How do I choose the right vacuum cleaner?

Look for one that has several different pads. For the tile with grout, a chunky pad with fingers or nubs will help clean the grout. You need a smoother pad for the laminate.

Steam cleaners are a misnomer. Many carpet cleaners are called steam cleaners and have nothing to do with steam. Shark makes a steamer/cleaner that does steam and has great reviews. I just bought a Bissell Pet Pro crosswave. It is pricey and vacuums and washes at the same time. I just rescued two dogs and it does okay. Would I recommend it. No. It does clean area rugs and hard surface floors and washes at well. It does an okay job. I would look towards the Sharks that do the same thing AND steam cleans. Bissell does not.

The one that we got, I believe is a Rug Doctor. It is for both hard floors and carpet, but they have different heads for carpet and hard flooring. It doesn't vacuum first, but most will want to vacuum debris off the floor first anyway. It has a multipurpose liquid that you can use for all floors. It dries very fast, so will not damage laminate flooring, as it vacuums up the dirty liquid. I was very impressed with it, it did an excellent job on our hardwood and tile and didn't leave anything dull looking. That was a miracle because our four dogs bring in a lot of dirt, mud and dust on their feet. The carpet head did a fine job on the old shag carpet in the basement, as well as some area rugs that we did also. It is the size of a regular vacuum and not hard to use or clean when you are done with it. Overall, even though we purchased it for the carpet cleaning side, it was even better on the hard flooring side and well worth the money spent for it.

Having a Hoover carpet cleaner for many years I am spoiled. It does a fantastic job on carpets but is just for carpets. It has got to be close to 20 years. Still works. The new ones sanitize with actual steam. Great bonus for pet feet and what they step in sometimes. The new ones sanitize with actual steam, vacuum and wash all at the same time. That is what the Bissel pet pro does, vacuum AND sweep so the plus is that you DON'T have to vacuum first. It just should have a more powerful suction for carpet. I know this since the old Hoover does a MUCH better job at removing wetness or I would not have know the difference. I am still betting on the Shark.

I have several hundred square feet of porcelain tile in my house. I discovered the bissell crosswave about a year ago and i don't consider my floors clean without using it weekly. I have a small 14 pound dog in the house that sheds very little. The bissell vacuum pulls little hairballs from places they aren't seen. I had no idea until I started using it that he sheds more than i thought he did. The bissell is super easy to clean up and the dirty water canister let's you know how dirty your floor actually is. I don't think you would be disappointed with it.