We also personally tested them on hard flooring as well as carpeting. Every product was tested the same way, picking up a combination of oatmeal and dog kibble as well as lots of pet hair from both a Chihuahua–pug mix and an English bulldog. Handheld vacuums are ideal shark robotic vacuums for cleaning hard-to-reach corners, furniture and upholstery. Our tests showed the ZU62 was good at cleaning up tight against edges/walls, that it had good pickup on our tile flooring, and that it was good at tackling small-to-medium sized debris on carpet.
For example, larger homes may require an upright vacuum and a handheld vacuum to clean every nook and cranny. On the other hand, smaller houses and apartments can opt for just a stick, robotic, or canister vacuum. This slender handheld vacuum weighs just 1.4 pounds and comes with a quick-release dust cup to help you clean tight spaces and other hard-to-reach areas. It also uses a brushless motor and filtration technology to capture debris of all sizes—from dirt to dust.
The S2 Upright vacuum comes with a pet brush, dusting brush, and crevice tool. It also features a HEPA filter seal that traps 99.9% of dust and other allergens. Whether your home has hardwood, tile, vinyl, or carpet, this high-capacity model can lift debris and pet hair from almost any surface. And the third recommendation was the shark lift-away pet vacuum. Most shark upright vacuums offer lift-away features, with a duo clean floor head. Instead of those upright models, this shark NV602UKT has a single bristle roller—no problem we faced during the multi-surface cleaning test.
Shark’s website has many options for troubleshooting problems, but if you can’t resolve yours, you can input your number, and a customer service representative calls you immediately. In our hypothetical product-breaking request, they offered to get on a video call to see what part needed replacing and then process the warranty. Detach the pod and extend your reach for versatility above the floor and in tight spaces.
In some instances, we are also fortunate enough to keep the vacuum cleaners after writing up the review so we can continue to learn about them and share our findings with you. The enormous half-gallon capacity makes the Outsize a lot bulkier than other cordless vacuums, so it’s noticeably heavy when cleaning moldings and stairs. The eject system on the dust bin is usually effective, but if you overfill the bin you’ll have to reach in to pull out clumps of dust. The ZS351 Rocket Corded Ultra-Light Vacuum from Shark seemed like a winner at first glance.
While it is a variant of the V11, it has many significant improvements that in our view should have made it a new model altogether. To tackle large debris, both Shark and Dyson have developed designs that allow for large debris to more easily be swept up. While the Dyson Ball Animal 2 is still an excellent upright, the newer Ball Animal 3 does it all, but better and at basically the same price.
The second — common to most of the cordless sticks we tested — is that it doesn’t stand on its own. If you’re using it around the house as part of your weekly chores and don’t return it to its dock right after using it, you have to lean it carefully against a wall or lay it down on the floor. The swivel head was especially impressive on carpets and area rugs. It sucked up so much debris from our living room rug that we were as embarrassed as we were impressed by the results.
We created the PEOPLE Tested seal of approval to help you find the very best products for your life. We use our unique methodology to test products in three labs across the country and with our network of home testers to determine their effectiveness, durability, ease of use, and so much more. Based on the results, we rate and recommend products so you can find the right one for your needs. With an espresso finish, the APEX AZ1002 utilizes a 1.5-quart dust cup capacity.
Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need. On the other hand, the 4.5-liter bag holds an impressive amount of debris, and it did a great job of keeping particles contained, which makes it a smart solution for allergy sufferers. How often you need to change the bag depends on a variety of factors, but I didn’t come close to filling it despite sucking up more than two pounds of debris in my tests. You can schedule the SpinWave to clean at the same time every day or mix it up using the Bissell Connect app .