Our tests showed that the vacuum has excellent debris pickup on both carpet and hard flooring – some of the best results we’ve seen. It even has settings for thick carpet, low pile carpet, and hard flooring. The quality cleaning performance is in no small part due to the fact that the vacuum has two brushrolls – one soft and one with both bristles and powerfins. In our tests the brushrolls combined with the unit’s strong suction really helped the Vertex pick up almost everything we threw at it.
With this vacuum, it’s very easy to remove the dust canister; however, emptying it was a different story, as hair tended to get caught on top. It’s small, which means you’ll have to take the time to empty it more often, too. However, we were thrilled to notice that there was no hair wrapped around the front roller, so we’ll take the tradeoff.
Though it’s billed for pet owners, it’s got enough suction power for everyone’s cleaning needs and could certainly function as your home’s main vacuum. In addition, if you have carpeted flooring, you need a vacuum with a powerful motor and good suction. Allergy shark dustbuster sufferers should opt for an excellent filtration system that includes HEPA to pick up all the dirt and debris on the floor and keep it out of the air. If you’re looking for a versatile vacuum but don’t want to spend a lot, the Shark HV322 is an ideal choice.
“The only thing I’d change is a better way to attach the attachments,” he says. Editor Signe Brewster says it picks up cat hair from a shag-like rug in a single pass. Sometimes she has to dig hair out of the dustbin by hand, but we’ve found that’s often the case for all bagless vacs. Senior editor Harry Sawyers mostly uses a cordless vacuum cleaner at home, but he whips out the Shark when he needs a deeper clean on his rugs. She found it more than capable of cleaning her spacious two-bedroom apartment, and it easily picked up the hair her pug leaves behind without getting stuck in the brush roll. Another feature we love is that it works with recyclable pods to emit a lovely smell as you clean (ideal for dealing with lingering pet odors).
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. Capture dry debris and spiff up your hard floors with a multi-purpose vacuum like the Shark VACMOP—one of our favorite cheap vacuum cleaners. It is designed for use on sealed hardwood, tile, or laminate floors, and glides effortlessly on them all. A tank for Shark cleaning solution, which is included in your purchase, is built into its body. The floor head uses replaceable mop pads that include a unique chamber for collecting debris, and it features an easy-release button so you don’t have to touch the dirty pad when your cleaning session is done, too.
Now this isn’t exhaustively scientific but it has been drawn from approximately 10 years of data that we have collected while investigating vacuum cleaners. She’s an experienced product researcher with years of experience in covering large and small appliances. For this piece, she used in-depth research and evaluations on features, cleaning modes, and accessories, in addition to the firsthand insights from our product testers at home and in The Lab, to inform her writing. Puisis also conducted an interview with Danielle Lessing, VP of Global Product Development at SharkNinja, to learn more about the features of Shark vacuums.
LED headlights let you prevent any missed debris for a deeper clean, and the low-profile nozzle gets under furniture and into tight corners. It comes with a pet multitool and pet crevice tool and converts to a handheld vacuum to get into every nook and cranny shark canister vacuum in the home. Sometimes it’s warranted to be skeptical of canister vacuums because the design can be tricky to use for some folks. That said, we were impressed with how intuitive this Shark one is, lauding it for how smoothly it moves with you as you vacuum.