Shark DuoClean Cordless review: What do you need to know?

When it comes to cordless vacuum cleaners you could be forgiven for thinking that Dyson possessed the market. And, yes, its Cyclone V10 (along with the V8 before it) cleaner is also an exceptional product. But there are plenty of other producers vying for a piece of the cordless vacuum cleaner and Shark is producing some of the more intriguing products within this area.

The Duo Clean Cordless (with”Flexology” no less) is a direct rival to the Dyson Cyclone V10. It has a pistol-grip vacuum device, just like the Dyson, includes a motorized headset with double soft and brush rollers, and it is rechargeable so you can use it untethered from the mains.

The Shark Duo Clean differs from the Dyson in two or three important locations, though. First, it is a bit more flexible when it comes to charging. The Duo Clean includes two detachable lithium-ion batteries, so when it runs out you can quickly swap one out and keep cleanup using another battery.

Second, is that its own wand attachment (the extended tubular stick that connects the mind and main cleaning unit) has a reverse hinge, letting you wash more easily under furniture and in other awkward spaces.

Price and contest

The Shark Duo Clean is much cheaper than the Dyson Cyclone V10, but not by much. I’m reviewing the normal IF250UK twin-battery package here, which will be around $340 on Amazon.

If you want the smaller powered headset together with the Shark system, you need to purchase the”Pet Power” version, which bumps up the price to $370. Instead, if you don’t mind missing out on a bit of suction ability but appreciate the lighter weight of the Dyson layout, the Dyson V8 Absolute is just another good shout at $339.

Features, design and accessories

The Shark Duo Clean Cordless is clearly no ordinary cordless vacuum cleaner and this is reflected, not just in the cleaner’s advanced design but also in the number of attachments and accessories it includes.

The main Duo Clean mind is that the star of the show here. It’s motorized, comes equipped rather ostentatiously with LED headlights, also contains both gentle and brush-based rollers, enabling it to be deployed on rugs, rugs and hard floors without switching between heads.

There’s a multitude of extras here, too. The vacuum I’m reviewing does not arrive with the motor-driven pet hair application but there is a crevice attachment, an”anti-allergen” dust brush and a couple of smaller brushes to use on drapes and in smaller areas. The Duo Clean comes with a dual-bay charging station, which you may use to charge both of those lithium ion batteries it is supplied with concurrently. Additionally, it is possible to charge each battery individually with no docking station.

Each of those batteries gives around 44 minutes of overall cleaning at the bottom power levels based on Shark’s claims (that’s minus the motorized principal headset attached), however, the run time drops as you bump up the power and engine head speed. With both the suction and the engine head on low power I achieved around 16 minutes of cleaning time each battery with set to maximum that fell to just over 11 minutes.

This is not as great as the Dyson Cyclone V10, which offers up to an hour of cleanup time per charge on low electricity but you probably don’t wish to be more vacuuming for this long anyhow — and you will want an excuse to stop, put your feet up and have a cup of tea anyway.

The Shark’s main attraction is not its double batteries, however, but its revolutionary wand. This includes a hinge in the middle, which has two purposes. First, it permits the Duo Clean to be stowed without needing to prop it against a wall or hang it from a docking station. Second, it means that you may wash underneath a mattress or couch without having to get down on your hands and knees: just click the button to unlock the hinge, point the pistol grip down and drop the handle and you’ll have the ability to reach areas that might not have seen that a vacuum cleaner for weeks.

This works superbly but it does possess a flipside: the extra mechanism needed add weight. While the cordless unit is pretty mild at 1.57kg in contrast to the Dyson Cyclone V10’s 1.65kg, when you put in the 618g hinged wand and beefy motorized head, that climbs to a hefty 4kg. The Dyson Cyclone V10 using its motorized brush headset weighs a much less difficult to lift 2.58kg and, consequently, is a much less exhausting vacuum cleaner to work with than the Shark.

To make matters worse, the Duo Clean isn’t the simplest thing to man oeuvre, especially if you ramp the suction up the power of the motor head, at which stage it tries to drag itself across the carpet on its own accord.

In my own tests, it coped with everything from clay-based and wood-pellet cat litter to pet fur and human hair without a lot of fuss.

The dual-roller mind means the Duo Clean can wash on most of surfaces, soft and hard

The dual-roller design means the motorized head may be used on any surface. The soft roller in the front of the head is very good for polishing and sweeping hard flooring and picking up larger particles, while the brush at the rear gets deep into your carpet pile, providing it that lovely just-vacuumed appearance.

And suction power is very good indeed. With filters that are clean, I measured 14kPa (kilopascals) in low power mode and 24kPa in high-power mode, which compares favorably with my 1,200W Numatics Henrietta (HET200A), which produces 19kPa and 26kPa on low and higher electricity . (These measurements were taken with a bag installed.)

It doesn’t get quite as close to the skirting boards as a Dyson V8 or V10 does, however. There’s a gap of about a couple of centimeters between the end of the roller and the edge of the head’s housing, which means you’ll have to get in there with all the crevice tool if you want a thorough clean. I also discovered that, on a few events, larger particles became lodged between the brush guard rails along with the brush, which ceased the Shark dead in its tracks. And for thicker, gritty spillages, you’ll have to set the roller speed to low and suction to high if you do not need the pieces sprayed about.

One further point have to be noted is the dust container, although reasonably large, doesn’t have any kind of ejection mechanism to push the dust out to the bin. Instead, you need to flip open the lid and hope everything drops from its own accord. You’ll find, at some point, that you will have to have in there with your palms to get everything out, too. I discovered that long hair could become wrapped around the central filter center and would clog up with other detritus if not removed manually.

Regardless of the niggles, however, the Shark Duo Clean Cordless is a accomplished cordless vacuum cleaner. Its dual batteries keep you cleanup for longer than with many rival machines and also the reverse hinge on the wand means it can reach places that other cleaners fight to reach.

It is not quite like the Dyson Cyclone V10, though. Battery life is not as long, cleaning power not quite as good and it’s considerably heavier, which will indicate it out for some clients. Still, at $339 it is a good deal less expensive than even the lowest-priced Dyson V10, which makes it a very tempting option really.