Tried out a Shark!

[fan-of-fans]

So yesterday I used a Shark Navigator to vacuum for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I know very little about them but I gotta say, I was impressed.

It was very lightweight and also really quiet. It was also very easy to maneuver. I liked how the brush roll could be turned off. I tried the hose as well. I found it is one of the few stretch hoses I've used that did not fight or pull the vacuum over, and I had it stretched pretty far. I used the dusting brush also and it was pretty decent for a new dusting brush on an upright, not too small and fairly soft bristles. I saw a crevice tool also and a turbo tool, but I did not use those. I also appreciated that they put a suction control valve on the hose.

Not sure about emptying or filter maintenance, but from what I did use, it was a very good machine. The only thing I didn't like was it seemed the power head was rather narrow.

 

[hvrvaclvr]

Sharks are great! Due to Sharks using a single cyclone, the filters get really dusty. When I had my Navigator Pro Lift Away, I never cleaned the filter. I had It for almost three years, and I only cleaned the filter maybe three or four times. Despite it being coated in dust, it never lost suction.

I gave it to my aunt in November when she got thick frieze carpet in her living room. It was the only that was easy to push on it! She loves it!

 

[miskini]

I agree

With you nick. I love my powered lift away. It's light, quiet, and very powerful. I wish the hose would stretch a little easier.

 

[hvrvaclvr]

The hose was the only complaint I had with my navigator. When I used the hose when it was in the upright mode, it would topple over easily.

 

[sopranojam85]

I tried an NV500, and bought it. We like it so much, we no longer use the Kirby G6. It out-cleans it.

Yes.. it pains me to say it, but despite all my efforts at maintaining the Kirby and keeping it 100% within spec (leak free, right brush roller adjustment, etc)... the Shark NV500 blows the Kirby away. My main motivation for getting the Shark was to have something more lightweight. Kirby's tech drive is great, but useless when it requires picking the thing up. The Shark is about half the weight, actually pulls itself along more rapidly than Kirby's tech drive, and picks up so much more.

After vacuuming with the Shark, we found that we actually breathe better. We were astounded with the volume of filth that it picked up from just one room.. after having used the Kirby 4 times the week before and even using the Rug Renovator and vacuuming again with the Kirby, the Shark still picked up a tank full of filth which the Kirby left behind.

My long-time loyalty to Kirby is now shattered in to a hundred pieces. Sorry, I know there's a bunch of Kirby fans on this list, but as a 15-year-long Kirby fan, I'm done with them. It pains me to now use a vacuum that you can buy at Wal-Mart that is made of plastic, but if it's affordable and it works so much better, the switch was a no brainer.

 

[dedede]

A whole container full? You should be able to see that kind of dirt being left behind.

I think your G6 was broken. I know, that's super helpful. Enjoy the new machine!

 

[sptyks]

Callie,


There is obviously something very wrong with that Kirby. How full was that bag? When was the last time you checked your belt? Belt should be replaced twice a year weather it looks good or not. What condition is the brushroll? Have you lowered the brushes so they extend 3/16 to 1/8 inch below the rug plate? Have you checked the fan for cracks or broken fins? These are obvious things that could seriously reduce your G6's performance.

 

[ralph123]

A couple of comments about your experience. You said: "after having used the Kirby 4 times the week before and even using the Rug Renovator and vacuuming again with the Kirby, the Shark still picked up a tank full of filth which the Kirby left behind."

In the process of "renovating/shampooing your rug", you may not realize it, but you created a large quantity of shampoo and dirt byproduct that must be vacuumed up.
That is why the directions recommend that you vacuum thoroughly with a new bag after you "renovate your rugs". I'm not at all surprised that you continued to pick up a lot of filth from the shampoo/dirt residue and any newly tracked in dirt. It will likely take several weeks of thorough vacuum sessions to get the crud removed.

Personally I prefer a carpet washer/extractor to a carpet shampooer because I'd rather flush the extracted filthy water down the toilet than leave it in the carpet.

Enjoy your Shark.

 

[charleskirby66]

Maintaining a Shark is harder than maintaining a Kirby!

I don't understand complaints about "maintaining" a Kirby.

All I've ever had to do with my 6 Kirbys, my Mom's Kirby, and multiple friends' Kirbys, is replace a full dirt bag, replace a belt, and cut hair off a beater bar. Once the bristles on the brush wear down, I'll have to flip the brush roll to the next setting. That's it!!!

In comparison, the time, effort, cost of new filters, and performance issues of my Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away left me disillusioned and frustrated! Not sure of your model, but mine had 3 filters. The Shark's performance does fail and suction is reduced when these filters get too grimey, which happens in just a few months' use. The "washable" filter was never the same after I washed it the first time and it took days to dry. Forget drying it with any heat, as it will melt. So disappointing.

I have severe allergies. I found that dumping the dust tray only released the very allergens into the air that I was trying to clean! And having to walk outside to dump the dirt seemed ridiculous to me.

I hope you have different results.

 

[ralph123]

Although the Shark does a good job on removing dirt from medium pile carpets and bare floors, it's pretty awful on pet hair. Whereas, the Kirby is excellent at all 3 (top ratings on Consumer Reports).

I've seen numerous complaints about Shark shirking responsibility for warranty repairs, or charging excessive shipping charges to discourage repairs.

 

[sopranojam85]

I just knew I'd open a can of worms when I posted my previous response...

