Every parent knows with active children how difficult it is to keep your floors clean on a regular basis. Children are in and out of the home with dirt being tracked in constantly. Pet owners also know the difficulty of keeping your floors debris free. It's not easy and that's why owning a sweeper or stick vacuum is a must.

Stick vacuums and sweepers are vacuums that assist both homeowners and business owners in keeping their floors clean. Traditionally these vacuums are best when cordless though a few do come with cords. The corded sweepers take away the advantage of convenience and thus are not recommended. The key features of sweepers and stick vacuums are:

• Light weight, typically weighing 3-8 pounds
• Rechargeable, typically many will have rechargeable batteries or are wall mounted
• Flexibility as many typically allow for fine debris and large debris to be picked up
• Battery life of 15 minutes or more allowing for quick pick ups or a room to be vacuumed efficiently

Stick vacuums are extremely convenient as you simply grab it and turn it on to pick up a spill or vacuum a small area quickly. The two most important features to consider are the length of use and strength of the sweeper. Having a sweeper that is run by a battery is convenient as you can purchase typically an extra battery to allow for back-up when one looses its charge. The power feature is also important as you want to be able to do a good job. A good sweeper will have a beater bar that will agitate carpet area's to allow for good pick up even on thicker carpets. There are plenty of low cost sweepers under $50 that do a great job on hard floors, though not that good on carpeted areas. The three best sweepers that I've tested are:

1. Hoover BH50010 Linx Platinum Collection Cordless Stick Vacuum - One of the best stick cleaners on both hard surfaces and carpeted areas. Long lasting battery of 20 minutes and low cost extra batteries available. Almost as powerful as an upright vacuum and great for the elderly and those looking for a quick clean.
2. Karcher Cordless Electric Sweeper - Another great choice as the battery life is 30-40 minutes and the power is amazing both on floors and carpets. This unit is also extremely quiet and the battery recharges in an hour.
3. Oreck Sweep-N-Go PR8000 Sweeper - Low cost and will pick up fine particles, though does exceptionally well on large debris. Picks up coins, paperclips and other heavier objects in just one pass.

If you've never owned a stick vacuum or sweeper and appreciate a clean area you should strongly consider. The convenience factor of owning a good sweeper is well worth the investment.