy models that perform just as well, if not better, than models with 'allergy' in the name.
Are Dyson vacuums good for allergy sufferers?
The Dyson vacuums we’ve tested tend to score well in our allergy retention tests, which makes them a good option for allergy sufferers. But Dysons are typically bagless, so bear in mind you may experience dust clouds when emptying the vac.
¹Source: Allergy UK
