Home Machine Guide
Spec-by-spec buying guides for home cleaning machines, cordless tools, home-office desks and pet machines. Each guide starts with one buying question, states its criteria, and compares current models in a table built from current listing data and manufacturer documents. We say who each one fits and when to skip it. Our comparisons are research-based: we have not tested these products by hand.
Carpet and hard-floor cleaners
- BISSELL Little Green vs Hoover CleanSlate: tank, reach and rinse tool
BISSELL's Little Green (1400B) and Hoover's CleanSlate Plus (FH14050) compared on clean-water tank, hose, cord and how each one rinses its hose. - Rent a carpet cleaner or buy one: a worksheet for your own numbers
Whether renting or buying a carpet cleaner costs less depends on how often you clean. A three-line worksheet to find your break-even point, using today's rental and purchase figures from your own area. - Full-size carpet cleaners compared: tank, heater, hose and self-cleaning
Four current carpet cleaners from BISSELL, Hoover and DREAME compared on clean-water tank, water heating, hose and cord length, and self-cleaning features. - Carpet cleaners for pet accidents: spot cleaner, full-size, or both
Portable spot cleaners and full-size carpet cleaners for pet accidents, compared on tank, self-rinsing tools and how fast you can get them to the mess. - Carpet cleaners for stairs and upholstery: hose length compared
Six portable carpet cleaners compared on the figure that matters most on stairs and furniture, hose length, with tank, cord and heat from the makers' own spec pages and a treads-per-hose worksheet. - Hoover CleanSlate XL vs BISSELL SpotClean Pet Pro: the two big-tank portables
Two large portable carpet cleaners with the same 96-ounce clean tank, compared on hose, cord and hose rinse using Hoover's and BISSELL's own spec pages. - Spot cleaner or full-size carpet cleaner: which one you need
A portable spot cleaner and a full-size upright carpet cleaner do different jobs. Match the machine to how much carpet you clean at a time, with the tank arithmetic from the makers' own figures. - Steam mop or wet-dry floor cleaner: which one for your hard floors
A steam mop and a wet-dry floor cleaner (vacuum-mop) both wash hard floors but work differently. Match them to your floor type, your messes and how you like to clean, using the makers' own floor wording. - Steam mops compared: tank, heat-up, cord and which floors the makers name
Six steam mops from Shark, BISSELL, Amazon Basics and DREAME compared on tank, heat-up time and cord, with the floor types each maker's own page names. - Wet-dry floor cleaners compared: runtime, tank, suction and power cord
Six wet-dry vacuum mops from Tineco, dreame, roborock, Shark and BISSELL compared on battery or cord, stated runtime, clean-water tank and suction figures. - Carpet cleaner, spot cleaner, steam mop or wet-dry cleaner: which one?
Match your floor types, usual messes and storage space to the right kind of machine: carpet cleaner, spot cleaner, steam mop or wet-dry floor cleaner.
Vacuums and shop vacs
- Shop vacs for home use compared: gallons, peak HP, hose and cord
Six corded shop vacs for the house and garage compared by tank size, peak HP, hose and cord length, with what a full tank of water weighs when you carry it. - Best stick vacuum for pet hair: brush, runtime and power compared
Seven stick vacuums from Shark, BISSELL and Levoit compared for pet hair on the brush type each maker names, battery or cord, stated runtime and base emptying. - What size shop vac you need: 4, 6, 9, 12 or 16 gallons
How to size a shop vac from the water you might need to pick up: a spill-volume worksheet (area times depth) and seven current wet/dry vacs from 4 to 16 gallons.
