Lab – Cyclonic or multicyclonic filtration? We explain the difference!

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Bagless vacuums all have a filtration system that separates air from dust. While most benefit from cyclonic filtration, some use multicyclonic technology. We explain the difference.

When the time is right to buy a canister vacuum or bagless broom, some specific terms used by manufacturers are often obscure for a novice user, and come to confuse them before the act of purchase.

These “scientific” terms relate to the filtration system of the vacuum cleaner: we think in particular of the words cyclonic and multicyclonic. Manufacturers' explanations for these two technologies are often vague and underdeveloped. To see a little more clearly, we will explain what is hidden behind this avalanche of cyclones.

Cyclonic

Cyclonic filtration is the most common technology on bagless canister vacuums and stick vacuums. And for good reason, it is the easiest to set up, therefore the least expensive. It has been used since the 1960s in our vacuum cleaners, but was first used in industry. Note that legend has it that it was by discovering an air and sawdust separator in a sawmill that Sir James Dyson would have had the inspiration to develop his bagless vacuum cleaners.

The cyclonic (or monocyclonic) filtration system separates air from dust. When the waste is sucked up, it goes up along the suction tube and is directed towards the collector ad hoc. The air flow follows the rounded walls of this part of the vacuum cleaner, and by simple gravity, the dust particles heavier than air fall little by little into the tank. At the same time, the air thus freed of impurities is discharged outside the vacuum cleaner. The quality of the cyclonic filtration depends on the power of the air flow and its path, the shape of the tank, the weight of the particles sucked in. All the difficulty is therefore to play with all these parameters so that the waste is found well where they need to go, at the bottom of the collector. To be sure that it is only air that is discharged outside the vacuum cleaner, the manufacturers add screen filters, foam filters and HEPA filters to capture particles that have escaped cyclone.

Note that, according to the manufacturers, the HEPA filter on vacuum cleaners is supposed to retain up to 99.98% of fine particles larger than 0.3 micrometers. Depending on the quality of cyclonic filtration, the foam filter and the HEPA filter become dirty more or less quickly, and they should be maintained regularly. In Digital, a good vacuum cleaner must benefit from good cyclonic filtration which limits the maintenance operations of other filters, among others.

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Multicyclonic

Multicyclonic technology was popularized by Sir James Dyson (still him) on his canister vacuums. Of course, other manufacturers (Rowenta, Moulinex, etc.) have rushed into the breach. A few years later, Dyson imported this system into stick vacuums, and was once again followed by Roborock with the H6, or Xiaomi for the Dreame V9 Pro, among others.

Technically, a multicyclonic vacuum cleaner uses several cyclones in the same device, hence its name. At first, the principle is the same as cyclonic technology. But the levels of filtration multiply at the same time as the parts which give rise to the cyclonic air flows shrink. For example, on the Dyson DC23, there is a first cyclone (similar to that of vacuum cleaners with cyclonic filtration) which will separate large dust from the air. Then, this slightly cleaner air is directed towards four smaller cyclones which will work to separate the particles of smaller sizes. After this second filtering, the air is still directed to 16 other minicyclones to remove the smallest elements. It is always gravity that works, but on a smaller scale.

But to many, is it really better than alone?

If we refer to our Review tables, multicyclonic filtration is very effective for stick vacuums. Indeed, none of the additional filters (foam and HEPA) of the multicyclonic models in our comparison (Dyson V10 and V11, Roborock H6, Dreame V9 Pro and Xiaomi Mi Handheld Vacuum Cleaner) gained weight after ingesting 20 g of cocoa powder (our Review protocol for judging the quality of filtration).

As for monocyclonic stick vacuums, the results are more mixed. We thus saw completely ineffective cyclonic filtration, as on the Delonghi Cordless Plus XLR32LED, whose HEPA filter had increased by 7.36 g. But other devices have shown perfect monocyclonic filtration, like the Tornado TOP5-21TG or Rowenta Air Force 760: the 20 g of cocoa powder have been found in the waste collector of these vacuum cleaners, and not in foam filters or HEPA.

Easy maintenance

The maintenance of the filters on a cyclonic stick vacuum cleaner is the same as on a multicyclonic stick vacuum cleaner. As a general rule, the large initial filter (the one contained in the waste bin) can be removed very easily to get rid of the larger dust particles. You can even pass it underwater. At Dyson, from V8, it is a rubber blade which comes to carry out the operation each time the collector is emptied, without the user having to get their hands dirty.

The difference is in the maintenance of foam filters and HEPA. Since several cyclones are (generally) more effective than one in separating air from dust, cleaning of these filters does not need to be as regular. Attention, it is still necessary to proceed from time to time so as not to see the foam filters and HEPA become clogged and gradually compromise the suction performance.

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