The Kenmore – Elite has the best suction power of all the vacuums we’ve tested — even 5% better than the new motor design in the Apex — pulling minus 23 kilopascals of air pressure. That makes it excellent for getting dirt out of floor cracks and picking crumbs out of your couch. We came close to recommending the Dirt Devil Razor Vac Plus UD70350B for anyone who wanted to take a chance on a cheap vacuum cleaner, but we decided not to. It cleaned well in our tests, it’s comfortable to use, and it comes with a good set of tools. But like with other cheap vacuum cleaners, the cost of replacement filters ($20 per year) makes it a bad deal. Even if you skip those, we read many reviews about it wearing down (or just breaking) after about a year.
But for the extra money you get a lighter vacuum with extra features like the self-cleaning brushroll. This vacuum is one of the more expensive canisters you can buy, and in terms of price, is really only comparable to canisters from premium brand Miele. The Miele Compact C1 Pure Suction which we gave 4/5 stars back in 2020 is a little cheaper, but you’ll have to take into account that with the Miele, there’s an ongoing cost of dirt bags to factor in.
Most of the weight of the vacuum is in the “canister” that follows you around on the floor, so you’re more free to move around and reach tight places. Sure, a $340 Dyson vacuum won’t need new bags or filters or other replacement parts, its five-year warranty is solid, the customer service is great, and Dysons do a great job of cleaning the most common types of flooring. And compared with a $600 Miele canister vacuum, the Dyson might last half as long (10 years), if you’re lucky.
In line with expert guidance, each of the following vacuums features a HEPA filter that can remove up to 99.7% of fine dust and airborne particles. Shark envisions it sticking around the kitchen or the garage, where it’ll complement a larger upright unit as a more portable option. How powerful it is remains to be seen, and we’re looking forward to testing one in our lab as soon as we can get our hands on one. The shark pet hair vacuum 25ft power cord isn’t super long, but it does mean you can vacuum on full power without fear of the battery running out. If however you have mostly hard floors and your house doesn’t get too dirty, this vacuum might be overkill, and you could save a few dollars by opting for a different model. The bagless dust bin can be emptied as frequently as you like, which helps to keep the weight to a minimum during use.
From the moment we wake up to the time we tuck ourselves into bed, our appliances tirelessly serve us, making our lives easier and more convenient. With the advent of online marketplaces, the world of appliances has opened up like never before. Now, with just a few clicks, we can explore a vast selection of top-notch brands, each offering a unique blend of innovation, quality, and reliability. If you need the vacuum for dusting work then you will have to ante up and buy a dusting tool. If you really want to get up tight against the wall in this case you would have to use the crevice tool.
Puisis also conducted an interview with Danielle Lessing, VP of Global Product Development at SharkNinja, to learn more about the features of Shark vacuums. Mary H.J. Farrell is a senior editor at Consumer Reports whose real passion is for cooking and all that entails. She has expanded CR’s cookware category to include not only more pots and pans but also other essentials like stand mixer attachments, sheet pans, and vacuum sealers. Since the mid-1990s, Mary has held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal.
This eliminated even the least-expensive Miele models with a power head, like the $700 Compact C2 Electro+. Like most good canister vacuums, the Kenmore includes a retractable power cord. There’s an adjustable-length wand that goes from 43 to 55 inches, both for the comfort of taller or shorter users and for reaching up to the ceiling with the cleaning brush attachments. The main reason we love Miele canister vacuum cleaners is that they’re impressively sturdy, without feeling clunky. Miele reps have told us that the company designs all its products to last 20 years.
The agility of Shark’s motorized brush head makes steering with one hand no problem, but if you’ve got a large room to cover you’ll definitely want to use upright mode most of the time. We came close to recommending the Shark Navigator Swivel Pro NV150 because the dustbin is easy to empty and the handle is comfortable to hold. In our fine-debris pick-up test, however, it picked up less sand and baking soda than any of the other shark pet hair vacuum upright models we tested. Since the Navigator Lift-Away is predominantly plastic, some of its parts can get brittle and crack over time. The chief complaint seems to be about the accordion hose on the wand; it’s a little stiff to begin with, and the constant flexing can wear it out. Another complaint regarding the hose is that the stiffness limits its mobility, and it doesn’t extend far enough to reach places that are high up.
Note that the brushroll cannot be easily removed for cleaning so the ability to reduce hair wrap will make brushroll maintenance easier. This 2-in-1 vacuum and mop robot from Shark is by far one of our favorite models from the brand. We’ve had the opportunity to test it in a variety of real-world settings to understand its performance completely.