Recommended cordless stick vac to keep upstairs

[niclonnic]

For a number of months now, my family has been looking into buying a cordless stick vacuum explicitly for the upstairs. Our intentions are to use it on both carpets (in every main room) and hard floors (in the laundry room and bathrooms). The upstairs is fairly large. Additionally, I need to clean up cat litter that our cat kicks out onto the laundry room floor.

Currently, I have a Bissell Perfect Sweep Turbo (owned since March of this year), as well as a Shark WandVac hand vacuum (owned since Christmas '22). Both have served us very well, but we need to step up to a real stick vac which will potentially replace both of these tools.

Here are the issues I'm facing with both the Bissell and Shark. First off, the Bissell, while being very quiet, is NOT a vacuum. Rather, its brushroll merely propels dirt into a removable pan. Therefore, deep cleaning is not its strong suit. Second, the battery, despite lasting one full hour, takes forever to charge (8-9 hours to be exact) thanks to its NiMH technology.

Now, with the Shark WandVac, it greatly struggles with cat litter. When I pick up lots of it, the tiny pleated filter clogs VERY quickly, in addition to the filter screen holes getting plugged up too. The vacuum loses suction almost instantly, and the filter is a pain to clean off. I also have to use a toothpick to push the cat litter out of the the screen holes.

Anyway, after doing some research with my dad, we've tentatively settled on a Shark stick vac, model IZ362H. It's red and cordless. Before anyone says anything negative about Shark, I just want to say that I've consistently had very good luck with their products. Therefore, the aforementioned stick vac looks very attractive to us. We also looked at Dyson stick vacs, but those are a little overpriced for our needs. Plus, I already have a full-sized Dyson upright (DC17), not to mention an Electrolux Ergorapido stick/hand vac that is kept downstairs.

Would the Shark be a good pick? Or would something higher-end such as Dyson be better?

Amazon link to Shark

 

[centralsweeper63]

Look, a stick vac might work but it might not. No stick vac is REALLY a deep cleaner so your Bissell sweeper will be fine as long as you use a corded vacuums on a regular basis.

 

[cheesewonton]

If it absolutely has to be a cordless stick vac consider this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3967298006...BOnNEJC3XubAViFhquqr8rflI=|tkp:Bk9SR8DGuJnaZg

 

[herbicide]

If it absolutely has to be a cordless stick vac consider this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/396729800674?_skw=Panasonic+Japan+MC-BG+stick+vacuum&itmmeta=01KB8SE4CRM1K8Q27DQCN4RBMJ&hash=item5c5ef057e2:g:n-8AAeSwD8NoSSSU&itmprp=enc:AQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1e9uFAg9kMpUs+1UrikF4qnQ7uBObr4BYCqQggDrNSaH0YGBeDS+l1--mVSFIBRKtmCyD/BEce0sKmqS6V0bxQNOsxP9CrmutR/FB97izifccaTpSezW3RJM3Luf3KWCNVkzcZQDBHCI2F2fmmDa49B2k89VQM--sV3DjK7B73FKVdFNaS7HsQR7W/sFSbkb7v6W9+MKKKwSf21LFmQgTVu5ZVd5HVMlQzF4PrjZiAiMrKf4xeyIaOLnkI7tWIMHXSUIrjXP1bl8WrDq8uDlNe1wdP9wcunwHq+1Bz8GyBOnNEJC3XubAViFhquqr8rflI=|tkp:Bk9SR8DGuJnaZg

If I was in the market right now I'd be real tempted to try it.

 

[SeboU1]

I honestly do not like cordless vacuums, but Dyson is the best that I have used. I have the V8 and find it adequate. I often chase cat litter around with the V8, Dyson is the only cordless that has a real cyclone system. I would not recommend Shark anything.

 

[niclonnic]

Well, my stepmom has gone ahead and ordered the Shark mentioned in my OP. It'll be here on Monday. I'll see what I think about the Shark once it arrives.

 

[blackheart]

I don't really think those low efficiency cyclones and cat litter mix. I used to use a dirt devil reach 360 which had a very similar setup for cleaning up around the litterbox and the filters got dirty quickly.
I think a multicyclonic option would have been the way to go. Dysons have been my favorite stick style cordless machines with LG coming in at a close 2nd. I do prefer the older V8 style as they are MUCH more comfortable for above the floor cleaning.
Just my 2c but as long as it works for ya that's the important thing.

