The Tineco S11 also uses a click-in, swappable battery pack, so the only limit on its run time is how much you’re willing to spend on spare batteries (though, as we’ve argued, extra battery life tends to be overrated). Realistically, you can probably expect 25 to 30 minutes of cleaning time on a single charge. Short battery life was the most common complaint we found in our analysis shark cordless of customer reviews, but that’s true of nearly every cordless vacuum. Across the reviews we analyzed, the battery prematurely stopped holding a charge for about 2% of reviewers, which is better than average—way better than the 10% early failure rate for the Dyson V8. For what it’s worth, specs and measurements of raw power do not reliably tell you how well a vacuum works.
Most Shark vacuums have several parts that need ongoing maintenance, depending on your usage. Provides flexible reach for under furniture and freestanding, compact storage. To start over, or to view all available products, click the Reset button. A HEPA filter plus a sealed system keep dust and allergens inside the vacuum, and out of the air you breathe.
The lightweight design and small frame doesn’t mean it’s lacking in power, either. This vacuum did very well in picking up all sorts of debris including rice. Narrowing down the 10 best vacuum cleaners from the myriad models available took plenty of careful consideration on our part. On top of each vacuum’s features, we considered brand reputation and user reviews. Because we’ve published plenty of stories on vacuum cleaners, our staff is well-versed on the subject. A culmination of years of research and first-hand experience among our writers and editors has given us a keen sense of which vacuums are worth your hard-earned cash.
The most impressive is the Simplicity Cordless Freedom, at $700. But it can’t convert into a handheld vacuum, and it lacks a hose, offers less suction, has a less-aggressive brush roll, and is heavier and harder to steer than the Dyson V11 Torque Drive. The V15 Detect is so strong that it essentially defeated our controlled rug-cleaning tests. On its middle power and cleaning-head settings, the V15 Detect picked up nearly all of the sand and baking soda that we’d laid out on both a low-pile rug (98%) and, more impressively, a dense, medium-pile rug (96%). Very few cordless vacuums can clean that well even on their highest power settings, and none even come close on their lower settings. When we cranked it up to its top power setting, the V15 managed to pick up a full 100% of the debris we’d laid out on both types of rugs.
She also considered the latest technology, practicality, and real-life cleaning situations. Emma Phelps, an updates writer for The Spruce, also assisted in updating this roundup to note the latest Shark vacuums we tested that didn’t quite make our final list. However, the Shark vacuum does feature a flexible wand that is a real game changer for reaching under furniture. You can stop ignoring the dust bunnies under your sofa, since Shark designed this vac with a hinge that gives the floor head greater reach. 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.
And on board storage keeps all of the tools—a dusting brush, crevice tool and extension wand—in one place and close by when you need them. It has good ratings from several other publications that test and review vacuums, but we didn’t find it to be outstanding on either bare floors or carpets. It doesn’t convert to a handheld vacuum, and the handling is stiff—though not top-heavy, as with most other cordless sticks. Another useful feature on the V15 is Auto mode, which automatically adjusts the suction level depending on the situation to maximize the cleaning ability while preserving battery life when possible. For the V15, the suction automatically changes depending on the floor type, using a brush-resistance sensor, as well as on how dirty an area is, based on what the built-in particle counter finds .
Clearly, the brush roll and the cleaning head design play a huge part in cleaning performance, but we don’t know how to quantify their effect. If you’re sticking to a budget, you’ll still get a good clean from the Shark NV360 Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe Upright Vacuum. This more basic Shark vacuum lacks features like a self-cleaning brush roll, but still qualifies as a quality upright vacuum thanks to its fully-sealed system with HEPA filtration and lift-away canister option.
Not only does the upright model have a high-capacity tank to house tons of dirt, but it can also squeeze into hard-to-reach areas and capture dust and irritants, thanks to its anti-allergen seal. Depending on your specific needs, there may be one model that outshines another. If corded, you want to make sure the cord is easy to wrap around and store when not in use.