Shark Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner [IF250UKT] Pet Hair, Twin Battery, Navy

I've never purchased or owned a cordless battery operated vacuum cleaner before so cannot compare it to other cordless vacuum cleaners. I had been considering one for a few years now but have always been concerned about battery life. I did own a VAX Pet Upright and even though it has a 6 year guarantee, it literally just falls apart, the plastic they use is so cheap and have had to use the guarantee twice and after a few more issues of late again i decided to just forget the guarantee and bin it and buy something else. It was between the Shark Cordless Vacuum IF250UKT or the Dyson Cordless V10 Total Clean Vacuum. My own personal reasons i choose the Shark over the Dyson was: - The Shark IF250UKT has a double charging dock to charge the two batteries independently from the vacuum cleaner, very convenient as i can be using one battery whilst having the other in the charging dock on standby incase i need it. It's also kind of comforting knowing i have another battery on standby if needed. It also means i have more options for where i place the charging dock as it does not take up much room unlike the Dyson which you will need a electrical socket near the vacuum cleaner itself which was not an option for me. - The Shark IF250UKT model comes with two removable batteries so once the batteries eventually don't hold charge anymore i can just buy replacement batteries rather than replace the whole vacuum, just take note the 44 minute run time is for both batteries not each battery, the Dyson does not have a removable battery so would require servicing from Dyson or replacing entire vacuum cleaner. - The Shark allows to charge via 3 ways, via 1) double charging dock, 2) into the vacuum cleaner, 3) plugged directly into the battery itself. I prefer the double charging dock which i have placed near a socket in my kitchen as it not big at all. The Dyson allows you to charge via a wall dock or by plugging charger direct into vacuum cleaner, so you will need a electrical socket near the vacuum cleaner. - The Shark's one click flexi-wand that bends to go under furniture, hard to reach areas etc. which is great for doing under the bed or sofas, if you're sofa is high enough off the floor that is, mine is slightly to low. I have limited space in bedroom so the flexi wand really helps for under the bed. - With the Shark i can go from vinyl, laminate floor and carpet without having to change heads or any settings. - The Shark does not need a docking station attached to a wall, you simply fold down and store, totally freestanding which i prefer over a wall dock. It's also nice and compact when folded up, it reminds me of a child's vacuum cleaner when folded it's so compact. - You do not need to hold down on any button, i believe you have to keep you finger pressed down continuously on the trigger button on a Dyson, with the Shark you just press power button without the need to keep you finger on any buttons. - I purchased the Shark IF250UKT for £299.99 on offer, the Dyson was £499.99. Still a saving of £200 seeing as i had the Shark when it was on offer from Amazon. On to the Shark IF250UKT vacuum cleaner itself i have only owned it for a few days so still very early days and will update this review in about 6 and 12 months but so far i am very impressed with it. What I like about the Shark IF250UKT: 1. Small, compact and lightweight to other vacuum cleaners I’ve owned. Just bear in mind that most of the weight is in the main unit which you hold, this is fine for me but for an elderly person not sure if they would find it too heavy if holding for long periods. 2. Two removable batteries so can be using one whilst having one on standby. Battery changes is quick and easy. 3. Separate charging dock so I can charge batteries independently from the vacuum cleaner and have one in vacuum cleaner and other on standby in charging dock. 4. Very easy to manouver around all my floors. I am able to clean my flat quicker with this vacuum cleaner. On the main motor head on both sides there are orange brushes, they don't look like much but where as i would have to use the crevice tool on my old vac to go all around the skirting boards these brushes collects the dust etc from around the skirting board so saves me so much time and bending using the crevice tool, because of this my cleaning time has halved easily. 5) Has plenty of useful attachments and a bag to store them in. All attachments just simply and easily slide on and off no fuss. Detaching the tubes is also easy just push in where it says and that's it. 6) An easy to empty bin. 7) The lights on the main head is good for seeing under furniture or areas where there is not much light. 8) It has good suction even on extended power mode, sucks up my longhair cat’s pet hair, silicate gel cat litter and other stuff off the floor easily in one manouver. 9) Im surprised how much it collects, after each use the bin is always full of pet hair, dust and any bits on the floor and whatever else. 10) I live in a flat and can do my entire flat and the bit of hallway and stairs outside my flat on one battery in extended power mode which is more than enough suction power for me, I use full power mode about twice/three times a week on carpet as find it’s not needed everyday. 11) It has rubber on the back of the vacuum cleaner main unit (the part you hold in you’re hand) so you can sit/butt it up against a wall/door to stand if you need to do something else whilst vacuuming, you should not store it this way as it wouldn’t take much for it to drop but ideal if you need the vacuum to stand whilst you do something else for a few minutes. 12) I love the touch buttons on the main unit all easy reachable with your fingers whilst using the machine plus they light up so you can see what you are doing and what settings you have it on. I also like the fact that you do not need to hold down the power button, i believe you have to keep you finger pressed down continuously on the trigger (power) button on a Dyson, with the Shark you just press the power button without the need to keep you finger on any buttons. 13) Comes with Sharks 5 year guarantee (only 2 years on batteries), I did however purchase the "Amazon Protect 2 year Breakdown & Accidental Damage Cover for Cleaning Equipment " for £34.99 seeing as i saved £200 on the vacuum cleaner compared to the Dyson just to give me extra protection, peace of mind and includes accidental damage cover. What I don’t like about the Shark IF250UKT: 1) The biggest gripe I have is Sharks filter system is clearly not on par with other manufacturers. I would have liked to have seen a proper true HEPA filter not a piece of sponge and small piece of felt. Let’s hope it’s enough to protect the motor and to not push out dirty air from the motor back into the room. For a pet vacuum cleaner I don’t feel the filter system is good enough although early days still yet so time will tell. 2) There are two attachments that aren’t included so had to buy separately, considering this is the most expensive model I would have liked to have seen them included. I purchased the Under Appliance Wand (for under fridge/freezer/washer/dryer/furniture etc and the Flexible Hose (ideal for stairs as prefer flexible hose for stairs) both bought from Shark directly as it is cheaper to go direct to Shark for parts/accessories it seems. Example Under Appliance Wand from a seller on amazon as of writing this review wants £80+ for the Under Appliance Wand, direct from Shark £17.99, same for other parts/accessories. 3) If you have not used a cordless vacuum stick like the Shark you may find it odd the first few times using it as the weight is in the main unit you hold, the brush and roller on the main head unit spin in the same direction so you feel it pulling forward, not really a problem just takes getting used to than my bulky upright i previously had where all the weight was on the floor making manoeuvring difficult. Tip: It states this in manual but feel it's worth mentioning here. When you get you're new vacuum as tempting as it is to want to put battery in and test out, DO NOT do this. As the manual states you need to "condition the battery". This is easy but very important with any device that uses a battery not just this vacuum cleaner. Just charge the batteries until fully charged before using, once they are fully charged, drain the batteries rite down until the vacuum cleaner turns off and won't turn back on again, then fully charge like normal. This conditions the battery and ensures you do not get false battery readings but should be done with any new device that has a battery ie. mobile phones. ------------ I feel the entire machine is designed and thought out very well. I have only owned for a few days so it’s to early to give a review on longterm reliability/performance but I will update this review in 6 months and then again in 12 months. The price is steep but keep an eye out as it fluctuates often. I managed to purchase it for £299.99 direct from Amazon. Overall so far i am delighted with the Shark IF250UKT and at this point would highly recommend to anyone thinking of going cordless. Hopefully i can say the same when i come back and update my review in 6 and 12 months time unless anything happens in the meantime with it then i will update sooner. But very happy with it so far and would highly recommend. Hope this review helps.