Cordless tools
- Drill and impact driver combo kits: what each one actually includes
Five two-tool combo kits from DEWALT, CRAFTSMAN and Milwaukee compared on what is in the box, by the makers' own contents lists: which drill, which driver, how many batteries of what size, and the charger. - Cordless ratchets compared: drive size, torque and speed side by side
Six cordless ratchets from Milwaukee, DEWALT, CRAFTSMAN and VESSEL compared by drive size, listed torque, speed and platform, and how to read torque with speed. - Best cordless shop vac for your battery: Milwaukee, DEWALT, CRAFTSMAN
Cordless wet/dry vacs from Milwaukee M18, DEWALT 20V MAX and CRAFTSMAN V20 compared by tank, hose and blower, with what each maker says about its batteries. - Cordless tool platforms compared: DEWALT 20V MAX, Milwaukee M18, CRAFTSMAN V20, RYOBI ONE+
Which cordless tool battery system to buy into, compared through each platform's entry drill kit and the makers' own battery compatibility statements. - DEWALT 20V MAX vs Milwaukee M18: how the two battery systems line up
DEWALT 20V MAX and Milwaukee M18 compared as systems: battery families, chargers, the smaller and larger lines around each, and why their drill specs use different units. With one compact drill kit from each. - DEWALT 20V MAX, FLEXVOLT and 60V MAX: which batteries fit which tools
What DEWALT says about FLEXVOLT batteries in 20V MAX and 60V MAX tools, what the 20, 60 and 120 volt labels mean, and a fit table to check before you buy a battery or a tool. - Drill or impact driver: which you need, and when a combo kit makes sense
What a drill/driver does that an impact driver does not, and the reverse, with a task-by-task table and current DEWALT, Milwaukee and CRAFTSMAN examples. - Milwaukee M12 or M18: which to start with
Milwaukee's M12 and M18 lines compared on what Milwaukee itself states: battery fit, the one charger that takes both, battery sizes, and stated torque of comparable M12 and M18 tools. - Milwaukee M12 ratchet vs DEWALT ATOMIC ratchet: torque, speed, battery
Milwaukee's M12 3/8 in. ratchet (2457-20) and DEWALT's ATOMIC 20V MAX 3/8 in. ratchet (DCF513B) compared by listed torque, speed, motor and battery platform.
Car and garage
- Cordless impact wrenches for lug nuts: which torque figure to read
What torque an impact wrench needs for lug nuts, why breakaway torque is the figure to read, and how current DEWALT and Milwaukee models compare. - What size jump starter do you need? Peak amps and engine size compared
Seven portable jump starters compared by the engine sizes their makers state, with why peak amp figures from different makers do not line up. - Portable jump starters compared: pocket packs, compressor units and booster boxes
Seven current jump starters compared on stated peak amps, stated engine size, air compressor and weight, grouped by the three kinds of unit: small lithium packs, packs with a compressor, and large booster boxes.
Home office
- Office chairs rated to 330 lb compared: capacity, headrest, arms and footrest
Four office chairs rated to 330 lb compared on stated capacity, headrest, flip-up arms and footrest, with a way to check a rating against your own weight. - Electric standing desks compared: height range, load and desktop size
Seven electric standing desks compared on stated height range, load, desktop size and memory presets, with a way to check the range against your own heights. - Best standing desk for a small space: compact desks and desk converters
Three compact electric standing desks and two VIVO desk converters compared on footprint, height range and stated load, with a desk-or-converter rule.
Pet machines
- Self-cleaning litter boxes compared: cat weight range, waste bin and app
Five self-cleaning litter boxes compared on stated cat weight range, waste bin size, app control, open top and litter type, with what each design asks of you.
Explainers
- How to read a carpet cleaner spec sheet: tank, hose, cord, heat and path
What each line on a carpet cleaner's spec sheet means, how to convert the units makers use, and which lines matter for your job, with real figures from BISSELL, Hoover and DREAME pages. - How to read a cordless tool spec sheet: volts, Ah, torque, RPM, IPM and UWO
What each figure on a cordless drill, impact driver or ratchet page means, which ones can be compared across makers and which cannot, with real figures from DEWALT, Milwaukee and CRAFTSMAN pages. - Torque units explained: ft-lb, in-lb, Nm, and why listings disagree
How to convert foot-pounds, inch-pounds and newton-metres, and the four reasons two listings for the same tool give different torque figures.