The Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed worked really well on multiple surfaces, especially hardwood flooring.
It is designed with two types of rolling brushes – a soft one right out front and a more traditional bristled brush behind it. The brushes work together to clear bigger debris and finer particles even on the barest of flooring.
If it's a cordless vacuum you'd prefer, read our Dyson V11 Torque Drive review, or check out all the options in our round up of the best vacuum cleaners.
Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed: Features & performance
The problem with many vacuum cleaners when they get on hardwood flooring is that they don't get close enough to the surface to really clean or they blow the mess out of the way before they can suck it up. Or, the rolling brush is too harsh on sometimes-soft hardwood. The Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed vacuum solves those problems with a set of features that work together to clean on hardwood flooring and carpeting without harming either.
We spread some sawdust on hardwood flooring in our test lab to see how quickly each vacuum could clean it up. The DuoClean made it very easy to clean both the sawdust and the flour we spread out on the flooring to simulate fine dust particles. All of the vacuum cleaners we tested blew the sawdust out of the way at least a little before sucking it up, but the DuoClean did this the least. It made quick work of the cleanup, even of the flour, much of which was left behind by the competing units. This was the only one that left a clear path in its wake.
You have some control over how this unit functions at any given time. There is a switch on the handle that lets you adjust a few settings to optimize for thick carpet, low carpet, or bare floors. There is not a specific button or knob for adjusting how far away the cleaning head is from the flooring, but the adjustments we could make were more than sufficient. We found it performed well on all surfaces even when we forgot to switch the settings for different floor types. The suction was great the whole time, even on the bare floor, which is naturally farther away from the cleaning head on normal settings.
The Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed vacuum is quite intuitive to use. It was easy to find the controls we wanted when we wanted them. The DuoClean is also rather quiet in its operation, which is nice. It only generated 82 decibels in our tests. It also tied for the longest cord in our bare floor vacuum reviews, so you know you won't have to stop to find a new outlet often even if you are cleaning a rather large area.
The only design aspect that is less than ideal is a rather large dust cloud that forms whenever it is time to empty the dust bin. The cloud is temporary but is still disconcerting, especially if you have allergies.
All of the vacuum cleaners with dust cups create a cloud, but this one was bigger than those. This particular dust cup has a few tight corners, so the finer debris was caught in those corners before we got a chance to empty the bin. When it all came loose there was a cloud. This only happened when the bin was close to full, though.
The DuoClean has an integrated hose and extension wand that offer an impressive amount of reach. You can use them in conjunction with the crevice tool and dusting brush to clean a truly wide variety of surfaces effectively, including draperies, ceiling fans, and furniture. The hose and all of the attachments are seamlessly integrated into the body of the vacuum, so it is easy to remove them when needed and then snap them back into place and go back to normal upright vacuuming mode.
What we also liked about the Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed vacuum was that its LED headlights on the nozzle mean you can spot tiny bits of dirt and dust that you might have otherwise missed.
Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed: User reviews
Reviews for the Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed are mainly very positive. Users comment on how strong the suction is and how effective this vacuum is at cleaning up pet hair in particular.
Of course, not every review was five stars and some criticisms include that the Shark DuoClean is quite heavy and bulky, especially for tight corners.
Should you buy the Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed?
The Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Speed vacuum isn't as cheap as the Bissell CleanView OnePass, but it isn't the priciest model either. What you do get with the Shark DuoClean is fantastic suction power and easy-to-use tools that help you clean a variety of surfaces.
The soft rolling brush at the front is great for treating even delicate wood flooring right – cleaning it without scratching it. This vacuum works on the largest and the smallest particles, on carpeting and wood flooring, making it a solid investment.
