Eureka was founded in 1909 by Fred Wardell, a former auctioneer, and the company was deliberately named after the famous Archimedes quote when his body displaced the water in his bath.  Meaning “I found it!”, Fred used the phrase as he felt his company would provide innovative products.

Its range of vacuums included the Eureka Boss SmartVac which won a number of “Best Buy” & “Best Vacuum” awards.  In 2007, the Eureka Capture vacuum won the Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

Nowadays, Eureka is part of the Electrolux family.  Eureka’s main focus is in the cleaning industry, both home and commercial vacuums (see later).  With over 130 models distributed through their brands – Eureka, Electrolux, Sanitaire (serving commercial cleaners such as hospitals, schools and offices for more than 30 years) and Electrolux Central Vacuum systems (formerly known as Beam Industries).

Eureka’s design philosophy is to look after the consumer and study the impact that their vacuums have on the environment.  They have a comprehensive range of vacuum designs including:

• Upright vacuums
• Canister vacuums
• Sticks
• Battery powered vacuums
• Hand held vacuums
• Built-in home cleaning systems
• Steam cleaners

Eureka have a vacuum cleaner for all needs.  Their vacuums can be categorized according to the needs of the user.  There are vacuums for:

1. convenience cleaning – for when you want to clean up quickly.
2. comfort designed vacuums – when ergonomic design is important.
3. those for hard to reach areas – to get into the smaller spaces and difficult to maneuver areas.
4. multi-surface vacuums – All floor types and even the ceiling if you want.
5. allergen control – HEPA vacuum cleaners for those who suffer from asthma or allergy, or maybe you just want to make sure your carpets are thoroughly cleaned.
6. Pet hair – ideal for people who have pets and need to clean up hair regularly.
7. eco-friendlier vacuum cleaners – for the eco-warriors out there.  These vacuums are eco-friendlier, e.g. the Envirovac 3041 uses an 8-amp motor that uses 33% less energy than a typical upright vacuum cleaner.  These also include washable allergen filters, so you don’t need to buy replacement filters.

Eureka Commercial Vacuums

Eureka have designed the Eureka Commercial vacuum cleaner for those with professional-grade cleaning requirements.  These include a sealed HEPA filter that captures 99.97% of dirt, dust, mite debris and allergens that pass through the vacuum. The long cord on these machines allow you to clean all around the house with minimal plugging and unplugging of the power cable.  These vacuums come with professional grade cleaning accessories.

Although this is a lightweight vacuum cleaner, it has been well made.  This bagless vacuum has good suction and is easy to maneuvre, thanks in part to its lightweight.

Using micro-filtration to capture a lot of allergens like mites, polled and dust, the powerful 12 amp motor, large dust cup and no clog hosing make this a good vacuum cleaner for the price.

You also get a few tools to use on the extension wand including a dusting brush and a crevice tool for getting into those hard to reach places.

While there are no bags with this bagless cleaner, expect to clean the filter regularly, especially if you have pets, although the upside is that there is only one filter and its washable.

Eureka 4700 Maxima users like:

• Solid construction.
• Good suction.
• low price.
• lightweight.

.. but are not so keen on:

• having to clean the filters regularly (often after every use if you have pets).
• vacuum is quite loud.

The Eureka Optima Lightweight 437AZ is an upright vacuum cleaner that combines performance of an upright with convenience of a stick. The Eureka Optima Lightweight includes the following features:

• Stretch hose
• bagless construction means no more vacuum cleaner bags.
• dusting brush
• crevice want
• power paw
• Riser Visor that flips up to accomodate vertical surfaces of stair risers and vertical unholstery.
• 12 amp motor for powerful suction.
• rotating motorised brushroll which can be switched off for hardwood floors.
• HEPA filtration system

For its size, the Optima is a great option. However, it is a little on the loud side.

The average users on Amazon liked the Eureka Optima vacuum with 135 reviewers awarding it an average of 4 stars out of 5.

Eureka Optima Bagless Lightweight vacuum users liked:

• Good suction
• Lightweight
• Good performance on different surfaces
• retractable handle
• cheap
• extension hose

.. and they did not like:

• HEPA filter needs to be cleaned regularly and its a messy job!
• Noisy

The Eureka Altima Bagless vacuum cleaner is an upright HEPA filter vacuum with a telescopic duster. You also get the Power Paw stair brush and easy clean filter system.

The Eureka Altima bagless vacuum has the following features:

• Foam filter system with easy empty dust bin. Its got an external 2 stage filter.
• 3 foot telescopic self-cleaning duster.
• Eureka’s edge cleaner that uses spinning brushes to get as close as possible to the edges of your furniture and baseboards.
• Power Paw for cleaning stairs and upholstery as well as pet hair.
• Easily go from carpet to hard floor with a switch to adjust the motorised brush bar.
• HEPA filter that captures up to 99.9% of allergens passing through the vacuum cleaner. This includes pollen, bacteria, dust mite debris and other substances known to cause allergic reactions and asthma.
• 12 amp motor for powerful suction power.

