Knowledgeable’s Score
Professionals
- Very light-weight & compact
- Detection contains a real plus
- Headlights
- Simple to empty bin
Cons
- Runtime far lower than 60 minutes when you use detection options
- No HEPA filter
- Combi instrument ineffective
- Small bin
Our Verdict
At its sale worth, the Detect Professional is superb worth. The detection options imply that the whole lot is automated – you solely must roll the vacuum round and it’ll make all the selections. However utilizing them does imply battery life is way shorter than marketed. We’re additionally doubtful in regards to the longevity of the dustbin seal and wouldn’t suggest this vacuum as an alternative choice to one with entire machine HEPA filtration.
Worth When Reviewed
£279
Greatest Costs At this time: Shark Detect Professional
£279
£279
£279.00
£279.00
£279.99
£349.99
The Shark Detect Professional is Shark’s reply to Dyson’s mud detecting know-how. As you vacuum, it’ll reply to the situations round your property – how a lot mud and grime it finds, whether or not it’s on carpet or arduous flooring, if it’s vacuuming alongside a wall, how vivid or dim the room is – and change its energy up or down accordingly, or activate its headlights.
The thought is that it saves you from messing round with settings as you vacuum, cleans as effectively as attainable and preserves battery life. However how effectively do these options work – and are they sufficient of a purpose to purchase? We’ve obtained the solutions in our full evaluation.
There are two shopping for choices for the Detect Professional: you may get the vacuum alone (£279.99/ $299.99 on sale on the time of writing) or with the Shark Detect Professional Auto-Empty Station (£329.99/ $379.99). We haven’t had the chance to check the station, so this evaluation might be specializing in the vacuum itself.
Design & Construct
- 0.4 litre bin
- Compact storage mode
- Swappable battery
The Detect Professional is boxed in all-recyclable cardboard packaging, with the person vacuum cleaner components wrapped in paper – this dedication to minimising plastic waste is one thing we all the time wish to see.
The vacuum itself has a white plastic physique with black trim and a matt gunmetal wand. The general design is a bit retro-futuristic in a approach that might be divisive. The way you reply to the Buck Rogers aesthetic might decide how you’re feeling in regards to the Detect Professional.
It has a transparent bin that’s small at 0.4 litres. This gained’t be as a lot of an issue when you purchase the self-emptying station but when not, put together to make common journeys to the kitchen to empty it.
However the bin’s design is intelligent. It opens lengthways like a crocodile’s jaw, so it’s simple to empty with out having to dig round inside to free bits of fluff.
Prime tip: ensure you work out the place it opens earlier than you attempt to empty it the primary time. I’m talking from hard-won expertise.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Nevertheless, the bin’s design implies that there’s a protracted be part of sealed with a easy rubber lip. Though the vacuum is marketed as having an “anti-allergen full seal” that can entice “99.9% of mud, allergens and irritants”, it gained’t be as environment friendly as entire machine HEPA filtration – and if any a part of the seal is broken or begins to put on, it is going to begin leaking mud. We wouldn’t suggest it for asthmatics or folks with hay fever or a sensitivity to mud.
Within the field, you’ll get the vacuum cleaner physique, wand, major motorised cleansing head, combi cleansing instrument and plug. Because the battery is detachable, you possibly can choose to pop it out and cost it individually, which suggests you don’t must retailer the vacuum by a plug level.
This additionally provides you the choice of shopping for a spare battery so you possibly can hold one charged and prepared. It’s troublesome to seek out spare batteries for the Detect Professional at this stage, however Shark usually expenses round £80/ $80 for them.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
You may also take away the vacuum cleaner physique and sit it on a cradle connected to the wand for extra compact storage.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
I wasn’t wowed after I first unboxed the Detect Professional however I favored it extra as I used it. All of the elements click on into place satisfyingly and it appears like a usually strong Shark construct.
Efficiency & Options
- Detection options work effectively
- Battery life show is fundamental
The Detect Professional’s controls are easy. Above the grip, there’s an On/Off button, and a mode button, which you utilize to cycle via cleansing modes.
You’ll be able to see the mode on the LED show above. There’s additionally a battery indicator however it’s very fundamental – simply displaying what number of quadrants of the battery life you’ve got left.
The detection options work as promised and do, undoubtedly, make vacuuming much less of a chore
The main target of the show is on grime detection, with a crescent indicator that’s both pink, orange or blue in response to the extent of mud and grime round. On this, Shark is following Dyson’s lead: the V15 Detect and Gen5detect show the dimensions and quantity of mud and grime particles which can be picked up.
