Vacuums

While today's carpets resist stains and soiling better than ever, no carpet is fully stain-proof. Professional cleaning, recommended every 12 to 18 months, does the best job, but can be expensive. Rental machines are also available. If you want to buy your own, use this carpet cleaner guide.

Steam mops look like a cross between a stick vacuum and a floor sweeper, with a built-in water reservoir and a heating core that generates the steam. Infomercials and Web ads tout their ability to "melt away" the toughest floor spills and grime, with "no need to apply pressure." But can they?

Carpets are still Job One when it comes to vacuuming, at least according to more than 5,000 subscribers in a recent survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Our latest tests include vacuums that breezed through both carpet and floor cleaning, and aced our tougher new pet-hair tests.

Whether it's sawdust in your basement or a spill in your kitchen, wet/dry vacuums are designed to handle the toughest household messes. Our dusty, watery tests show that some wet/dry vacuums shoulder their tasks with more finesse than others.