Sorry, cordless vacuums! Shark’s powerful corded model has won me over – and it’s currently a star price this Black Friday

When a vacuum cleaner brand claims to offer 'the best overall cleaning of any corded upright vacuum,' I take it as my personal mission to test out those claims. That's why I've been testing the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner (AZ3900UKT) for the past couple of weeks in my home.

I've been assessing whether it has what it takes to not only compete with the best Shark vacuum cleaners, but also compete with the best vacuums overall. My verdict as someone who has tested more vacuums than I can count? It does. And it's even convinced me to ditch my cordless stick model for good.

In a nutshell

As a long-term devotee of the best cordless vacuums, I had reservations about the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner. I tend to shy away from big, bulky models in my 'cosy' home, and always prefer the cord-free convenience of stick vacuums to the tethers of corded models. But when I experienced the immense power of this corded Shark upright for the first time, it instantly caught me in its jaws.

Everything about this corded vacuum cleaner is big and bold, and I will happily say that it’s one of the most powerful vacuum cleaners I’ve tested in my time as Ideal Home’s Vacuum Expert. The Dirt, Floor, and EdgeDetect technologies make it extremely reactive (and effective) to changes in a home’s environment, and the 8m cord length means you don’t have to plug and unplug in every room.

This Shark vacuum also faced every type of debris with ease thanks to the DuoClean Detect floorhead, which cleans in both the forward AND the reverse (even though most upright vacuums typically struggle on the backstroke), and it even tackled embedded pet hair in a single pass. The Anti-Odour cartridge is also a nice - and very delicious - addition to homes with pets, too.

However, the elephant in the room is that the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner is big and heavy. And while it generally propels itself and the Lift-Away function makes cleaning stairs and smaller nooks easier than it could be, it’s still a hefty model to carry up multiple floors and keep hidden in smaller homes.

Personally, I’m willing to overlook this in favour of the impressive cleaning power, but if you have limited mobility, multiple floors in your home and zero space to store an upright vacuum like this one, it’s probably not the best option for you.

Specifications

• Weight: 7.6kg
• Cord length: 8m
• Bin volume: 1.3L
• Modes: Detect, Hard Floor, Carpet/Low Pile, and Thick Carpet/Area Rug
• Noise level: 80 dB
• In the box: Main unit, Pet Tool, Crevice Tool, Multi-Surface Tool
• RRP: £399.99

Unboxing, setting up and first impressions

At 7.6kg, the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright isn’t exactly lightweight, so I wasn’t surprised to see a hefty box turn up on my doorstep. I managed to carry it inside by myself, but just beware that it’s both big and heavy - especially if you have dexterity concerns.

However, I was instantly impressed with this Shark corded upright, as everything was packaged in recyclable cardboard or paper. And while there was a lot of it, as each individual component was wrapped up in one or the other, I could shove it straight into the recycling bin. In fact, there was no plastic in sight.

Printed on the packaging were also a few little pointers to make assembly easier. So, as per the instructions, I began by inserting the Anti-Odour Cartridge into the clearly defined slot on the floorhead. This was over and done with in seconds, and I even got a whiff of the delicious scent during this stage.

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Then, I attached the extension wand to the floorhead, added the hose (complete with handle), and finished by sliding the Lift-Away pod and dust bin into its home at the base of the machine. The whole assembly process took less than five minutes.

I then decided to tackle the power cord, which was a little tangled and needed straightening. And at 8m long, it actually took me longer to untangle the cord than to assemble the whole vacuum cleaner. Because of this, I was a little dubious.

I tend to avoid corded vacuums purely because I don’t have the patience for manoeuvring the power cord all the time, and having to fiddle with it this early on left me a little irritated. However, I was pleased to see that there were two hooks to keep the cord tidy when not in use, so it wasn’t the end of the world.

I was also willing to overlook the cord issue, as I know this is personal preference, and I also know that corded vacuums tend to be incredibly powerful. So, I was also eager to take it for a spin.

