Because the weight is distributed between the canister itself and the powerhead, they’re easier to move around than upright vacuums. All of the cleaning heads made for carpets use no-stretch geared belts to drive the brush rolls, so they maintain their spin speed and cleaning ability over time. If they do clog (which can happen to any vacuum of any type), Miele vacuums come apart at all the major joints, without needing any tools.
If you don’t take care of a cheap upright vacuum cleaner, it’ll lose most of its cleaning ability 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 shark pet hair vacuum time. The Ball Animal 2 is a heavy 18 pounds, and you feel the full weight in your hands when you’re making turns and maneuvering corners. Our Miele pick is heavier overall, but most of the weight sits on the floor in the canister body, not on your wrists. Compared with our main Shark pick and Miele upgrade pick, the Dyson’s swiveling floorhead is hard to control, and the ball joint is enormous, so it can’t fit under most furniture.
It also does a decent job on hair, and the self-cleaning brushroll does help to limit hair tangle but will not completely eliminate it. Edge cleaning and handling large debris were weaker areas for the vacuum. The canister also houses a 25 ft retractable power cord, three filters, and the dust canister. 25 ft is also a decent length for a canister vacuum (perhaps not for an upright). There’s a reason Shark vacuums are a top buy—the brand’s offerings come with powerful suction, fully-sealed HEPA filtration systems, and comprehensive warranties, all at affordable prices. Plus, in recent years, the brand has come toe-to-toe with its more expensive rival, Dyson, to release innovative designs for robot vacuums and handheld models.
It got stuck in longer carpet fibers and was only slightly more effective than the bare-floor tools included in less expensive vacuums. The height control on the Kenmore heads gave the biggest advantage in long-pile carpet, but Shark’s dual-brush system performed almost just as well. 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. Some Shark vacuums are equipped with a detachable canister that adds “lift-away” functionality to the machine. This is useful if you want to do a lot of above-floor cleaning, such as removing dust or debris from stairs, ceilings, and upholstery.
We used a meter with an “A-weighted” frequency bias, which emphasizes the effect of bothersome high-pitch sounds and is the standard method to measure noise (rather than something like music). We also looked at consumer satisfaction numbers from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power, along with retailer customer reviews and YouTube reviews, to pick three more competing designs that could fit into shark canister vacuum tighter budgets along with the mid-range Kenmore and Shark vacuums. For those looking at budget vacuums but are still in need of dust filtration, the Eureka – Mighty Mite Pet Lover takes a popular utility vacuum design and literally clips an extra filter to the back. Liam McCabe is a former senior staff writer for Wirecutter, and has covered the wild world of appliances since 2011.
This Shark model is a little bulky for a handheld vacuum, but we think the extra-large dust bin makes it worth it. The attachments are what make this vacuum really shine, but there’s no included storage for them, so you’ll need to repurpose a box or bin to make sure you don’t lose them. Overall, we said this vacuum’s performance was very impressive given its size and single suction setting.
How Consumer Reports Tests Canister VacuumsTo rate canister vacuums, CR tests them across different surfaces and challenges them with pet hair and other debris. For example, to see how many particles a vacuum emits, our testers stuff wood flour into each vacuum and measure the amount of particles released into the air using a laser spectrometer. For more details on our vacuum testing, check out our vacuum buying guide. In addition, we gathered insights on how well each pick transitioned from smooth floors to a carpet, while testing its maneuverability in our living room-inspired obstacle course. Our testers tested the ease of emptying the dust bins, noting if the process was messy, as expected, or thrillingly simple.