Shark Navigator Deluxe (NV42)

First off, I want to say that even though some of you people may think I’m kidding, I am most certainly not. This is as honest a review as I could think of, hand to god, scouts honor.

Let me just start by saying that if there was an option for 12 stars, I would select it.

Setting, 6 months ago: Very recent college graduates apartment, housing four hairy 23-24 year old young men and dogs (we dog-sit a lot). 4 bedroom/2 bath duplex, with finished basement/man cave on the edge of Boston. Hardwood floors, hallway runner rugs, area rugs, bath mats (eww), door mats, etc. etc. etc. To put this apartment into perspective, imagine a 2000 sq. foot freshly-licked lollipop that has been dragged across every door mat, barber/salon floor, sports arena bathroom, and toilet seat on the east coast. That WAS our apartment. No shame.

When we moved in, we grabbed a free Dirt Devil vacuum off the curb somewhere near Northeastern University. We soon found out that this acclaimed “devil” of dirt, was actually a glorified giant red leaf blower. This thing peppered our new apartment with the previous owner’s dust and hair. Naturally, we saw this and did nothing for 6 months, we are lazy college grads adjusting to the real world.

6 months later (present): We have decided that being adults was fun! The four of us, grab some refreshing beverages on a Sunday late afternoon, while we sit on the couch surfing Amazon for a vacuum. Do a little research on the best “bang for your buck” vacuums and find this swell looking piece of engineering, the Shark Navigator Deluxe (NV42). Obviously we sign up for Amazon Prime so we can get this bad boy in 2 days, because at this point, our apartment alert level for cleaning is at defcon 5. Fast forward 48 hours, our vacuum has arrived. Rip apart the packaging like little kids on Christmas so we can put this thing to the ultimate test.

We waited some time before writing this review to makes sure this thing lasted more than the opening phases of the cleaning gauntlet inside our apartment.

THIS THING IS A BEAST. It has cleaned every rug, bath mat, couch, toilet, and floor our apartment has to offer….without a single flinch or hiccup along the way. It has pulled the dog hair and other hairs (?) out of every nook and cranny of this place. Every ounce of dust and grime that has built up over the past 6 months, has vanished. It is lightweight, relatively quiet, and easy to use. Literally takes 2 seconds to assemble and then BOOM ready to go. It is an amazing vacuum. Another note, my parents own a Dyson vacuum and live about 20 minutes from me. The apartment was in bad enough shape where my parents wouldn’t even let me borrow their Dyson for an afternoon, out of fear of “damaging their vacuum.” In all honestly, this Shark vacuum works just as well, if not better, than my parents vacuum (and I have vacuumed many carpets in my day). AND FOR A QUARTER THE PRICE!

This vacuum is a godsend.

Another note: when we were reading through the reviews of this vacuum before purchasing, we read through the negative reviews. We believe in the “if you can’t handle me at my worst, you can’t handle me at my best” (or whatever). The top negative review was written by someone who was clearly incapable of cleaning. The way they described their use of the vacuum was as if they repeatedly smashed this thing into the base boards of their house. Yes, if you apply repeated head trauma to something, it probably wont work as well. Other “negatives” noted were that this vacuum hit them in the head when they were using the hose attachment, not surprised based on their complete review, but apparently it warranted an “Update” to their review. This resulted in a 1 star review (which is just wrong).

If you want a good and reliable vacuum that can handle the worst of the worst, buy this thing. If you are like the negative reviewer noted above, and it stops working, at least you wont be out $500+.

I give this item 12 stars. This is the Tom Brady (G.O.A.T.) of vacuums.

The review left by the college kid sealed the deal for me on this purchase. He was more than right. This is not a vacuum. It’s a miracle. It has a suction release valve on it. Because the suction is so strong you might need to lessen it to move it across your floor. No kidding. I don’t know why that feature is not number one in their marketing and packaging that this vacuum cleaner sucks so hard you might need it to suck less to move it. It pulls up my carpet as I go across it. After one test pass over a carpet, it pulled out half an inch of really fine nasty dust that my old vacuum cleaner apparently never cared about. It’s so fantastic my teenager couldn’t wait to use it in his room. He sucked up things you should not suck up in your vacuum, like hair clips and this vacuum did not mind. Just sucked it up whole without breaking the clip and I pulled it out of the top.

The wheels roll smooth and make turns. It’s quiet. It is easy to empty. I am in love. My children have all gone to bed, but honest to god I can’t wait until they wake up so we can vacuum some more and stare in awe and disgust at how poorly our old machine worked.

In my younger days, I cleaned houses for a living. I loved my Eureka upright and no one could tell me anything different. Hoover – forget it! The 200 pound Kirby – not a chance! My love for Eureka knew no bounds. I could even repair it myself, changing bags, or belts, no worries!

Until one sad day, it broke and I couldn’t fix it.

Time to go to Amazon and see what is out there.

First I went to Kohl’s, Best Buy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Costco, looking, taking notes, seeing prices, sizes, what options, what is good bad or ugly. I kind of liked the Shark. Came home, read all the reviews on Amazon (I am in love with Amazon and Prime, just saying.) Picked this one. Waited for it to arrive.

Put it together, not hard, didn’t even need help from hubby, Norman. Shazam!

I vacuumed my house, up down, all over. Each room, I emptied the easy-to-remove basket of dirt and dog hair and took it to the trash. There is a satisfaction that is indescribable in dumping that puppy out. Like the hunter gather women of old, to feel accomplishment of “I DID IT!” I sucked that dirt from my carpet and wood floor in INCREDIBLE amounts and neatly disposed it in the trash can. Oh my.

Empty it for each room. That way you can proudly say, “Hunny – in JUST your office – I got THIS MUCH!!” it’s amazing.

Then, for a thrill, after emptying the canister, for a fresh start – I put on the pet hair attachment and conquered the SOFA. Oh – My – goodness! JUST the sofa alone, with this amazing attachment, I sucked up enough cat hair to make two new cats!!! I can’t tell you how truly satisfying that was. (Yes, gross to think I was sitting on that sofa every day!)

Light weight to carry. Use the magic wand to do stairs. And the crevice tool for dead flies in the window sills. One suggestion, take the cord up and hold it in the same hand as you hold the handle, so it doesn’t wrap around your leg or furniture. Oh, and when using the wand, the body wants to fall over, just hold it.

Magical. Thank you, Sally