Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2017
I'm stunned at how good this vacuum is-- and I feel silly for waiting so long to buy it. I have two uprights ((upstairs and down) and one canister (downstairs), and I wanted a second canister for upstairs, where there are down comforters; big beds to vacuum under; bathrooms with tile floors, hair and so on; and hardwood floors with area carpets and throw rugs, plus plenty of above-the-floor work, and of course those infernal carpeted stairs. I have now put the Shark through its paces and I'm ready to discard my other three---or at least buy another one for downstairs.
Pros: It is light enough to tote on the stairs (I'm 68) and the smaller roller attachment makes quick work of the carpet on the stairs. The head without the roller bar is brilliant on hardwood--- the floors under the beds are the cleanest they have been since we moved in. The non-roller head also has a setting for carpets, and it is fine for throw rugs, especially with the suction control opened a bit so the whole rug does not get sucked in. The roller head is better than my uprights for carpet ( I used it after using the upright it left me embarrassed at how much dirt was still in the carpet). At first I thought it would be annoying to have to lift off the body to get at the dusting and crevice tools, but it is no big deal at all, and actually preferable to my other canister's arrangement of tools carried on top of the body, where they sometimes fall off. The motor, although more powerful than my other vacuums, is definitely quieter. Storing a canister take up more room than storing an upright, but this fits into the closet adequately (see photo), needing 3 feet of width because of the hose and roller head, but only 11 inches of depth. Alternatively, set the floor nozzle upright (it locks) and set it in front of the body (photo). This requires 30 inches of width and about 14 inches of depth in the closet. My other canister can be set vertically, so it uses less closet space, but it doesn't perform on anywhere near the same level. So I consider it a fair trade-off. Emptying the dustbin, and rinsing the filters (every 3 months), is easy.
Cons: Ideally I would have a dusting tool that is horsehair and swivels freely. The one included here is a bit too stiff, and while it can be set at various angles to make tasks like dusting baseboards easier, it does not swivel easily. I'll look for the ideal tool in the aftermarket. But this isn't enough of a flaw to lose a star. Also, the roller head, when engaged, pulls the head along a low carpet too fast to do a good job, so I had to exert a bit of a pull on it to slow it down enough to really clean the carpet. But this became second nature quickly.
And the carpet got sooo clean!!