This is my first time purchasing a cordless vac and I had my doubts based on other reviews about it getting blocked etc but it is one of the best purchases I've made. I've had this vac for nearly a year now, so feel like I can make a proper review. This vac is absolutely amazing! We have 3 house rabbits so have to vac the house at least once a day of fur and hay etc and it barely ever gets blocked. If it does, it's super easy to clean. I originally thought that I would buy this as a second vac and keep my old Vax corded upright for big jobs such as cleaning the rabbit cages, but honestly I haven't used the corded upright since investing in this. Some reviews say that this gets blocked easily from pet hairs but this simply isn't true. The suction power is brilliant and works well on both hard floor and carpet, including deep pile rugs. You'd be surprised at the amount of dust your old hoover doesn't pick up! I rarely find myself having to use the high powered mode as the normal mode works wonders. I clean the filters monthly when I feel like the suction power is lacking a bit and this makes it feel brand new again everytime. I don't think the filters would need cleaning this often if you didn't have pets, but it is recommended. You should also clean the brush bar regularly as hairs get trapped around that too, but again, it's so easy as it has a groove which you can cut along with scissors to pull it all out. I bought the one with two batteries but you can easily vac a 3 bedroom house on one battery if you aren't deep cleaning. However, I would buy the two batteries again as it's handy for when you want to deep clean or if you've forgotten to charge one of the batteries and need to use it. The two batteries version also came with a pet tool which is great for sofas and beds, it picks up so many hairs that you can't see! It's also great for stairs. I had my concerns about the small capacity and knew I'd have to empty it very frequently, however I don't find this annoying in the slightest. It's really easy to empty it and takes about 20 seconds and surprisingly, it does actually hold more than it sounds. I have read reviews about it being annoying because it doesn't stand up alone and that it's heavy to use. Most cordless vacs are top heavy so won't stand alone, but this one folds easily so isn't an issue and eventually you get into the habit of folding it every time you want to stand it up. This also makes it much easier to carry around and even has a handle to do so. The vac isn't heavy to use and definitely doesn't make your arm ache (unless you're using it for hours?!), infact when I first used it I was surprised that it felt like the vac was actually dragging me and I didn't have to do much work. It's definitely not as heavy to use as a cordless upright. In summary, I don't have a single negative point about this vac and think it's the best cordless on the market. It's really worth the purchase and if you're switching from corded to cordless then you really notice how fast and easy it is to clean compared to a corded. The suction power matches that of the best corded vacs and it's honestly a joy to use. I did a lot of research comparing cordless vacs before purchasing this, including comparing it to Dyson and I don't regret my purchase at all.

