A Vacuum Cleaner Story So Disgusting It Is Embarrassing to Tell

/79 Comments/in , /by Mary Hunt

Even though not 100% organized, I pride myself on housekeeping to the point of being accused a time or two of being a wee bit compulsive. This brings me to the matter of vacuum cleaners. I’m particular, if not freakish, about vacuums. There was a time when I wore out vacuums so often that the folks at the Recycling Center knew me by name.

Let me take you back to 2007. I’d just blown out my third Hoover Wind Tunnel, having worn that thing down to its last gasp. I carried it in pieces to the Recycle Center. I was planning to replace it with the latest and greatest from Hoover until I heard about the Shark Navigator.

First impressions

I wasn’t that impressed as I looked over a new Shark Navigator vacuum at the store. It was on the smallish side, lightweight—certainly not the hefty, beefy Hoover I was used to. But based on a recommendation from a trusted friend, I decided to give it a try, knowing I could return it if this Shark couldn’t live up to my standard.

Oh, my. This might be an excellent place to end this post. What happened next is that embarrassing.

Maiden voyage

I plugged that puppy in and started to vacuum my family room, carpeted with 100% wool Karastan carpet. Look, I loved this carpet and had babied it from the day it was installed. It looked like new, which you might want to take with a grain of salt because I never wear my glasses when I vacuum. Still, I thought of it as pristine.

Within minutes, that canister filled to the top—a condition I had never witnessed in any vacuum to that day. And I was vacuuming a fairly small area. I was so shocked; disgust hardly describes the feeling. I took the canister out to the trash to dump it, hoping the neighbors wouldn’t be peering over the fence to see what was coming out of my home.

 

Fun Fact

A baby shark is referred to as a puppy. Sharks are born in three different ways. Sharks lay eggs that then hatch, carry eggs that hatch inside them, or grow pups inside them. Although it depends on the type of shark, sharks can have up to 100 babies at once.

What on earth?!

This room was not small, but not massive, either. I filled that canister four times before I put Sharky away for the day. The next day, I vacuumed the same room a couple more times, and still, I was sucking out who-knows-what from this carpet. Even my husband was shaking his head. I vacuumed again until the canister remained empty. Finally.

I’ll admit to the carpet being ten years old at the time, but it had nearly been vacuumed to death over the decade. And cleaned routinely. All for naught, apparently.

Shark Vacuum: The final verdict

Buying a Shark Navigator was the best money I’d spent since I got my carpet-cleaning steam vac, which I still use all the time and as recently as yesterday.

I am still stunned at my Shark vacuum’s power and lightweight feature. But more than that, I am so happy to know that the carpet in my home is really clean. I mean, probably as clean as the day it was installed.

And my bonus? No more pricey, disposable bags!

Epilogue

Since getting my first Shark Navigator, I have updated more than a few times—not because a Shark died, but because I need to do a lot of testing. When I buy a new model, I give away the oldest in my current cadre of vacuums. I am still 100% sold on Shark Navigator Lift-Away—often you’ll find “Professional” in the name depending on the model—which remains our pick for EC Best Inexpensive.

Shark Navigator Lift-Away is far and away the best vacuum I have ever owned, tried, or tested. Shark vacuums across the board are low-cost. At this writing, I own three, one for each floor of my home. The “lift-away” aspect is wonderful as I can lift off part of the vac to make a small portable size to vacuum stairways.

As for longevity, Sharks just don’t wear out as other vacuums are inclined to do. And should there be a problem, Shark’s customer service is remarkably helpful and responsive.

Save $25.40
Shark Navigator Lift Away Upright Vacuum with Wide Upholstery and Crevice Tools
Shark Navigator Lift Away Upright Vacuum with Wide Upholstery and Crevice Tools
    $199.99 $174.59
    Buy on Amazon

    Updated for 2024 on 2-27-24

     

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    79 replies
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    1. Carolg says:

      LOL I can’t believe this post is up again today of all days. I saved it from months ago and just bought my shark last nite. I’m going to test it out tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes!

      Reply
    2. Karen says:

      I have one of these too and LOVE it! I got a factory refurbished one for only $100 and couldn’t be happier…I actually kind of “like” using it!

      Reply
    3. lyane says:

      hi mary,

      thanks for the tip. i bought my shark navigator about 3 weeks ago and i love it! it works soooo well!!!!! i actually look forward to vacuuming now and it amazes me how much dirt the navigator picks up! i got mine on sale at costco (your article was so timely) and i couldn’t be happier!

      Reply
    4. Ellen says:

      Thank you Mary for this article – I just purchased this brand vacuum from Costco and it works just as you advertised. Our sofa has dog hair on it that is impossible to completely remove and the Shark did the trick – it looks like new! It cleans our new tile floor and carpet runners. And like you, when I ran it over our carpeted areas it filled with lots of dust and hair even after vacuuming with what I considered a very good vacuum. Love you column and great advice!

      Reply
    5. Vcolle says:

      I purchased a Dyson about 7 years ago. I love it and it has served me well. However, we have a large house and after reading your post I decided I would buy a Shark to use either upstairs or move the Dyson upstairs. I got a great deal on it this week, on sale and an extra discount so it was about $130. I vaccumed the entire main level yesterday plus the stairs, which are carpeted and not cleaned that often. I have to admit, I was quite pleased with the amount of dirt it pulled. Comparing your post, I still think my Dyson did an great job as I got one canister full (with the shark) and most of that was not on the carpeted area I vacuum often. The Shark is light weight and easy to maneuver. However, being I have a lot of surface to vacuum I needed to keep plugging it into different outlets to reach. The canister is not very large so I can see how you could fill it up in no time. I also liked how easy it is to change cleaning surfaces, only change the switch and you can continue to vacuum hard floors. Thanks for the recommendation! It is a bargain compared to the Dyson (although I will continue to use it, also!) I can’t wait to use it under my refrigerator!

      Reply
    6. Char says:

      What I’m interested in is replacement parts. I had one of their small hand helds and it worked well. It had a special rotary attachment for pet hair. When the belt on it stretched, there was no where to get a replacement…not at vacuum shops, not anywhere on the internet (searched exhaustively). They are basically throwaways and that is the big drawback.

      Reply
      • maxhalberg says:

        http://www.sharkclean.com/cgi-bin/livew/site.w?location=mcopy.w&mcopy=partsLanding&frames=no&target=main&sponsor=000006&lang=en-US/

        Reply
      • Mavei says:

        This is what I would like to find out also. Our house has no carpet,only laminate wood ,terrazzo and some linoleum.Mohawk,the manufacturer of the laminate says not to use a vacuum with a beater bar on it,but I know the Shark navigator Lift-Away and Lift Away Pro have a setting to shut off the brush roll off. Will this work OK on this flooring? Or am I better off getting another canister when the motor burns out in our old 1960s Compact(TriStar) canister? A new motor can be ordered online for $80 -$120 and I can put it in myself.

        Reply
    9. hipunkydoodle says:

      Our old Oreck died shortly before I got your Shark article, and since I’m not as “neat” as you with the carpet, I knew based on your comments, it would be enough for me. We bought our Shark at Target and Holy Cow, this thing really gets the dirt/hair/ick that my carpet was hosting! Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
    10. Pam says:

      It’s also a plus to know that if you have an air compressor you can blow the dirt out of the ends of the canister after you empty the dirt out. It keep the suction excellent.

      Reply
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