The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on July 23, 2008, announced the recall of 987,000 tool attachments for Dirt Devil vacuums (shown) because of a laceration-hazard risk. For full details on the recall, read this entry on the Consumer Reports Safety blog.

Essential information: When you're in the market for a new vacuum, read our latest report and visit our vacuum product page, where you'll find our expert buying advice for the different types of vacuums, like those featured in our video shopping guide. And did you know that the vacuum cleaner turned 100 this year?