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.
You might have noticed The Spruce Approved badge next to the products on this list. Every product with this badge has been rigorously tested in person and carefully selected by our expert team of lab testers and editors. In most cases, we buy all these products ourselves, though occasionally, we get samples provided to us directly by companies. No matter how we procure products, they all go through the same tests and must meet the same strict criteria to make the best-of cut.
It’s worth noting though, that there are plenty of optional accessories available on Shark’s website, should you need a tool for a specific job. For this review, we tested two canister vacuums from Kenmore that use motorized brushrolls, and one turbine-powered system from Electrolux. We sprinkled samples of precisely weighed debris samples on carpet, then weighed the bags or canisters of the vacuums after to see how much of the dirt was recovered. On bare floors, we put down the same dirt as well as cereal and tested for scatter and efficient pick up of the biggest pieces. Don’t try to use a basic canister vacuum like this for medium-pile or longer carpet; it’ll just get stuck. You can turn down the suction to make gliding along easier, but at that point you’re not really vacuuming up much dirt.
The bare-floor tool snaps into the carpet head, and it’s easy to lift out with the press of a foot lever. Almost all of them weigh less than 10 pounds, and many of them are very good cleaners. They can be top heavy, but we’ve used a few that are well-balanced and easy to maneuver. But the evidence we’ve seen leads us to believe that the Navigator Lift-Away is actually more reliable than most vacuum cleaners in this price range.
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.
We used to recommend the Miele Dynamic U1 line of upright bagged vacuum cleaners, but we’ve watched the owner ratings plummet. But the nosedive began around the time Miele rebranded the line (it used to be called the S7 series), in late 2014. Reps from Miele assured us that nothing about the vacuum changed except the name, but more and more complaints about pet-hair clogs and defective units popped up and dragged down the user ratings. Dyson makes good plug-in vacuum cleaners that cost way too much money by current standards. We’ve tested several Dyson upright vacuums over the past few years, including the Ball MultiFloor 2, and haven’t found a great reason to recommend one over our other picks. We also measured each vacuum’s raw suction with a specialized gauge and each one’s airflow with an anemometer.
They make me smile because I understand the range of emotions that comes with using a Shark vacuum for the first time—from amazement to flat-out embarrassment. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader’s Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, She Knows, and other major publications. Derek has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business shark dustbuster Administration from Kansas State University. The flexible hose on the Mighty Mite is about 7′ long with a 20′ cords and an extending rigid wand for great maneuverability. Here at The Spruce, we want to ensure we fully stand behind every product we recommend and that when we say something is the best, we mean it.
How powerful it is remains to be seen, and we’re looking forward to testing one in our lab as soon as we can get our hands on one. However, this vacuum’s anti-allergen seal and HEPA filter do effectively trap dust. You’ll also enjoy the clear dust bin that allows you to see what you’re capturing in real-time and releases very easily with the help of built-in latches.
Plus, the Vertex series from Shark includes dual rollers in the floor head and one is equipped with grippy rubber fins to maintain contact with the floor. While making use of the 60-minute battery life, which is significant compared to many other cordless models, you can feel this technology working. We noted the vac essentially pulls itself, and we gave it a perfect rating for maneuverability.