Upright vacuum cleaners are by far the most popular type of vacuum cleaner in North America. Uprights are excellent for homes that feature significant wall-to-wall plush carpeting. In recent years, many features have been added to uprights that make them better at cleaning hard floor surfaces as well as above-floor cleaning (i.e. drapes, stairs) Uprights are available with a variety of tool configurations -- from no tools to a complete set of on-board tools. On-board tools will make an upright heavier but they eliminate the need to own a separate vacuum for above floor cleaning.