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 shark handheld vacuum 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.
SEBO has a decent network of repair specialists, but you can also send the vacuum to the manufacturer for free repairs under warranty, with shipping covered both ways. When it comes to shark handheld vacuum quality and reliable household appliances, Bosch always delivers. The unlimited 7 comes with an impressive 10-year guarantee, which effectively means the price works out as £35 a year.
If any part of the vacuum cleaner is clogged up, the machine loses suction power. We found the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner to be heavy, awkward, and, at nearly $1,000, ridiculously pricey. Like the V15 Detect—its much shark stick vacuum lighter, vacuum-only cousin—this model has a trigger instead of a button. Its mopping performance pales in comparison to an old-fashioned mop; it’s also leaky, and its five separate parts need to be painstakingly disassembled to be cleaned.
The machine cleans thick carpet, hardwoods and pet hair with powerful suction (the strongest of any Shark vacuum, says the brand) and traps debris inside the large dustbin where it’s completely sealed with a HEPA filter. The anti-wrap dust cup allows you to empty the dustbin without your hands touching any of the dirt and there’s a lot to like about that. Weighing in at nearly 17 pounds, the Stratos is certainly on the heavier side.
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.
The table below tells you the average percentage of sand each vacuum was able to remove from each of our three test surfaces. Sucking sand out of carpets like those is a real challenge — most of the vacuums we test can’t even remove 80% of the stuff when all is said and done. If you have thick carpets like those in your home, it’s definitely worth a look. Say hello to the best Dyson cordless vacuum, the Dyson V15 Detect.