I never implied that the Kirby was difficult to maintain. It has always been easy to maintain, and frankly, enjoyable to maintain. I love that it's completely modular, and how inexpensive parts are. I absolutely love the design of the Kirby system from front to back. So I was sad (to say the least) when we had such better results with the Shark.

My bag had just been changed after using the Rug renovator and vacuuming again. The brush roller had been at the proper adjustment. About a month ago, I noticed that my delicate brush roll was worn down so I switched to the standard brush roll which had much more bristle left and adjusted it. Helped slightly.

The G6 performs much better than the factory-rebuilt Classic Omega I used to have. But the Shark was a major step up.

Also regarding the filters -- this Shark is not brand new, and was gently used before I got it. The filters have been washed before. So if there's a difference in cleaning performance from first use to post-cleaning, I am already past that point.

 

[ralph123]

I'm glad that you like your Shark. Just keep in mind that it will take several thorough vacuumings to remove the residue from the carpet shampoo. I suspect you would continue to pick up a lot with your Kirby as well.

 

[mark40511]

I have the Shark Professional Lift Away

(not the powered lift away). I actually use it a lot but ONLY because I have other vacuums to clean the shark...At first I used my Rainbow to clean the filters and the bin. I have an Electrolux epic 6500 that I keep in my laundry room for cleaning the laundry room during laundry times for dryer lint, etc and the bags for it are super cheap and filter really good. When my Shark container gets full, I suck out all the dirt using the epic 6500 and suck the filters clean as well....they get dirty so quickly..It's so much more hygienic than dumping it and you always have residual dust after dumping it the normal way.

I know it defeats the purpose of having a bagless vac and using a bagged vac to clean the bagless, but the Lux type c bags are so cheap at 100 bags for 39.95 on Ebay, it's easy for me to keep the Shark running in tip top shape without all the mess...I just recently changed my Lux bag after 3 weeks, it was 75% full. I got a white rag and wiped the bag chamber to see if the bags were leaking at all sucking all that dirt in at one time, and the bag chamber was clean as a whistle. It takes FOREVER to go through a box of 100 type c bags.

If I didn't have this setup, I would NOT want a bagless vacuum.

 

[kirbylux77]

Shark outcleaning a Kirby....

Hah! I don't think so, not in a million years.

Sopranojam85, I don't know what you're smoking or using to get high, but can I have some please?

Rob

 

[charleskirby66]

You go, Sopranojam85!

(BTW, Soprano is arguably my favorite voice type!)

@sopranojam85- Glad you're enjoying your Shark. If the Shark is outperforming your Kirby G6, something is wrong with your Kirby. I'd also invite you to consider that, if your Shark was "gently" used and cleaned as you indicated, it's pretty much new. Give it the same amount of work you'd give your Kirby, then let's see how performance fares.

@mark40511- LOL that's awesome, using a bagged vacuum to clean out your Shark! No wonder your Shark works well, you're getting rid of that with which the Shark would normally clog.

@kirbylux77- Now that was just mean! LOL But I agree something is not right if a Shark is out-cleaning a Kirby.

 

[mark40511]

@ charleskirby

Yea - there is NO WAY in blank I would have this Shark as my only vacuum. That said, it's easy to use and run through the house and then keep it running in tip top shape with no mess because of the other vacs I have. I still use my other vacuums for REAL cleaning (especially my rainbow) but this works great running through the house quickly....but I would agree it's NO KIRBY or Rainbow or Lux. If the Lux type C bags weren't so cheap, I'd be using my rainbow to clean the shark (which I did at first) then realized I should just use the Lux so that's what I've been doing.

 

[sopranojam85]

My original reason for getting the Shark was its weight. My wife needed something lighter, due to several past incidents of throwing her back out whilst lugging the Kirby into places that required lifting it. What good is a Kirby if it's causing pain and suffering? I vacuumed most of the time, but when she'd want to help out, it was never easy for her.

@kirbylux77, my decision was not induced by any hallucinogen or controlled substance. Just observation and reasoning.

Sometimes you have to give up something you love for something that works better for someone else.

 

[sopranojam85]

@charleskirby66 - I'm a terrible singer. If I were one, I'd probably be a baritone. But I played soprano bugle for a couple years in a well known DCI drum corps, thus the name.

 

[dysonman1]

I'm moving in a few days, into a new home. The carpets are two years old. I brought my Kirby Sentria 2 to vacuum with, until Owen installs my commercial Vac-U-Flo central vac. Also, I brought my Rainbow 75th Anniversary Edition, but didn't use it. I have been using the Kirby for several weeks as we renovate the house to our liking.

People who know me, know I like all vacuums - but the Kirby is not one of my 'go to' machines. The only reason I brought the Sentria 2 was because it is only a year old - and I bought it so I should use it. And I did use it, a lot. I was completely satisfied with the cleaning of the rugs, but cursed the thing when I had to use the hose.

Last Sunday, a friend had a birthday so we had a mini-meet at the Vacuum Museum. Everyone went over to our new home to see it, and the birthday boy wanted to run the Kirby followed by the Rainbow.

I was amazed and horrified at the dirt the Rainbow got out of rugs that were CLEAN. The sand and grit the Rainbow pulled after the Kirby was startling. I would have never believed it in a million years but there it was in front of my face.

I'm still not going to use the Rainbow all the time, it's just too inconvenient. The commercial 2 motor Vac-U-Flo is getting installed soon. But that almost new Kirby is going bye bye. So disappointed with it.