We also found that the wand can be cumbersome when cleaning overhead and, unlike some other Shark vacuum cleaners, the brushroll can’t be switched off. Being able to vacuum and mop in one go is in itself a revelation for how much time and effort it saves. In our tests we were very impressed with the suction capabilities, especially the vacuum’s ability to remove hair from our couch when used in handheld and Boost mode.
It’s rather eccentric looking, a far cry from anything Dyson produces, so it might surprise you to hear that it was invented by two ex Dyson employees. I’ve tested a lot of vacuums in my time on The Telegraph’s Recommended channel and while others triumph in terms of robustness, usability and storage, nothing beats Dyson when it comes to suction power. I like that I don’t have to vacuum before mopping as the submarine head does both. The motor in the head leads the vacuum, pulling slightly but not enough that you lose control. It’s a little awkward to get into corners but not enough to be an issue. The difference it made to my grubby kitchen floor was seriously impressive.
An on/off switch for the rotating brush lets you stop the brush from rotating when using tools or cleaning bare floors. This helps eliminate scattered dirt on bare floors and reduces the risk of injury if the vacuum tips over during use. It also reduces the risk of damaging a carpet or the finish of a bare floor if the vacuum sits in place at the low-height setting. The Shark Vertex Pro Lightweight is better than the Shark Cordless Pet Plus.
Upright mode lets you clean both carpets and floors and the detachable pod offers portable cleaning power for varied surfaces like stairs or shelves. It also comes with an extender for those hard-to-reach areas behind furniture or in high corners. As far as suction is concerned, this vac has dual cyclonic air streams designed to effortlessly suck up crumbs, dirt, pet hair and more from hard surfaces and low-pile carpets.
We run robot vacuums in a straight line during the debris pickup tests. Hair is the No. 1 cause of a vacuum getting stuck and needing manual attention to become functional again. Some vacuums, both robot and stick, are designed specifically to avoid hair tangling in the brush and therefore are better suited to homes with pets. Narrowing your decision down to the vacuum type is your first task. Robot vacuums do a lot of the grunt work for you, and I’m not just talking about the vacuuming part. Most robot vacs also automatically empty debris into easy-dump holding bin, saving you from having to negotiate a dust storm every few weeks.
At the end of a session, you’ll absolutely have to wash and dry the roll, as well as the dirty water tank and filters, to avoid residual pong. Check out my guide to the best robot vacuum cleaners for other (mostly cheaper) models. See our individual reviews of the best upright, cylinder, cordless, pet and robot vacuums (using the links above) for more details. In general we used dry food like crisps and crumbs, grit like cat litter, fine dirt like tea-leaves and talc and various types of hair from people and pets to see how the vacuums handled different tasks.
It snagged 98.9% from the hardwood floor, 99.4% from low-pile carpet and 99.1% from mid-pile carpet — all for $40. Aside from not pushing poop across your floors, the Roomba J7 Plus excels at other things too. It doesn’t feature a built-in mop, but it’s a semi-affordable self-emptying option, and an exceedingly well-rounded cleaner, boasting top-three averages on both hardwood floors and low-pile carpets. It fell short shark stick vacuum on plush, midpile carpets, so go with the if your dog is well-trained and you’re more worried about its fur than its waste, but that’s really the only weak spot here. As a top performer in our current cordless vacuum test group, the Tineco A11 stick vacuum represents an outstanding deal. So much so that it has officially bumped the Shark Rocket Pet Pro Cordless out of our top pick for the best midrange cordless vacuum.