Eureka Vacuums

Fred Wardell started Eureka in Detroit in 1909, and by 1915 one of its vacuums had won the Grand Prize at the San Francisco International Exposition. The brand later passed to Electrolux in 1974 and then to the appliance maker Midea in 2016, which now runs it in the US as Midea America Corp. Its own site today leads with robot vacuums, and three of them are listed here, but most of the models listed here are the plainer, lower-priced side of the range: corded uprights, a canister and cordless sticks.

Four of the models listed here are corded, and three of those carry the same 960-watt motor rating. The PowerSpeed NEU182B ($88) is the basic bagless upright with five height settings, the MaxSwivel NEU250 ($90) adds a swivel base, sealed HEPA filtration and automatic cord rewind, and the WhirlWind NEN110A ($80) puts the same rating in a small canister with no powered floor head, which suits hard floors better than carpet. The Blaze NES212 ($43) is a 4-pound corded stick with a removable handheld. On the cordless side, the RapidClean Pro ($135) is a handheld that comes with a floor nozzle, and the ReactiSense 440 ($160) is the most advanced of the push models here. Eureka says its sensors detect the floor type and adjust the brush speed, and that its battery comes out so a spare can be swapped in.

Only two of the models have enough owner reports to summarize. ReactiSense 440 owners praise its pickup and say the anti-tangle brushroll stays clear in multi-pet homes, but they measure well under the 60-minute rating in auto mode, because the sensors keep raising the power on dirty floors. Owners also find it weak on plush carpet. PowerSpeed owners choose it for its 10-pound weight, which makes stairs easy, and accept a loud motor, no HEPA filter and a short cord in exchange.

Before buying, check the filtration. Only the MaxSwivel and the ReactiSense 440 claim sealed HEPA, while the PowerSpeed, WhirlWind and Blaze make no HEPA claim, which matters in a home with allergies. Eureka lists a 2-year warranty on the ReactiSense 440 product page.