What do Eureka Altima 2971BVZ bagless upright vacuum users say about this cleaner?

At Amazon, at the time of writing this, 122 people reviewed the Eureka Altima, and scored the vacuum cleaner a very poor average of around 2 out of 5. Complaints included:

• Warranty not covering parts that failed after just three months.
• Power paw stopped working in the first month.
• Upper filter clogging.
• Suction died after 6 weeks.

The list of problems goes on. We wont cover more here, but be aware that 77 out of the 122 people that reviewed this machine awarded it just 1 out of 5 (and there is no option to award it zero).

We would highly recommend you read some more of these reviews so you can be fuly aware of the range of problems people have had with this machine.

The Eureka 4870MZ Boss Smart-Vac is a traditional upright vacuum cleaner that uses a HEPA filter. HEPA filters are leading the way in anti-allergy and anti-asthma vacuum cleaners as well as air purifiers. HEPA filters remove up to 99.97% of airborne allergy-causing substances like pollen, dust mite debris etc. HEPA vacuums are therefore popular choices for homes where someone suffers allergy or asthma.

The Eureka Boss Smart-Vac includes on-board tools and a stretchy hose for cleaning above floor level. The Power Paw brush makes it easy to clean surfaces, even those embedded with pet hair.

The power cable is 30 long, which is great for getting around the room without having to constantly change power outlet.

The front of the vacuum provides a cleaning path of 15 inches wide, meaning you cover more area quicker.

The dust-trap system has three stages.

This vacuum has the Direct Air Control System which means you can direct all of the suction power deep into the carpet through the main vacuum, or to the hose.

The Eureka 4870 MZ Boss Smart-Vac has a motorised brush bar, and a brushroll that has 7 height settings. At a flick of a switch you can go from carpet to hard flooring.

This upright vacuum cleaner comes with a powerful 12 amp motor, and works well on carpet as well as hard wood and tiled flooring.

At the time of writing this, the Eureka Boss Smart Upright Vacuum had been reviewed by 198 customers. The average rating was around 4 out of 5, with the majority awarding this cleaner either a 4 or a 5 out of 5.

What Eureka Boss Smart-Vac Upright HEPA vacuum users liked:

• Excellent suction.
• Spinning brush for whipping up the dirt and hair from the carpet.
• Power paw for cleaning pet hair.
• Sealed HEPA filtration system.
• Easy to switch between carpet and hard flooring.
• Easy storage of accessories.

What they did not like:

• Heavy.
• no automatic cord rewind.
• Foot button that releases the handle from the upright position can be tricky.
• Bag fills up quickly, but then that could be seen as a positive

Hand held vacuum cleaners are very useful for cleaning the car and other hard to reach places in your home where you cannot get your normal vacuum. This Eureka 71B handheld vacuum cleaner has a powerful 5.5 am suction power and a stretchy hose. Its ideal for cleaning carpets in your car, and getting down in between the seats and pockets. You can also clean upholstery and stairs with ease and get down behind the sofa cushions to get those biscuit crumbs.

At just 5 pounds in weight, its easy to carry around without tiring.

The onboard crevice tool is great for tight spaces, and the revolving brush has its own motor (another motor powers the suction of the Eureka 71B.

This Eureka handheld vacuum cleaner is bagless and the clear dust bin makes it easy to see when it needs to be emptied.

There is also a 20 foot cord that wraps around the back end of the vacuum cleaner for easy storage. At 20 feet, the cord gives you ample room for moving around the room or car, without having to re-plug the vacuum into another power outlet.

The stretchy hose also gives you more room for maneuver as it stretches up to three times its retracted length.

One Eureka innovation on this vacuum is the Riser Visor. The idea behind this clear plastic cover is that it stays down for cleaning horizontal surfaces, but flips up when vacuuming vertical surfaces like stair risers. This means the revolving brush can clean horizontal and vertical surfaces with ease.

The vacuum has a filter, and emptying it is a case of shaking out the dust bin.

This Eureka 71B handheld vacuum cleaner is one of the most popular handheld vacuums around, and the reviews from places like Amazon reflect its popularity. At the time of writing this, 551 people reviewed this hand held vacuum on Amazon, with 374 awarding it 5 out of 5, and 126 awarding it 4 out of 5. Just 51 reviewers awarded it a 3 or less.

What Eureka 71B Hand held users liked:

• Fantastic for getting pet hair off surfaces
• Hose is conveniently situated to get off the vacuum quickly and return it when finished.
• The riser visor for vertical
• heavy duty filter that seems durable
• clever storage of the crevice tool

What they did not like:

• It is a little bit big & a little heavy.
• Loud