There are some great Shark vacuums, but there are also plenty more fish in the sea – including cheaper options from alternative brands. Note, this Shark HZ500UK is undoubtedly well performer for hard floors but not ideal for mostly carpeted houses. We rated it 4.2 out of 5 according to its overall cleaning effectiveness on different carpet types. Also, it has no height setting to adjust the cleaning head for different pile types. Is the Shark hz500uk better for pet hair? Another very small thing which is actually very important, the Anti Allergen Complete Seal feature is exactly what it sounds like. There’s a HEPA filter which filters out all the microscopic miscreants (dust, dust mites, dust mite feces, pollen, pet dander), and that’s great, but on bagless hoovers the filter is part of the hoover and isn’t part of the hoover bag (as there isn’t one) so it’s only going to work if there’s a perfect seal around the filter.

The Shark HZ500UK is a powerful, versatile, and efficient vacuum cleaner, duo clean brush roll system to effectively clean a wide range of surfaces, including carpeted floors. When in use, the vacuum is 260 x 410 x 1,180mm (WDH), although the handle can be folded down to a height of 680mm for storage when not in use. It can stand self-supported in this configuration and should be small enough to fit into most under-stair cubby holes. You can also use this flexible joint to send the floor head under low-lying furniture without having to bend over. I make no apologies for wearing out jokes that weren’t even funny the first time, I’m a dad, it’s my job. The Duo Clean feature features two brush rolls which work both independently and in unison, with one soft roller and a more standard harder brush roll. This makes Shark vacuum cleaners more effective at dealing with a wide range of particle sizes, it prevents the “snow ploughing” effect when trying to vacuum larger particles on hard surfaces, and it also means the soft brush gives hard floors a polish while you’re at it.

The power and longevity of an upright, coupled with the smaller frame of a cordless, give this corded stick vacuum the best bits of both

It’s really lightweight, it’s incredibly easy to use, it takes very little effort to maneuver. It’s fast and easy to empty the waste container, the filter is easy to get at and to empty, it has fantastic suction power, amazing overall cleaning ability, on both hard floors and carpets (our home is roughly an equal mix, hard floors downstairs, carpets upstairs). For pets, I do think this is a great hoover. The pet tool is a stonking little thing, so good for purging the sofa and carpets of pet hair, and for cars too in theory although to be honest, I’m not someone who regularly hoovers their car. Shh, don’t tell anyone, OK you can tell my wife she already knows ;-). This is one of the really impressive features of this corded hoover, the main part of the vacuum cleaner when you remove the wand & brush head is very small and lightweight, so it becomes an incredibly powerful handheld almost instantly. There are purpose-built handhelds that are a bit smaller and lighter than this, but not much, and they wouldn’t come close to the cleaning power of the Shark Stratos. READ NEXT: The best cordless vacuum cleaners to buy Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology and TruePet HZ500UKT review: Should I buy it?

Hard floor cleaning was a similar story, though fewer Cheerios were collected on the first pass, with only 24 of 26g showing up in the collection bin. The missing Cheerios appeared as I reassembled the device, having got caught up on something internally, though again it was nothing that a subsequent pass couldn’t gobble up. Flour on hard flooring fared better than carpet, collecting 49 of 50g on the first pass. The rest fell into crevices between floor tiles that most vacuums struggle with, without resorting to handheld tools. An indicator in the floorhead illuminates to show the suction level, lighting up as the suction increases and automatically decreasing again when the debris is cleared. As with most of the brand’s cordless models, it comes with LED light in the floorhead to help illuminate small particles of dust and pet hair. It also has an LED screen which displays battery status and suction level. Overall, I have to say, I’m very impressed with the Stratos. It was ridiculously simple to unbox and assemble, it’s really easy to use, it’s powerful, and in most parts, it does what it says on the tin. The big difference is that, unlike most vacuum cleaners, there’s no need to flip it upside down on a regular basis and get the scissors to the hair which is wrapped around the brush roller. I can’t imagine there’s anyone on this planet or otherwise, who would actually look forward to this grubby little task. The small thing is a little sharp comb-type gismo that catches and cuts hairs before they can get tightly wound around the roller, and then the cut strands are simply hoovered up, perfect! Like I say, it’s a small thing, it may even seem to be a very obvious thing, but that’s the thing about the best inventions, they make so much sense that you can’t believe that they weren’t always a thing.We rated the Shark hz500uk 5 out of 5 according to its overall hard floor cleaning effectiveness. It will be an excellent choice if your house is mostly hard floor. Is the Shark hz500uk better for cleaning carpet floors? In the pet version Shark hz500ukt, you’ll get an additional pet turbo brush, which is air driven, not motorized. Is the Shark hz500uk better for cleaning hardwood floors? In its handheld mode, it can accept any of the supplied accessories, which include a crevice tool, a multi-surface tool (an upholstery nozzle with a clip-on brush) and, in the TruePet version, the pet hair tool. This latter device is motorised by using a turbine, powered by the suction of air through the vacuum, rather than using its own electric-powered motor. Its rotating “brush” uses rubber flaps instead of bristles, to help reduce hair tangle.