Shark's New Cordless Vacuum Keeps My House Spotless Even With 2 Shedding Dogs—and Best of All, It Empties Itself

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Shark has been making waves in the beauty tech realm over the past few years with the Shark FlexStyle and the Shark SpeedStyle, but the brand’s vacuums are its claim to fame. The most recent addition to the lineup is the new Shark Cordless PowerDetect Clean & Empty System , available now. This ultra-powerful cordless vacuum features the perfect combination of suction power and convenience, and comes decked out with a dock that automatically charges and empties the vacuum after every clean.

Shark Cordless PowerDetect Clean & Empty System, $500 at Shark

Where cordless vacuums from other brands can reach over $1,000 for the most powerful models (looking at you, Dyson), Shark’s price points stay more manageable. The Cordless PowerDetect system features the brand’s most powerful suction and high-tech functions to date, but it only costs $500 — a steal for a strong stick vacuum with a self-emptying dock.

The dock is undoubtedly one of the top selling points of this vacuum. It acts as storage, a charger, and an emptying station all in one, and it doesn’t require you to drill any holes in the wall for you to install it (so it’s renter friendly). Just plug it in, stick your vacuum on it, and you’re good to go. The dock also comes with a built-in odor neutralizer, so any debris left in the dock won’t smell up your house.

With a 2-liter capacity, the dock will hold enough dirt, pet hair, and crumbs for up to 45 days in most homes, cutting down on the amount of times you need to physically empty it into the trash. Shark says that the dock on the Clean & Empty system locks away over 99.97% of dust and allergens, making it a good pick for folks with allergies. The empty function is pretty loud, but it only lasts for about 15 seconds. You can also opt to put the dock on sleep mode if you don’t want the vacuum to automatically self-empty.

In terms of performance, the Cordless PowerDetect vacuum comes with upgraded cleaning features. The first is automatic dirt detecting thanks to the DuoClean Detect nozzle, which adjusts the amount of suction power based on the amount of debris on the floor, the type of floor you’re vacuuming on, and whether or not you’re near an edge or corner. The vacuum can also sense if you’re in a darker area and will turn on extra LED illumination. If you don’t want to use the automatic detect mode, you can also opt for the more manual eco and boost modes.

During testing, detect mode worked quite well. In comparison to other cordless stick vacuums I’ve tried, the edge and corner detection is the standout feature. Where other vacuums tend to push crumbs, dust, and dog hair into corners and edges when you get too close, the PowerDetect cordless vac actually cleaned them up.

When switching between wood floors and traditional, flat woven rugs, the detect mode transitioned seamlessly and picked up a ton of ground-in debris from my rugs. The only problem I had with detect mode was on my Ruggable rugs specifically. The detect mode was too powerful for these thin rugs, and tended to suck them up off of the velcro pad instead of sucking up the dog hair and crumbs. I solved this problem by just using the manual eco mode instead of detect.

I liked the built-in LED light on the bottom of the vacuum. Not only does it light up dark spaces automatically, but it also acts similarly to other popular vacuum models that have a “laser” on the bottom. The LED light illuminates hidden dust and debris on hard floors, so you know how dirty your floors actually are, and can ensure a truly spotless clean.

The suction power on the Cordless PowerDetect is comparable to my personal Dyson Outsize vacuum. The Cordless PowerDetect easily sucks up just about every kind of crumb you could have in your house, and did an excellent job at sucking up ground-in dog hair from my flat woven rugs. The DuoClean Detect Nozzle actually picks up dirt, food granules, and other debris when pushed in both directions — forward and backwards. Most other vacuums only use suction when being pushed forward, so this Shark model cleans much quicker and more efficiently.

Shark says that the battery runtime on one charge is 70 minutes, and in my testing, I found this to be pretty accurate. The battery life is definitely long enough to completely vacuum most homes. In terms of accessories, the Cordless PowerDetect Clean & Empty System comes with a Crevice Tool that’s ideal for getting into small spaces where the full vacuum doesn’t fit, and a Pet Multi-Tool that can be used two ways: with the bristle attachment to scrub off stubborn pet messes, or without it as an upholstery cleaner to banish pet hair from couches and chairs.

Overall, the Shark Cordless PowerDetect Clean & Empty System is a steal at its $500 price point. With strong suction, a self-emptying dock, smart cleaning features like edge and corner detection and an LED light that illuminates hidden dirt and dust, you’d be hard-pressed to find a vacuum with all of these features (and similar high-performance) at a lower price.