Overall this is an impressive item. Powerful enough to replace a mains powered unit and versatile enough to cover most cleaning jobs. The ease of changing from cleaning floors to furniture to ceilings speeds up general cleaning and it is useful that the hose joints are standard so the power head can fit directly on the main unit which is great for stairs. The spare battery is handy but most of the time we can clean everything with one battery. Now the minuses. The dirt capacity is a little small and the container cannot be removed and washed. The rollers tend to stop on our deep pile carpet and it’s not particularly deep. The hinge joint on the hose does not inspire long term confidence. Over the years we have used most types of cleaner including Dyson, Gtech, Vax and many mains powered. This is not perfect but is about the closest we have found. The extra car kit is useful for all sorts of fiddly cleaning but we have found the special hose fitting for getting under furniture is a waste of money. The powered animal hair brush is great for stair cleaning but it is pretty easy to use the normal floor brush. Just remove the long pipe.

I was really hesitant buying another cordless vacuum cleaner. This IF250UKT was (and has) to replace my Gtech Air Ram which from the beginning has been useless and a real disappointment..please whatever you do, do not buy one of those, it will only frustrate you..it's hopeless and throws around more than it picks up,,and yes I cleaned it out after every use and changed the filters often.. so I was anxious about buying another cordless in case this was common. However I am delighted with the Shark! Love having two batteries - no more waiting for a recharge.. when one dies, plug it in to recharge, grab the other and carry on. The multitude of accessories is fantastic, I like the anti allergen dust brush and especially the motorised head as this is brilliant on the stairs. The flexible wand is genius for reaching under tables etc and the main head is superb on hard floors and carpets. It is an effective vacuum cleaner.. it does what it is supposed to (unlike Gtech). It copes well on low/standard power and hard floor setting on laminate, tiles and low pile carpet. It only struggles (stops) on our high / thick pile rug as the pile can cause the heads to stop rotating but this is usually overcome by using the high power and carpet settings together. Battery life (still new so time will tell as they age) is acceptable - probably around the 20 minute mark on low/hard floor settings but expect that to drop when switching to carpet setting, as this really does up the pull/cleaning effectiveness and certainly drops off when using high power..but as I've said you won't need that except for the more demanding surfaces. Weighed up this one against the Dyson V8 and V10 but with Shark offering two batteries it was a no-brainer and I'm so glad I did!