Using the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright

At Ideal Home, we have a very specific testing process when reviewing vacuum cleaners. But before I complete these, I always like to use the vacuum I’m testing as if it were my everyday vacuum. I vacuum my entire house from top to bottom, including the stairs. This gives me a nice idea of how well it would fit into my cleaning routine.

I was instantly surprised by the confusing weight of this corded upright model. After all, there’s no denying that it’s incredibly heavy at 7.6kg, and it definitely takes a little oompf to get it moving first time. But when it’s in motion, the Shark vacuum cleaner feels pretty weightless as it seems to propel forward of its own accord.

The technologies on offer were also noticeable straight away. As I moved from hard flooring to my rugs, the Detect mode automatically noticed the change in floor type and adjusted the rollers and speed accordingly. It also did the same when it went over dirtier areas.

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You can also adjust the mode manually if you don’t want to use Detect mode, with options for hard floor, carpet/low pile, or thick carpet/area rug. And while I did use these modes for the sake of testing, I typically found myself sticking with Detect mode as it offers the least amount of faff.

The lights on the front of the floorhead are ideal for highlighting invisible dust and debris, too, and despite being a large vacuum with an equally large floorhead, I must admit the edge-cleaning was exceptional. I was able to get right up to the edge of my skirting boards, and it was clear from the light on the floorhead when the EdgeDetect technology was working its magic.

Naturally, I was a little concerned about the cord aspect of the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner, as this is the main reason I’ve stuck to cordless models over the years. But at 8m long, I didn’t have to unplug and re-plug it in every room, and I was able to avoid tripping over the excess by keeping it wrapped around the cord hooks if I didn’t need it.

Typically, upright vacuum cleaners aren’t very flexible or versatile - especially when it comes to cleaning stairs and more targeted - but this corded upright impressed me here, too. And with the Powered Lift-Away function (which has always been one of my favourite Shark features), I could easily use the pod and the tools to vacuum my steep and narrow Victorian stairs without having to contend with the whole appliance. I could also vacuum underneath furniture with ease using this feature.

Of course, there’s no avoiding carrying the whole thing upstairs eventually, and I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t difficult, and I certainly wouldn’t want my nan doing that by herself. So, I do think this is a big consideration when weighing up whether to buy this Shark vacuum.

Overall, though, it was the cleaning power that wowed me the most. With unlimited run time and a constant supply of power, the suction was incredible, and I found that it left both my hard flooring and my rugs and carpet cleaner than I’ve seen them in a long while. So, I was eager to see how it fared during more controlled testing.

To do this, I threw various debris (rice, coffee, crushed cereal, and my dog’s hair) on two different types of flooring - hard flooring and carpet. I then assessed how well it picked up this different-sized debris and how many passes it took to pick up every speck.

After already experiencing the pickup power, I wasn’t surprised to see that it performed exceptionally on both floor types. And while this particular model is famed for its Reverse Clean Technology - which means it offers just as much pickup power on the forward and reverse stroke - it picked up everything in the first forward motion.

You can even see from the video above that it seemed to draw my dog’s hair in before the rollers had even touched it, which, in my eyes, proves it to be one of the best vacuum cleaners for pet hair, too.

Using the attachments

The Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner comes with three attachments - a Pet Tool, Crevice Tool, and Multi-Surface Tool. These can all be used on the Lift-Away pod, and I found them all to be very effective additions to my cleaning regimen.

As a pet parent, the Pet Tool was ideal for my dog’s bed and the sofa bed he’s also claimed as his own personal bed. However, it was also the tool I reached for most often when vacuuming my wool-carpeted stairs, as the fibres tend to hide hair and pet dander.

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The Crevice and Multi-Surface tools were also great for smaller cleaning jobs, such as cobwebs in the corners of my rooms and my curtains, and I didn’t ever find myself wanting more attachments to clean the nooks and crannies of my home.

However, the first time I tried to attach the accessories, I did have to wonder whether they even fit the nozzle. They require quite a bit of force to attach to the extension hose, and switching between them wasn’t as seamless as I would have liked. This was the case throughout the whole testing process.

