Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum review: a heavy powerhouse

The Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum proves that sometimes you just need unadulterated power. Sure, the convenience of a cordless stick vacuum or robot vacuum frees up more time and energy. But, they don’t dig quite as deep when cleaning the way best upright vacuums do.

While the price tag can be a little hard to swallow for something that can’t be run by an app or held overhead like a toy – in fact, this is a somewhat heavy unit at over 17lbs compared to other Shark vacuums that weight less than 10 – the suction power available with the Shark POWERDETECT alone makes it an easy recommendation for anyone looking for the best vacuum for a deep clean.

There are a couple of other limitations including the hose's limited reach so you won’t be unclasping it with one of the included tools to reach cobwebs, at least not easily. But, the inclusion of a few crucial attachments to reach all sorts of nooks and crannies, hose length restriction notwithstanding, as well as Shark’s odor neutralizer technology leaving floors smelling a little fresher offset any quibbles here.

If you’re looking for a vacuum to use when you really want to get every piece of hair, dander, dust, errant piece of cereal, glass, or what-have-you off the floor, then the Shark POWERDETECT is a worthy consideration, as long as you’re comfortable with the price.

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Specifications

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Price

The Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum is available at two different prices through Shark. For $399.99 you get the basic package, which includes the vacuum itself, an odor neutralizer cartridge, crevice tool, and pet multi-tool. Or, you can spend $499.80 for the TruePet upgrade, which adds in a self-cleaning pet power brush, more involved crevice tool (this one has bristles), a multi-angled dust brush, an accessory bag, and two odor neutralizer cartridges instead of one.

If you prefer to go through a big box store instead (maybe you have some credit, for instance), it retails for $499.99 through Best Buy, Amazon, and Kohl’s. The included accessories here are the same as what’s been tested in the review and fall somewhere between the two packages available directly through Shark, namely that you get the duster crevice tool, pet-multi tool, that self-cleaning pet power brush, and a single odor neutralizer cartridge.

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Setup

For such a hefty vacuum, the Shark POWERDETECT comes tightly packed in a smaller box than I would have otherwise anticipated. And, while pulling out the various pieces made me hesitant with how involved it would be to set up, most of the various pieces are those extra attachment tools and the odor neutralizer cartridge.

The actual vacuum comes in four pieces. There’s a floorhead, which attaches to a telescopic tube. There’s the main component containing the motor and dustbin that slides down onto where the floorhead tube meet. And, there’s the handle and hose attachment that clips on top. You also have to clip the hose into the dustbin.

Looking at the instructions and putting together the puzzle pieces, so to speak, takes just a few minutes. In essence, the setup is painless.

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Design & features

Being an upright vacuum, the Shark POWERDETECT is not what I would consider delicate or lightweight. Hefty is a much better term and not just because it weighs over 17.5 lbs but it's also fairly robust. While this is a mostly plastic affair tied together with some lightweight aluminum, it’s all heavy-duty, durable material.

Its eggplant aka purple colorway is an unusual design choice but it does make the Shark POWERDETECT easy to spot, not to mention its two teal brush rolls that peaks out of its transparent cover. The dustbin is also transparent, making it easy to see when your vacuum needs cleaning or emptying.

A couple things worth mentioning regarding the floorhead – not only does it have that transparent cover but it utilizes two brushrolls (one a soft roller and the other with angled fins) that manage to avoid tangled hair – a potential issue for any pet owner. It sports LED lights to illuminate any potential debris in front of it as well as houses the odor neutralizer cartridge.

One of the best things about the Shark Power Detect, at least in regards to its design, is its large dustbin. Its 0.5 gallon capacity, almost 2 liters, is more than enough. It’s also very easy to remove from its base as well as open, each with just a press of a button.

The controls are all on the handle and are pretty straightforward. Besides the power button, you can choose between three different floor types (hard floor, carpet / low pile, thick carpet / area rug) as well as an auto detect mode. Also connected to the handle is the hose, which unclasps and is just a couple feet in length at full extension. If you want to use one of the attachment tools, you would unclasp the hose and attach one of the tools to use them.

