Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

(WARNING- This is an in depth review for those wanting to make a serious purchasing decision. If you prefer a brief summary, please see section marked THE BOTTOM LINE) -------------------- I have to come clean. I have had a problem. (I hear your jokes out there- HAHA) I have an addiction to vacuums. It started when I was forced to live in a very difficult apartment situation where the nice vacuum we were given was used to vacuum up rabbit poo until it broke. We could not afford one, so we were forced to live without a vacuum for some time. The one cheap one we got broke and back we were again. So, I started collecting vacuums over time. I never wanted to be without one again. WHY DID I END UP WITH THIS ONE? I was very happy with my Bissells. I also have a Simplicity that I use on one floor with a lot of rugs. They did a great job, were uprights and pretty nice to use, so why did I want a Shark? Well, I found some crazy rationality to apply to this acquisition, and the Shark was ordered. My husband asked if I was losing it- "ANOTHER VACUUM? ARE YOU NUTS?" was more of his question. So I opened this up and Voila. A dinky do little weird vacuum that clearly was not as nice as my Bissells, Simplicity, (fill in the blanks). WHAT IS THIS LIKE? After dutifully opening it, I assembled the vacuum and saw that the head rested on the hook so that it was free standing when not in use, and my interest was piqued. There is a motor similar to a hand vac which sits on a stem that has a floor brush on it. There is a clip that snaps onto the metal tube stem and that holds two accessories - one for crevices with a brush that pushes into place, and another flat head which allows for furniture cleaning. The motor head can be used independently from the stem. Okay so this looked like it would be an eye roll. Then I used it. OMG THEN I USED IT. HOW DOES THIS PERFORM? This thing is AMAZING. Despite the very small head, it sucks up so well that it does not have to have constant passes over and over. It fluffs up the rug beautifully. We have a room with tile on each end of the room. There is a pile rug in the middle section. It is a large long room so we have three different floors in the entire room. That is a pain usually to clean as most vacuums don't work on bare floors that well if they work well on rugs. This vacuum is the exception. It is easy to go from floor to rug with a flip of the switch! AND IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY ON BOTH From this point on, I will quickly try to review each part of the vacuum: FLOOR BRUSH Excellent suction, this lifts the debris from rugs or floor without spitting it everywhere. This is 10 inches in width compared to my others which go from 13 to 14 inches on the floor brush. CORD WRAP This is where I knew someone with brains designed this. The motor which resembles the hand vac can be disconnected from the metal tube/stem and hung at the bottom of the unit which creates a counter balance weight that allows the vacuum to free stand when not in use. What is really amazing is that the cord wrap is designed so that when you remove the motor to hang on the bottom, the cord easily follows it without making you REWRAP it every time. That is DELIGHTFUL. FILL CUP This is an extra large fill cup allowing me to do all of the floor and rug in the large room with plenty of room to spaire ATTACHMENTS The attachments press onto a holder which snaps on the metal tube/stem. The problem is that they do come off when using the vacuum. I just remove them when using it and put them back when not in use. CREVICE/BRUSH TOOL This works beautifully on the cat perches, the corners and crevices in the house. UPHOLSTERY TOOL This is a stiff brush that works well on the end of the motor piece. DOES THE HAIR CONE THING REALLY WORK? I have purposely sucked up all sorts of long stringy things even as far as to suck up tinsel. This design is brilliant. It does clean itself as you move along and is easy to empty too. It is a screen in the shape of a cone that uses air force to put the debris in a clump in the cup ready to be discarded. LIGHTWEIGHT? This is VERY lightweight MANEUVERABILITY? This maneuvers better than any vacuum I have ever used. The swivel is fabulous and gets into all sorts of places easily and without struggle. CONVENIENCE This is so easy to use. The switch from floor to rug and back again is so seamless that I almost clap every time I am done using it. The very small footprint makes it a dream to store too. FLOORS? Bare floors work just as well as the rugs do with this cleaner. STORAGE I was going to use the wall hook, but this is so handy with the hook that the motor hangs on when not in use making this free standing that I did not end up using the hook yet. ANY COMPLAINTS? The attachments won't stay on the vacuum while in use, so I have to take them off- that is a bit frustrating but not unusual. The only other thing that is a bit challenging is that this vacuum is not free standing when in use and the motor is attached at the top of the stem. You have to lay it down. WHO MIGHT NOT LIKE THIS? This is a small vacuum which is perfect for smaller rooms, upstairs, or areas which you don't have to cover a lot of ground quickly. That means if you have ginormous rooms and a large house, this might not fit the bill for you. If you like to have smaller quick areas that you use on floor or rug, this is a great choice. THE BOTTOM LINE For a seamless machine to clean bare floors and rugs equally and quickly, this is the best thing I have ever used. It is handy, lightweight, easy to use, and has self cleaning/suction unlike any others either. I have put all of my others aside and use this almost exclusively at least on the floor I store it on. The others are saved for more intense rug cleaning on a larger basis. MY RATING A BAZILLION STARS! Okay, five. I really love this thing. I never thought I would. It is my all time favorite vacuum for ease of use, portability and seamless flow from bare floor to rug without throwing debris all over. I LOVE this thing.