Cleaning and maintenance

One thing I really loved - and continue to love - about the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner is the dust bin capacity. That’s because the cordless stick vacuums I tend to favour have much smaller dust bins, so they need emptying much more regularly.

This Shark model has a 1.3L capacity, though, which meant I could vacuum my house multiple times before I needed to empty it. Doing so was also easy enough: simply detach the pod from the main unit and press the button on the canister to empty its contents. I found the process relatively mess-free, and I didn’t have to get my hands in there to pull out any straggling hairs or dust balls.

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As it’s important to regularly clean a Shark vacuum cleaner, you also need to keep on top of filter maintenance. It’s very easy to clean a Shark filter, and Shark suggests cleaning the pre-motor foam and felt filters every month. To do this, you just need to rinse them with water and let them air dry for at least 24 hours before putting them back in the vacuum. You should also rinse the post-motor filter every 12 months in the same way.

It’s also worth noting that the Anti-Odour cartridges will need to be replaced if you want to continue using them (this isn’t a necessity, but a nice extra). These cost £15.99 from Shark for a pack of two, which I don’t think is too unreasonable, as the average cartridge should last about six months before the scent naturally diminishes.

How does it rate online?

On the Shark website, the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner has an average star rating of 4.5 out of 5, from over 250 reviews at the time of writing.

For the most part, customers are incredibly impressed with the suction power offered from this corded model, with one happy customer going as far as to say, ‘This is the most powerful Vacuum Cleaner I have ever had. I purchased one a few months ago and was so impressed that I purchased one for my daughter-in-law. After using it for the first time, she said, 'I didn't realise my carpets were so dirty!’’

However, those who gave it fewer stars did note that it’s a heavy appliance compared to other corded models out there - and definitely compared to cordless vacuums. Some say they also struggled to use it on the stairs.

How does it compare to similar models?

In terms and features and the Shark technology, the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner is similar to the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty Cordless Pet Vacuum Cleaner IP3251UKT, which we gave a 5-star review.

But while it offers the same cleaning features, the reality is that these vacuums are very different, as the model I’ve been testing is a corded upright model, while the Clean & Empty is a cordless stick vacuum with an auto-empty dock (although you can buy it without the dock for £499.99 at Shark). Because of this, which one is better ultimately depends on your needs.

If you really can’t see yourself with a corded upright vacuum, the cordless stick will suit you perfectly (if you’re willing to pay an extra £150 and settle for a slightly less powerful model). If you value suction and cleaning power above all else, the corded model will suit you better (and it’s cheaper!)

In terms of the overall cleaning power and pet-friendly features, I’d also compare the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright to the Miele Guard M1 Cat & Dog, which I gave a 4.5-star review after testing at home. Both corded models offer suction power like no other, and can tackle all debris - including pet hair - with ease.

However, the Miele model is a cylinder vacuum with onboard tool storage and comes with a much larger 4.5L bagged dust bin, which is perhaps a better option for homes with pets (or even humans) who shed a lot more than my cocker spaniel. It’s also smaller and cheaper, so it’s easier to store and better on the wallet.

In terms of style and special features, though, I have to say that the Shark corded upright beats the Miele. The auto-adjusting suction power makes it incredibly easy to use with limited human interaction, which is better for the time-poor.

Verdict: Should you buy the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright?

It’s not often that a vacuum cleaner shocks me as much as the Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright did. And while I know that Shark produces some impressive vacuum cleaners, this particular model blew me away with its suction power. For those who value cleaning above anything else, I really couldn’t recommend it more.

It’s kitted out in all of the modern features you want from a vacuum, and the technologies work hard to tackle every type of debris and every floor type. Plus, Shark has obviously worked hard to make a big and heavy model as easy to use as possible.

There’s no denying that it’s a beast - both in size and weight. Because of this, I do think it’s better suited to larger homes with more storage space and to those who can carry the heavy appliance up the stairs.

If you’re a cordless stick vacuum devotee trying a corded for the first time, I’d also give yourself a couple of weeks to adjust to the change, as a corded upright does take a little while to get used to. But when you see the results, I have no doubts that you’ll see it’s a worthwhile purchase.