Consumer Reports’ new, more-challenging pet-hair vacuum tests revealed some of the best uprights and canisters that suck up fur at a reasonable price.

The November issue of the magazine features ratings of more than 80 upright and canister vacuums and highlights top picks that breeze through pet-hair pickup and other key cleaning chores for all homes.

Consumer Reports’ latest tests also uncovered some pricey vacuums that came up short on performance.

Sebo’s Automatic X5 upright, $820, touts “anti-allergy, hospital grade” filtering, but didn’t impress when it came to carpet cleaning and airflow.

Pricey canisters from Sebo and Aerus Lux, which cost $900 and up provided mediocre carpet cleaning.

And while Dyson has been tops in Consumer Reports’ brand-repair surveys, subpar carpet cleaning and pet-hair pick-up helped the compact DC22 Turbinehead, $700, land near the bottom of the ratings.

“Our tests show that some of the priciest canisters and uprights offered a slew of extra features but gave only a mediocre performance in carpet cleaning,” said Bob Markovich, home and yard editor at Consumer Reports.

“Shoppers should be wary of buying by price and instead prepare a list of must-have features that best suit their home — then check our ratings.”

Pet-hair pickup is especially challenging. Consumer Reports testers used a special rake with a series of rolling washers to push tufts of long, Maine Coon cat fur deeper into carpet so this test matched the cleanup pet owners face.

Kenmore’s Intuition 31100, a CR Best Buy at $250, is among the uprights that aced the new test without disappointing on regular carpet cleaning. Among canisters, Kenmore’s Progressive 27514, $300, was also impressive in pet-hair and carpet tests while Panasonic’s MC-CG902, $210, cleaned carpets comparably for less.

Thanks to www.floordaily.net for this news!