This makes the Shark – Apex the best canister vacuum for pet hair, or even for extra-long human hair. You’ll only ever catch a few strands on the roller, which eliminates the maintenance shark canister vacuum needed on traditional roller designs. Rather than having a separate head for carpet and bare-floor cleaning, Kenmore gives you a convertible system called the “Crossover” head.
It did not glide across floors as easily as the Simplicity or Miele canister vacuums we tested. Dyson plays up its self-righting feature—it can pick itself up when knocked over. All of the Shark Navigator Lift-Away models in the NV350, NV360, or NV370 series are essentially the same vacuum cleaner, just with minor differences in their tool sets, colors, and button placements. We tend to recommend the NV360 because it’s typically the best value at our favorite retailers. We’ve found that the Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe NV360 is the easiest to nab for a good deal these days, and it’s the same as the NV352, except for the shape of the handle and the placement of the power button.
If we didn’t mention a particular model you’re curious about, we did actually consider it but decided not to recommend it. Repair technicians tend to love Riccar, Simplicity, and Fuller Brush uprights (all made by Tacony Corporation). We tested the Riccar Vibrance R20D a few years ago, based on some techs’ recommendations. It is a sturdy, American-manufactured machine made to be repaired pretty easily. However, it costs more than comparable models from other brands, it didn’t clean as well in our tests, and it is much heavier and harder to steer than our favorites (even the “lightweight” model). All vacuum cleaners represent a compromise to some degree, and we think that the Navigator Lift-Away handles those compromises in a way that will make most owners happy.
That makes them more versatile than even the most prestigious brands in our upright vacuum review that just got bogged down or stuck. Given how well our stick vacuum and upright vacuum review winners handle the same situations a canister excels in, we settled on a high-but-comparable $450 price maximum as a first criteria. This eliminated even the least-expensive Miele models with a power head, like the $700 Compact C2 Electro+. Compared to the other sub-$300 vacuums we tested, you still get a motorized height-adjustable carpet head and a powerful suction motor. The small bare-floor head and difficult steering on carpet really handicap this model in most households where a mid-range canister vacuum makes sense, though. Like most good canister vacuums, the Kenmore includes a retractable power cord.
An upright vacuum, by comparison, really shines if you need to clean up and down a carpeted hall or over a large open space. The cord is usually long enough that you can finish the job without unplugging, and you won’t have to drag a canister along behind you. The included air-turbine-powered pet-hair brush isn’t good on carpet, and there’s no place to store it on the vacuum so most owners will likely lose it quickly.
You can see a more detailed comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each brand’s offerings in this comparison article. This handheld vac is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion shark dustbuster battery and a high-speed brushless motor. It runs for 10 minutes before needing a recharge, which definitely isn’t long and was one of the biggest downsides of this model.
One of the big disadvantages is that it doesn’t have the freedom of a cordless vacuum. The five-year warranty is a good length and covers any non-wearable parts so long as you buy it from an authorized retailer. Shark will repair any defective parts or replace the vacuum if necessary, during this five year warranty, which is pretty lengthy in comparison to other warranties. Plus, there’s shark dustbuster a good range of replacement parts available to purchase direct from Shark, these include replacement canister wheels, dust cup, wand, handle and hose assembly, and more. This makes it easy to extend the life of the vacuum if a replaceable part breaks. The Vertex comes in a large box and as with all Shark vacuums, it comes packaged in fully recyclable paper and cardboard packaging.
Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). In a now-famous Reddit AMA from 2013, vacuum-shop manager and repair technician Brian Driscoll called out the Shark brand as being repair-prone. Allow the hose to sit and soak for a while to loosen the grime in the areas you cannot reach easily. Finish by running clean water from a faucet through the hose until it comes out clean and clear from the other end. Take the hose to your sink or tub of soapy water and drop it in so it can fill with water. They must be completely dry first or prepare for mildew and mold—the last thing you ever want growing inside a vacuum.