For my part, these options are good to have, at greatest, slightly than important and I’d desire it if the Detect Professional had a clearer battery life timer, ideally displaying in minutes.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The Detect Professional is extraordinarily mild at simply 2.76kg and it’s simple to manoeuvre. But it surely doesn’t lie flat because of the form of its grip, and its wand doesn’t twist, so it might not get all the best way beneath your mattress or couch.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Shark is promoting this vacuum as having “4 deep-cleaning applied sciences” which reply to their environment. To some extent, that is simply advertising and marketing hype: one of many 4 applied sciences is the strip of LEDs on the principle head, which change on mechanically in dimmer rooms or alongside one facet when edge cleansing.
It’s a helpful characteristic however not precisely a deep-cleaning know-how. Plus, if all of the LEDs are on earlier than it goes into edge mode, it responds by switching off the lights furthest from the wall, which isn’t essentially helpful.
The opposite “deep-cleaning applied sciences” have extra to do with the precise cleansing facet of issues. The Detect Professional will ramp up its energy when it finds extra mud and grime, or when vacuuming alongside a wall, to enhance pickup proper to the sting. It’ll additionally mechanically enhance the comb roll pace when it hits a carpeted floor. The facility decreases once more when it’s not wanted, saving battery life and also you the trouble of needing to modify up a gear.
The detection options work as promised and do, undoubtedly, make vacuuming much less of a chore. You’ll be able to just about simply pootle round and let the vac make the selections for you.
The battery life is given as as much as 60 minutes however that’s a bit deceptive. Like most vacuums, that’s solely the case when you use it in Eco mode, which suggests forgoing any of the detection options. Eco mode is unlikely to be robust sufficient to correctly clear a carpet, both.
Realistically, for many types of cleansing, you’ll need to use the Detect mode, which can solely offer you round 20 minutes of battery life. It’s arduous to offer an actual time, because the show doesn’t present minutes. There’s additionally a Increase mode, which can solely final a couple of minutes, however this doesn’t matter as a lot – you’ll solely want Increase for spills.
You’ll be able to take away the wand and use the principle cleansing head on the physique of the vacuum to wash stairs. For different cleansing jobs, like upholstery, cabinets and blinds, there’s the combi brush and nozzle instrument. It’s not brilliantly designed and when you use the comb setting, it’s arduous to get respectable suction.
Like many Shark vacuums, the Detect Professional has an anti-hair wrap fin on its curler. I discovered it to be very efficient, even on lengthy hair. Nevertheless, the tiny wheels Shark usually makes use of on the entrance will clog up shortly with hair when you’ve got a pet. Eradicating it’s a fiddly job however you’ll must do it to maintain the wheels turning.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Shark is fairly cagey in regards to the Detect Professional’s suction energy, as an alternative making some comparisons between this and one other Shark mannequin. In our checks it carried out effectively throughout each arduous flooring and carpet, however solely in Detect mode – we didn’t discover Eco highly effective sufficient for carpet. On arduous flooring (once more in Detect mode), it didn’t scatter particles and had good pickup near partitions.
Worth & Availability
It is a good time to purchase the Shark Detect Professional. Though it was solely not too long ago launched, Black Friday promotions imply that it’s dropped from an RRP of £349.99 to a extensively accessible worth of £279.99 within the UK. That’s with out the Auto-Empty station.
You should buy it at this worth from Shark, Argos and Amazon, amongst different retailers.
If you would like the Auto-Empty Station as effectively, the set has an RRP of £399.99 however is presently accessible for £329.99 from Shark, John Lewis and Amazon.
Within the US, it’s priced at $379.99 and that’s what you’ll pay when you go direct to Shark, however you should purchase it on sale from Amazon for $299.99. It’s $449.99 with the bottom, however you may get it for $379.99 from Amazon on the time of writing.
We expect that is fairly good worth for its characteristic set. We’d solely warning that it’s not perfect as a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner, or the only real vacuum cleaner in a big residence.
Do you have to purchase the Shark Detect Professional?
All in all, the Detect Professional is sweet worth for its sale worth level, so ensure you purchase on the proper time. It’s mild and nice to make use of and its detection options imply you don’t want to vary settings as you go. Nevertheless, we don’t assume it’s flawlessly designed.
We’d wish to see higher battery life info and a more practical combi instrument for different cleansing jobs across the residence, for starters.
If tis isn’t the proper vacuum for you, take a look at our round-up of one of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve examined.
Specs
- Weight: 2.76kg
- Dimensions: W: 26.4 D: 35.3 H: 109.2cm
- Dustin capability: 0.4L
- HEPA filter: No
- Max runtime: 60 minutes
- Energy settings: 3
- Wattage: 240W