Dad’s short answer: A cordless stick with a soft roller head, for most people. Hard floors don't need deep agitation — they need a gentle roller that doesn't scatter debris ahead of the machine, and enough control that you're not chasing crumbs around the kitchen.

Why hard floors are a different problem

On carpet you're fighting to get dirt out of fibers. On hard floors the dirt is sitting right there, and the challenge is capturing it without flinging it across the room first. A stiff bristle brush spinning fast on tile scatters cereal and grit ahead of the machine, and that's the most common complaint I hear about vacuums on hard floors.

A soft roller — the fluffy kind — fixes it. It sweeps debris in rather than batting it away, and it's gentle on a finish. Better machines use a dual-roller head that handles both surfaces without swapping anything, which is one of the nicer developments in the category.

What to watch on a finished floor

Grit. What scratches a hardwood finish is a hard particle dragged under a roller, not the vacuum itself. Pick up construction debris and gravel by hand first.

Wheel material. Hard plastic wheels on a soft finish mark it over time. Most decent machines use rubber or felt now, but it's worth a look if your floor is delicate.

Suction control. On a light rug or a runner, full suction will pick the rug up and hold it against the head. Machines with adjustable power or auto surface detection handle that; single-setting machines don't.

And if your home is mostly hard floor, this is also the case where a cordless stick can genuinely be all the vacuum you need.

Dad’s Take: Soft roller, not more suction. On hard floors the job is capturing debris, not wrestling it out of anything.