Rinse the foam and felt filters in cool, clear water (manufacturer recommends no soap), being especially careful not to damage them. Open both ends of the dirt canister over a trash can and dump out whatever is in there. Although we haven’t personally tested this upgraded version of the Bissell Zing, we have tested the previous model, the Bissell Zing Rewind. If you like the performance of the Miele, but are looking for a bagless system, like the Dyson, you may want to check out the Miele Blizzard CX1.
But like with other cheap vacuum cleaners, the cost of replacement filters ($20 per year) makes it a bad deal. Even if you skip those, we read many reviews about it wearing down (or just breaking) after about a year. Though Dyson announced in 2018 that it would stop shark canister vacuum developing new plug-in vacuum cleaners in order to focus on cordless models, the company appears to have reversed course. We plan to test it, but since it is almost identical in weight and appearance, we suspect we’ll run into similar problems as with the Ball 2.
It’s the more feature-rich and expensive of the two, and we’ve put it to the test to see if it’s up to the job. The difference in power between the most expensive and least expensive groups is worth noting, but all of these vacuums have enough power to easily pick up heavy sand and debris on all floor types. For carpet, the higher suction numbers won’t really help without excellent height control, or a more complex brushroll system like the Shark – Apex uses. The turbine-powered brushroll on the Electrolux – EL4021A didn’t help much, though. It got stuck in longer carpet fibers and was only slightly more effective than the bare-floor tools included in less expensive vacuums.
Any other models in the Shark NV350, NV360, or NV370 series are essentially the same vacuums as the NV352. Performance is nearly identical, and the only differences are minor—their tool sets, bin sizes, colors, and button placements. We’ve found that the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe V360 is currently the easiest to nab for a good deal, so start there. It comes with several accessories, including a pet power brush and crevice tool. I am partial to the models with the Lift-Away feature, making it easy and efficient to vacuum a staircase. And I prefer the Navigator line of Shark vacuums because they maneuver so well.
If you’re tired of dragging out a full-size vacuum to suck up pet hair every few days, the Shark Pet Pro Cordless Vacuum is a great option for your home. The battery-powered model has an impressive runtime of 50 minutes, and in our testing, we found that it could often last more than an hour without losing suction. Its main cleaner head has a self-cleaning brushroll that prevents pet hair from getting tangled around it, and the vacuum also comes with a crevice tool and pet multi-tool that’s ideal for cleaning upholstery.
Different retailers will sell the Lift-Around with different tool lineups. The one we saw had an upholstery brush, a small bare floor brush and a crevice tool. She’s an experienced product researcher with years of experience in covering large and small appliances. For this piece, she used in-depth research and evaluations on features, cleaning modes, and accessories, in addition to the firsthand insights from our product testers at home and in The Lab, to inform her writing.
You can embrace hands-free cleaning with the Shark 2-in-1 Vacuum and Mop Robot. While it is fairly expensive, this robotic vacuum is extremely effective — it creates a map of your home, allowing you to label each specific room and create no-go zones, as well. In testing, the vacuum was able to pick up all sorts of dirt, dust, grass, and other debris with no problems, and its convenient self-empty base means that there’s very little maintenance needed on your part. Marisa Casciano is a senior commerce editor for The Spruce and has been in The Lab for our vacuum tests. She has firsthand knowledge of how our vacuum tests were both developed and performed, as well as where each product excelled or fell short.