I ordered the Shark DuoClean (two batteries) with TruePet functionality to replace my Dyson Ball Animal. So far I have been very impressed with the Shark. It has halved the amount of time it takes to hoover my house and made doing the stairs a breeze (due to being able to convert the device to handheld). It works equally well on both hard floors and carpets, with only a press of a button to change between the two surfaces. The True pet function works very well picking up cat hairs from upholstery and carpets with ease. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the battery life of the Shark. I was able to hoover my whole house (on normal mode) with one battery and the back up battery ensures I can still use it if I need to whilst the other one is charging. The added features such as the light, spinner on the front (so it requires less effort to push) and lightweight nature also make hoovering less of a chore. I was sceptical on how well a cordless Hoover would be able to perform, however this is significantly more powerful than my old Dyson and picked up substantially more (especially in deep pile carpet) - I didn't realise how dirty my house was until I used this device! The only downside to the Shark, is the price, but its seems to be worth the money so far.

Generally pretty good all round cleaner, god suction on normal pile carpet, haven’t got any deep pile carpet that’s why I can’t rate deep cleaning, good suction on hard floors, the head swivels very well, goes under beds easily. Very quiet compared to our Dyson Ball mains lead upright, I do like the idea that I don’t have to worry about plugs and cables etc! I have a bungalow so obviously everything is on one level but I still needed both batteries, 20 minutes on one is not quite enough, so for a house I suspect you will definitely need the two. Couple of observations, you have to use the folding bend as it will not stand up when fully open slightly frustrating if you want to move a piece of furniture to clean behind, the h8gh level brush for dusting not that brilliant but the other tools do the job ok. One thing that is very important is to keep the filter clean if it gets blocked the motor overheats and stops, we found an old toothbrush is good for getting dust off but do remember to wash it occasionally. We did try some others in the store they were all good, the Dyson, which we looked at first was good but very expensive, the Shark good price met all our criteria. I would recommend the product.

I've had Dysons for years....went to replace my small lightweight one, and the newer model has proven to be heavy with a ghastly thick lead which is cumbersome to even wind round the hooks. Due to a severe lack of getting my Dyson out to vacuum, and the place getting covered in cat hair, crumbs etc. I decided to look at other options. I found this and it is AMAZING. Lightweight, gobbles everything up and after numerous emptying trips, I think I vacuumed up 3 cats worth of hair, an array of crumbs and tracked cat litter and a mass of dust. Now I can't stop vacuuming as it's such a pleasure, my blinds are next for the attack with the neat dusting attachment, my spiders are cowering in fear in their webs up in the corners of the ceiling and my house is back to what it should be....clean. The stair tool is just amazing and so much easier than having to lug the whole Dyson up stair by stair. I would like to add that I'm only 5' and although it does have a longer handle it is no problem at all. I like the way it runs away on its own and you just follow it!

I am completely happy with this- it has surpassed expectations. We have three long haired cats and it makes cleaning their hair from carpet and furniture an easy job. I like that it’s so easy to clean the brushes so it never gets clogged up like other vacuum cleaners, so always works as new. I was expecting from some reviews that the unit would be a bit heavy- but didn’t find this at all, it’s so light and easy to handle. I like how it gets into awkward places, and range of attachments. Great for wooden floors too. The battery life is more than enough to do my whole house. I prefer having the separate batteries instead of a wall charging unit- much more convenient as you can use one battery whilst the other one is charging or charge both at the same time in the charger.