Stick vacuums can make quick clean-ups at home a breeze

Need a quick picker-upper for your floors at home?

5 On Your Side’s Monica Laliberte says a good stick or hand vac could be the answer.

When you have young children like Melissa Morris Iona, a stick vacuum is a go-to appliance.

“We are vacuuming after every meal,” she said.

Stick and hand vacs are handy for quick pickups.

They can supplement the deeper cleaning of a regular vacuum.

“We found that in the past few years the suction power has gotten a lot stronger in many larger stick vacuums. So they’re even better cleaners,” said Sue Booth with Consumer Reports.

The magazine tests that power on all kinds of floors and with all kinds of messes like rice, sand and cat hair. They also test to see if the vacs release dust back into the air. Testers found an issue with cordless stick vacs.

“We discovered that almost half of battery-powered stick vacs will develop problems within five years, the biggest being that battery life gets worse over time. Corded stick vacs are generally more reliable,” said Booth.

CR recommends the Shark APEX UpLight Lift-Away DuoClean.

It scored excellent on all types of floors, and has an extendable hose for hard-to-reach areas.

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Slim also aced tests.

As for handhelds for reaching nooks and crannies, around the house or in your car, CR recommends the Shark Ion. It scored high for cleaning but its small dust bin requires frequent emptying.

This Black and Decker DustBuster also scored high.

CR offered four tips to make your vacuum last longer: