I wish I could tell you my son was not an animal. But unlike his older, Type A sister, he is a bull in a China shop. A wild card. A hot potato. And somehow the entire house has become their playground. A graveyard of dolls on every floor, errant socks in the hallway and pieces of who-knows-which block set strewn about.
While I've had to loosen my grip on a tidy, Instagram-worthy home, I do attempt to keep the space clean. We have an 85-lb. golden retriever who leaves gobs of hairballs in his wake. We try to keep my son at the table while he eats, but we occasionally cave and let him eat cheese puffs or coconut melts in the living room. (Cue the crumbs.) If my daughter could cover the walls in rainbow glitter, she would. Which means a high-performing, easy-to-use vacuum is my best friend. My sanity depends on it.
Shark products have been a longtime favorite for their powerful motors and get-the-job-done nozzles. Whether or not you're wrangling tiny humans in your home, I can attest that these three vacuums clean the messiest of messes: dog hair, dirt piles and all.
CNET composite; Emma Emerton, Shark Shark® PowerDetect™ Clean & Empty System This vacuum has Shark's most powerful cordless suction and a prominent place in our living room. It features a two-brushroll DuoClean® nozzle that detects floor types, edges and dirt you didn't even know was there. It's designed to seamlessly clean hard floors and carpets at once, and it has up to 70 minutes of runtime. Perhaps my favorite feature, though, is the auto-emptying dock that empties and charges the vacuum after each clean. I have a vicious dust allergy and this feature has been crucial for me. Plus, placing it on the dock means it's always charged, emptied and ready for the next round. If you're into the latest cleaning technology, this model is perfect for parents and pet owners looking to upgrade their traditional or cordless vacuum. See at Sharkninja
CNET composite; Emma Emerton, Shark Shark® PowerPro™ Flex Reveal Plus Cordless This new model has the powerful cordless suction you expect from Shark, but what's especially cool is that it also has an LED blue light in the nozzle that reveals fine dust and hair in low-light areas. I found that the blue light revealed fine dust better than standard white headlights. It has a flexible wand to reach underneath furniture and automatically adjusts to different floors with FloorDetect. (Less work for you!) While it doesn't have an auto-empty dock like PowerDetect, this option is an amazing choice for those who live in a big city or live in a smaller space, but still want a smart, high-powered clean. See at Sharkninja