“The beauty of an upright vacuum is that the full weight of the vacuum sits over the power brush, so you can easily push it down into the carpet pile to suck up dirt and debris.” I’ve written that sentence, or some variation of it, dozens of times during my time covering vacuum cleaners for Consumer Reports.
But until recently I had never used an upright vacuum myself. You see, I’m a canister devotee. I live in an older home with hardwood floors and steep stairs. We have a few area rugs strewn about but they cover only a small fraction of the floor space. And we no longer have pets. So the very strength of an upright vacuum—its ability to clean carpet—isn’t something I need.
But I’m in the minority. Upright vacuums far outsell canister vacuums, and Shark upright vacuums get the highest owner satisfaction rating from our members. (Only Miele is considered as pleasing.) Shark’s reliability is rated Very Good; only one other brand (Kirby) does as well.
So when I was asked to give the bagless upright vacuum cleaner Shark Vertex DuoClean AZ2002 a whirl at home, I was curious. Ultimately, I found it easy to put together and pretty good at picking up debris, but also somewhat difficult to maneuver.
Notable Features
- Easy assembly: The vacuum is super simple to assemble; the three main sections click together in a snap. You can detach, or as Shark says, “lift away,” the pod that contains the dustbin and use the handle to carry it around as you work.
- Three attachments: There’s a crevice tool, an upholstery brush, and what’s called a pet multi-tool. The main power brush is labeled a self-cleaning duo brush roll, thus the model name; it’s supposed to help pick up pet hair while preventing hair wrap.
- LED light: A bright light on the powerhead guides you along as you work. It’s a nice feature, especially if you can’t fit your vacuuming in during daylight hours.
- Detachable, transparent dustbin: A clear bin lets you see all the gunk you sucked up. It’s a good visual clue but not a pretty sight. (And don’t take it as a comment on your housekeeping!) The bin detaches easily from the wand and you push a button at the bottom to empty it.
How Well Does the Shark Vertex DuoClean Work?
Who really likes to vacuum? Not me. And the Shark Vertex DuoClean’s weight (it tips the scale at 17 pounds), poor handling, and messy disposal system add a frustration factor that made cleaning my floor at home seem like even more of a chore. Admittedly, this may be a matter of personal preference—as I mentioned, I’ve been using a canister vacuum, which I’ve found much more convenient. And in our lab tests, the Shark happens to earn a Very Good rating for handling; only a few other models were judged easier to push, pull, and carry, according to testers.
When it comes to cleaning carpet, this Shark doesn’t have the same chops as some of its brand mates and competitors, earning only a Good (average) rating in our lab tests. Still, for a house like mine, that was enough. As evidenced by the dirt in the bin, it did a good job cleaning my largest area rug, which is in the living room and gets a lot of foot traffic. This Shark scores an Excellent in our tests for bare floors, but I found it a bit frustrating because it didn’t get the stuff that collects along the edges and wasn’t easy for me to maneuver around and under furniture and cabinets.
I wasn’t able to observe the self-cleaning function because I don’t have a problem with hair entanglements, although our testers say it’s a real asset. I tried both the upholstery and multi-tool attachments on my couch and found that the suction, which our testers rate as Excellent, was a bit too strong and made that task difficult. I gave up for fear of damaging the fabric.
If you tend to use attachments to get into nooks and crannies to clear out cobwebs above and crumbs below, you’ll be disappointed by the lack of extension of the hose and the awkwardness of toting the pod around as you work.
The Shark Vertex gets an average rating of Good for noise, according to CR’s lab tests. That didn’t bother me in the least. I don’t expect my vacuums to be quiet, and because I use one in such short bursts, it’s not a deal breaker.
We often say that upright vacuums are easier to store than canisters. Au contraire. This upright takes up as much space as my canister, so even though you can store it upright, it consumes about the same amount of real estate. And I should note that space is at a premium in my older home, where the only closet on my ground floor is very shallow.
Unlike my canister, the Shark upright doesn’t have a retractable cord. That’s a feature I really like and it makes storing a vacuum much neater. The Shark’s cord is 30 feet long, which is typical, but I could have used 5 more feet to reach the end of the living room without changing outlets. (Some of the uprights in our tests have longer cords.) Another nice-to-have would be an automatic pile-height adjustment. This one has three manual settings: bare floors, low pile, and thick carpeting. But some vacuums do the calibration for you and adjust the power head accordingly as you move from bare floor to carpet and back again.
Consumer Reports has full test results for the Shark Vertex DuoClean AZ2002 and dozens of other upright vacuum cleaners.
Who Is the Shark Vertex DuoClean For?
As noted, the Shark Vertex DuoClean gets middling ratings for carpet cleaning but is competent enough to be your main vacuum if you have a mixture of flooring that includes carpeting or area rugs, hardwood, and tile. And if you have a pet, go for it—this Shark earned an Excellent rating for getting rid of errant fur and fluff. But consider the cost: At a list price of more than $400, there are other uprights, including a number of other Sharks, that score higher in our tests and cost less. But if you prefer uprights and this model appeals to you, keep an eye on our deals stories because we often see it discounted during major sales events throughout the year.
How Consumer Reports Tests Vacuums
Our vacuum labs are full of vacuums of all shapes and sizes, from large uprights and canisters to slim sticks, handy handhelds, and speedy little robotics. Because of their different styles and configurations, we adapt our tests to meet each type’s capabilities. For example, you’d expect a handheld or stick vac to easily pick up Cheerios, but you wouldn’t expect them to clean up all the fur Rover has left behind.
Because we expect more from full-sized uprights and canisters, we put them through tougher tests. The main difference between the two is in the ability to clean carpet. Lighter vacuums just don’t have the same suction capabilities. To test uprights like the Shark Vertex DuoClean, we embed sand and a little talc into a medium-pile carpet and measure how much the vacuum picks up. For the bare floors test, we sprinkle sand and measure our success after a few swipes back and forth. The pet hair test is the most fun—and the most challenging. We take the fur of Maine coon cats and scatter, stomp, and otherwise embed it into medium-pile carpet. Vacuums like this one that remove all of the pet hair get an Excellent rating.
We also measure airflow through the tools. This attribute is important to note if you tend to use your attachments to clean upholstery and drapes or to reach up into the corners of the ceiling to get those pesky cobwebs. Our handling score is based on the weight of the vacuum and how easy it is to push, pull, and carry. And we gauge noise with a decibel meter.
To determine how reliable a brand is, we ask our members how they’ve fared with vacuums they own of the same brand and type. And as noted above, Shark uprights do very well. The owner satisfaction score is based on how likely the owner of this brand of upright is to recommend it to friends or family, and again, Shark uprights make a good showing, with owners overwhelmingly recommending them.
Mary H.J. Farrell
Mary H.J. Farrell is a senior editor at Consumer Reports whose real passion is for cooking and all that entails. She has expanded CR’s cookware category to include not only more pots and pans but also other essentials like stand mixer attachments, sheet pans, and vacuum sealers. Mary also covers vacuums but finds cooking way more fun than cleaning. Since the mid-1990s, Mary has held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. One of her earliest jobs was at Good Housekeeping.
