Yes, You Need a Different Vacuum For Different Tasks — Here's the Breakdown

Having a pet is the best! Having pet "surprises" all over your house, though — decidedly not the best. Don't let Fluffy and Fido's messes bring you down. Instead, look for a pet-specific wet vacuum like this Hoover PowerDash Pet Hard Floor Cleaner ($190). It cleans pet messes and fur from sealed hard floors (think tile, vinyl, hardwood, and laminate) and dries quickly thanks to a squeegee-suction system. So instead of scrubbing away and hoping you've picked up all of the pet mess, you can run this over your floors and be done with it.

For time-pressed people, a robot vac is the way to go. The coolest thing about this Shark Ion Robot RV772 Vacuum ($280) is that it's voice activated. Get your girl Alexa's attention, and the Shark will roam your home, sucking up dirt and dust from carpets and hard surfaces alike. It's smart enough to "know" your home, so it won't go careening down the stairs. And because you can control it from afar via app, you can get your vacuuming done while you're at the library, park, pool — anywhere.

If you're looking for a vacuum that can handle huge messes as well as dust in the tiniest of nooks, the Dyson Ball Multifloor 2 Upright Vacuum ($400) is a great choice. Its ball construction makes it easy to take 90-degree turns, and at just over 15 pounds, it's not so heavy that you'll dread taking it from room to room.

Not all messes require a full-size vac for cleanup. A lightweight handheld like this Shark Wandvac Cord-Free Handheld Vacuum ($130) makes fast work of tidying the little stuff like crumbs in kitchens and dirt in the backseat of your car. Why this one? The Shark has more than twice as much suction as its main competitor, and at 1.4 pounds, it's one tough little machine that makes tidying up much easier.

If you have stairs, you definitely don't want to lug a heavy vacuum when it's time to clean them. Enter this Shark Wandvac System Cordless Ultra-Light Stick Vacuum ($230, originally $260), which — as the name implies — weighs only 2.1 pounds but gobbles up dirt like crazy. This cordless stick vac is suitable for carpets, rugs, and hard floors alike, so it's a true multitasker.

Apartment dwellers usually don't have a ton of storage space to house oversize cleaning devices. This Bissell PowerTrak Compact Upright Vacuum ($93) is small enough to stash away in a closet, but it's powerful enough to leave floors spotless with one quick sweep. Its height setting is adjustable, too, so it works for rugs, hard floors, and carpets — pretty much anywhere you need in your home sweet home.

When you need to reach under a bed to suck up dust bunnies or you want to cleanly navigate furniture, a canister vac like this Miele Classic C1 Turbo Team Vacuum ($450) is a smart choice. Its small size makes it easy to move from place to place, and its head swivels easily to maneuver underneath chairs, beds, and tables. Plus, it's blue and super cute!

If you have a garage or basement, you'll need a wet/dry vac at some point. This Karcher WD5/P Wet/Dry Vacuum ($180) can hold 6.6 gallons of dirt, muck, and whatever else you may find in your space. What's really clever about this model is that the filter is housed above the tank — a space-saving measure that also allows the filter to run whether you're vacuuming wet or dry messes.