Have a Shark stick vacuum you like?

January 1, 2024 6:52 AM

My vacuum died and I need a new one. I wasn't a fan of it so I'm not going to try to fix it. I have a small house and a dog and a cat and am thinking of getting a cordless stick vacuum. I've heard good things about the Shark. Dyson too expensive for me. There are SO MANY models of Shark stick vacuums. Do you have one you would recommend for one with both hardwood and carpet floor and two pets and my long hair? Thanks!
posted by Saucywench to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

I have the Shark IZ300UKT, a long-haired white cat, long curly hair which sheds everywhere (I'm probably worse than the cat, and she's pretty bad!) and a carpeted apartment. The Shark makes my life quite a bit easier. Even if the carpet looks reasonably clean, a quick sweep with the Shark makes it look significantly cleaner. The 'bin' part is easy to empty and also see-through so you can see how much dirt has collected. It has gotten clogged and non-functional once but I dismantled it following the instructions on a youtube video to clear out the blockage - unsurprisingly, it was blocked by my hair. It works fine now. The battery life isn't great, and the folding mechanism is a bit of a faff, but on the whole it is a very useful piece of kit and I'm glad I have it; it's made it much easier to keep my place presentable post-getting my cat.

This is the model I bought - Amazon UK link.
posted by unicorn chaser at 7:16 AM on January 1, 2024

Have you used one? I stayed someplace with a Shark stick vacuum for a few months and found that because the motor/guts (most of its weight) are in the handle part rather than on the floor, using it caused a LOT of wrist fatigue. I was in my 30s at the time and while I have some RSI from being a barista for a few years, I’ve never experienced this level of issue with any other tool in my day to day life.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:44 AM on January 1, 2024

I have the 2021 version of this Shark stick vac specifically marketed for pet hair, and I love it. I find it lightweight, easy to maneuver, and very effective on both hardwoods and carpets (I turn it up to the boost/carpet setting when I’m doing the rugs). I have two cats who would rather die than accept brushing, and I have long curly hair. My Shark does a great job keeping the chaos at bay!
posted by little mouth at 9:29 AM on January 1, 2024 [1 favorite]

At the risk of not answering the question, I'm going to evangelize for my belief that there is no vacuum that can truly do it all. Instead of spending a lot of time and money in an attempt to obtain the One True Vacuum for your household, consider buying two: any old ~$150 cordless stick vac AND a cheap and cheerful corded canister vac. Cordless stick vacs are great for everyday hair and dust, but none I've used had the power to really clean edges and corners (or even pick up larger potato chip crumbs from hard floors). I have a small place and I use my cordless three or four times a week to pick up ordinary dust and my long hair; the corded canister comes out twice a month or so to deep clean and get the dust bunnies along the trim. The hose attachments for the canister are also much better for doing upholstery and the narrow spaces between the wall and big furniture, and it's good to have around for those once-every-couple-of-years catastrophic "spilled an entire can of coffee on the floor" emergencies.
posted by nanny's striped stocking at 9:42 AM on January 1, 2024 [8 favorites]

I shopped carefully for stick vacs sheet having two Dyson sand chose the Electrolux Ergorapido. It's basically a handheld vacuum that snaps into a frame for upright use. That means it doesn't have the balance problems of other models that have the motor and battery at the top. It will stand on its own, even. Was so satisfied with the first one that I bought a second a week later to live upstairs.
posted by kindall at 10:34 AM on January 1, 2024

I have this one, and have been pretty happy with it. It’s great for quick cleanups, and I love that I can use it in hand held or stick mode. But I fully agree with nanny’s striped stocking; the stick vacuum is one of three. We also have a robot vac for daily cleaning and mopping, and a corded Shark vac for deeper cleaning. If you’re looking for the stick vac to be your one and only, you will probably be disappointed.
posted by bluloo at 11:40 AM on January 1, 2024

I have the Shark NV352 Navigator. I like it a lot. It's just 1 dog and 1 person total here -- but the dog has an undercoat and the person has shoulder length hair that is falling out with perimenopause. This vacuum does a good job with both.
posted by OrangeDisk at 12:18 PM on January 1, 2024

We bought the Shark IZ862H Stratos a few weeks ago as a backup vacuum for everyday dust and while our upright is in the shop. I both love it and recommend it, but would not recommend any cordless model as your only vacuum (basically, what nanny’s striped stocking said).

The features I love about this particular model: the bend in the middle means I can vacuum under furniture without getting down on the ground myself; the "Clean Sense IQ" that I thought was a gimmick from the ad copy is actually very useful because I don't have to manually adjust the suction; I can take the battery out to charge it (I think all Sharks do this?); it is significantly lighter and more maneuverable than our upright, meaning I'm more likely to use it. I don't love the scent of the odor neutralizer, but you do not have to use it. We have hard floors with rugs, and on one of the rugs it's more difficult to push, but I expect that would be true of all the finned models. Overall I think the fins do a great job on the hard floors.

We chose this model because it both rated relatively highly on Consumer Reports (with the caveat that CR doesn't actually recommend any cordless vacuum since they are less powerful and more expensive than their corded cousins), and because it was recommended by The Wirecutter "if you frequently vacuum up long hair". So far we've had no clogs, but it's still early in our ownership.
posted by catabananza at 1:06 PM on January 1, 2024