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Performance tests

The absolute best thing about the Shark POWERDETECT is its suction power. It’s able to suck everything up in its path efficiently and proficiently, no matter the debris. And, it’s equally capable regardless of the surface I used it on.

For instance, the carpeting in one room required some deep vacuuming due to being covered in a ton of cat sheddings (it’s been hot). With one pass, the Shark POWERDETECT had basically picked up every visible piece of hair (as well as litter near the litter box) from the carpet, filling the dust bin with an amount of hair equal to a second cat. The carpet itself was left spotless and smelling ever-so-slightly fresh thanks to the odor neutralizer cartridge.

The Shark POWERDETECT was just as quick at picking up dust and debris when cleaning hardwood floors and bathroom tile. Not only did it make short work of regular vacuuming duties, but I did some extra testing here including throwing separately a bunch of seasoning (lemon pepper), a combination of flour and sugar as well as a copious amount of cereal on the floor. It took just a single pass with each test for the vacuum to suck up whatever was on the floor.

More generally, it picked up any pet hair that was laying around. And, based on what I saw in the dust bin, plenty of dust and dander as well. With its 12-inch floorhead width, it covers a good amount of ground in one go. On top of that, it’s good at getting edges even without the attachment tools as the brush rolls extend almost completely to the edges of the floorhead.

Using the attachments was fairly straightforward as well. I found the crevice tool useful for getting dust, pet hair, and debris off molding, as well as when cleaning window tracks and ledges. The multi-tool allowed me to get any missed litter from around the litter box without having to move the whole thing.

While I don’t consider it a big drawback, don’t expect the Shark POWERDETECT to operate quietly. Like most upright vacuums, it’s going to be a bit noisier than less powerful cordless models, running at about 73 dB (a moderate level of noise like a running washing machine).

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Cleaning and maintenance

Overall, since the Shark POWERDETECT is modular, maintaining it is fairly easy. If something gets stuck in the telescopic tube, for instance, you can just remove the handle and/or floorhead to fish out whatever is getting in the way.

The dust bin is, as mentioned above, straightforward to remove from the vacuum. Plus, it empties from the bottom so you can just press the button near the base while holding over a trashcan and all the contents will slide right out.

The soft brushroll has a button on the side of the floorhead that allows you to pull it out if something gets tangled. However, the other brushroll is locked in so if something happens to it, you’ll probably have to get it serviced.

Learn how to clean a vacuum in more detail in our dedicated guide.

How does the Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum compare?

A lot of people’s go-to these days for upright vacuums is Dyson. And, if you’ve seen our review on the Dyson Ball Animal 2 vacuum, it’s no surprise why, as it’s pretty fantastic at vacuuming. It also has an extensive reach thanks to a longer hose. But, it has issues with hair tangling around its brushroll and doesn’t have any equivalent to Shark’s odor neutralizer tech. Still, it goes for the same price as the Shark POWERDETECT and is a very strong alternative depending on what your priorities are when deep cleaning.

As pricey as the Shark POWERDETECT is, you can certainly spend much more on one, such as the SEBO Automatic X4 Boost, which is powerful and reliable, but also heavy, clunky, dated, and very expensive, retailing for $849.00.

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum: Verdict

The Shark POWERDETECT does cost quite a bit, with its $499 price tag, but it’s more than worth it for its excellent performance on all surface types. Whether tackling finer debris or larger particles - it’s more than capable. Plus, the added tools help get into all sorts of nooks and crannies.

Of course, the limited length on the hose means you won’t be getting into high areas easily. And, like some other more robust upright vacuums, all that power comes with quite a bit of heft, meaning it’s going to require some muscle getting up and down stairs or moving it from room to room. It’s a bit on the noisier side as well, though that’s to be expected.

Overall though, between its performance and that odor neutralizer tech (which is more of a cherry on top), the Shark POWERDETECT is an easy recommendation as long as you’re comfortable with the price tag and a great Dyson alternative.