 

[cheesewonton]

I don't really think those low efficiency cyclones and cat litter mix. I used to use a dirt devil reach 360 which had a very similar setup for cleaning up around the litterbox and the filters got dirty quickly.
I think a multicyclonic option would have been the way to go. Dysons have been my favorite stick style cordless machines with LG coming in at a close 2nd. I do prefer the older V8 style as they are MUCH more comfortable for above the floor cleaning.
Just my 2c but as long as it works for ya that's the important thing.

I never see Samsung stick vacs mentioned here but they seem to be rated highly by Consumer Reports.

 

[herbicide]

I never see Samsung stick vacs mentioned here but they seem to be rated highly by Consumer Reports.

I subscribe to consumer reports, but wouldn't suggest their recommendations on almost everything to anyone.

For many consumer goods, their ratings methods have a tendency to not translate well into real-world consumer use.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I hope it works out fine. Over here Consumer seems to be pretty good.

 

[cheesewonton]

I subscribe to consumer reports, but wouldn't suggest their recommendations on almost everything to anyone.

For many consumer goods, their ratings methods have a tendency to not translate well into real-world consumer use.

Samsung used to make a great canister vacuum so it didn't surprise me to see their stick vacs and robots get high ratings.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Yeah, I have tried one, they work pretty good.

 

[niclonnic]

The Shark has arrived today, just as promised. So I brought it upstairs and wasted no time unboxing the vacuum and assembling it. This was a bit smaller than I thought it would be. Then I took the vacuum for a quick spin upstairs. The battery had a low charge, though, so I had to plug in the included charger.

First impressions: the Shark is a nice, lightweight and powerful cordless stick vac. The powerhead with its PowerFins brushroll does a very good job of picking up pet hair and dirt from the carpet. There are two brushroll speed settings: carpets (high speed) and bare floors (low speed). For times when I need to pick up a big mess, there is a boost trigger on the handle. I like this, as I can use max power only when I need to. This helps conserve battery life. And the vacuum is not that loud, either. The powerhead and wand can be detached, converting the machine into a hand vac. Three attachments are included: an "anti-allergen" dusting brush (with a swiveling head), upholstery tool and crevice tool. Filtration seems to be good; in typical Shark fashion there are two primary filters (foam and felt) at the top of the dust cup. Additionally, there is a HEPA filter on the exhaust.

However, I have noticed some drawbacks, which are minor. The dust cup is tiny, as is to be expected. The powerhead does not lock itself into the upright, storage position very well; it tends to flop down just from me picking up the vacuum. Luckily, there is a storage hook near the powerhead base; the main unit can be detached and hooked into there. This is nice as the vacuum is top-heavy when fully assembled.

Once this vacuum is fully charged, I'll give it a good workout and see what my full thoughts are on it.

 

[niclonnic]

Here are a few more pics that wouldn't fit onto my last reply.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I hope it lasts at least a few years.

 

[cheesewonton]

"Power Fins" remind me of old fashioned beater bars. What's old is new again : /

 

[centralsweeper63]

It is made to grab to hair this time though!

 

[cheesewonton]

It is made to grab to hair this time though!

How does a flat paddle grab hair?

 

[centralsweeper63]

It has little circles designed for the hair to get caught on.

 

[niclonnic]

Today, I put the Shark to a real test. I vacuumed the laundry room floor, which as I mentioned, has cat litter scattered throughout. It was especially bad around the litter box itself (which sits on a rug). The Shark did really well cleaning up all the litter; it did NOT lose any suction whatsoever. The Max mode came in very handy for this mess.

However, all of that cat litter made the dust cup very cloudy. It also made the filter fairly soiled. Luckily, no litter ended up on there; every speck made its way into the cup. Overall, I'm very impressed with this new Shark's ability to clean up cat litter.

 

[centralsweeper63]

That is good to hear, the main problem is when people never clean the filter. When the filter isn't cleaned for a long time THEN it clogs up.

 

[cheesewonton]

Tell us how it is working six months and a year from now.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I will wait for that too.

 

[huskyvacs]

How does a flat paddle grab hair?

they are rubber. hairs stick to it.

 

[huskyvacs]

That is good to hear, the main problem is when people never clean the filter. When the filter isn't cleaned for a long time THEN it clogs up.

Oh like this?

 

[huskyvacs]

I have several Shark stick vacs of older models from the late 2010's. They do fine when you have just area rugs and hard floors, with a bin that tiny it's going to be a chore trying to do an entire floor of wall to wall carpeting. Make sure its emptied pretty much every room.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Also, they simply cannot grab the deep down dirt like a corded machine. Just make sure you use a corded machine fairly often as well as the stick vac. Also, yes, that is what I meant by clogged. I have a bagless machine that does that to the filter In one or two uses. Crazy.