But unlike our main pick, every inexpensive model we’ve come across needs its belts or filters, or both, replaced at regular intervals to maintain the cleaning performance. You’ll need to pay for those replacements and do the maintenance yourself, too. If you don’t take care of a cheap upright vacuum cleaner, it’ll lose most of its cleaning ability shark pet hair vacuum in about 12 to 18 months. If you do take care of a cheap upright vacuum, after a few sets of new belts and filters, it will end up costing more than our main pick. With the Shark Navigator Lift-Away guaranteed to last five years on warranty alone, the math proves that paying a little more right now will almost always save you money over time.
The circular vacuum glides around a space heading to its plugged-in companion docking station to self-empty all the pet hair and debris it scooped up while it recharges for the next programmable mission you send it on. For temporary obstacles, the robotic cleaner can be deployed for a touch-up run once the objects have been cleared. The power cord extends 26 feet and self-retracts back into the vacuum with the push of a button. With four suction levels to choose from and a brush roller, this vacuum is effective across a variety of flooring types. After several months in a home with beige carpeting and a black dog that sheds a lot, this vacuum continues to deliver results but often requires the highest, loudest setting for a thorough cleaning.
There’s also not a designated spot for attachments, which was disappointing, so you’ll need to repurpose a box or bin to keep the attachments together in your home. We were impressed with how well this vacuum picked up cat food and dog hair on both hard floors and carpet, even deep-pile rugs. Overall, the best Shark vacuum for pet hair is the ZU62 Navigator Zero-M Self-Cleaning Brushroll Pet Pro Upright Vacuum.
This powerfully targeted cleaning of pet hair, microscopic dust, and dander can help to relieve respiratory ailments. The Vertex is one of Shark’s premier uprights and it is designed for both carpet and hard flooring. It comes with a host of features including two brushrolls, three tools (two of which can be stored on the vacuum itself), powered lift-away, quality air filtration, a lengthy 30ft power cord, and headlights. Similar to the Navigator series, this early Rotator design from Shark is a great option if your home has lots of carpeted areas. We found the adjustable suction power to be a game changer for effectively cleaning all types of carpet. This model was simple to set up and it also had an average noise level equivalent to a hair dryer.
These traits set the best upright and canister vacuum models apart from the good ones. Any other models in the Shark NV350, NV360, or NV370 series are essentially the same vacuums as the NV352. Performance is nearly identical, and the only differences are minor—their tool sets, bin sizes, colors, and button placements. We’ve found that the shark canister vacuum Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe V360 is currently the easiest to nab for a good deal, so start there. It also needs very little maintenance and has essentially no recurring costs. That’s because its parts are made to last the lifetime of the machine, whereas most affordable vacuums need fresh filters and belts to keep running well.