The second was the wealth of new technologies that Shark boasted about with this vacuum when we got a first glimpse of it at IFA 2023. This vacuum has four detection technologies so that cleaning your home is more thorough than ever. When we were testing, we found dealing with high-traffic areas much easier thanks the the amped up suction and the FloorDetect technology makes transitioning into different rooms across your home much easier too. There's a suite of onboard tools which can be used with this vac too, Molly's favourite being the Anti Hair Wrap Power Tool which is great for upholstery and smaller jobs. How we test Shark vacuums

The Shark IZ320UKT was subjected to a month of high-intensity family use – it didn’t get away lightly with a couple of lab tests – I’m talking about broken glass, sand, mud, damp cereal, pet hair, trodden in garden debris and probably half a kilo of peas during that time. Shark has included its DuoClean head, which has a soft roller for hard floors and a brush for carpets. For this model, Shark has included its PowerFins tech, which adds fins to the roller to really get into carpet fibres and agitate dirt. It’s also got Anti Hair Wrap tech, which really works to prevent hair from wrapping around the rollers.I ran my carpet test to start with, placing a teaspoon of flour on the ground. Running the Shark IZ320UKT through the middle I got a clean collection of the dust on Standard power. Next, I ran the vacuum through the top on Eco mode and the bottom on Boost. There’s little to tell between the two, and it’s impressive that the Shark IZ320UKT can clean so well on its lowest setting.

Flour proved a bit more of a challenge. On hard floor, the vacuum collected enough flour from a 50g spillage in a single pass to register 50g on my scales afterwards, although close inspection showed it wasn’t entirely perfect, with some flour still left over. A few subsequent passes on the Boost setting removed the rest effectively. Dyson cordless vacuums typically have a longer run time than Shark models, but even the Dyson V11 Outsize will only last around 15 minutes if you continuously use it on the Boost mode. The newest Dyson models claim to have a run time of 60 minutes, whereas the latest Shark cordless vacuums have a maximum battery life of 40 minutes. The entry-level vacuums are less powerful and with smaller dust canisters, while as you move through the range the suction improves, as does the capacity and you’ll see the addition of handy tech that ensures the vacuum cleaner can be converted in handheld mode or stops hair getting tangled around the brush bar. Emptying the dust cup on any vacuum isn’t exactly fun and that’s why it’s important to consider the size of the dust bin on a new vacuum cleaner. Dyson cordless vacuums take the trophy here with bigger dust cups (the Dyson Outsize Absolute has a capacity of 0.5 gallons, whereas the Shark Pet Plus holds up to 0.085 gallons of dust and dirt. We really like to get a hands-on experience with the products which we feature across Ideal Home, in line with our testing protocol. It means that we get tounderstand more about whatyouare getting for your money.We were very excited to test the brand new Shark Detect Pro for a few reasons. The first is that it's unbelievably lightweight, at just 2.76kg, so your days of lugging around a heavy vacuum are behind you. Anti Hair Wrapoffers a self-cleaning brush roll thanks to an in-built comb. This removes pet and human hair before it gets the chance to get tangled. I then combed cat hair into the carpet and ran over it using the standard power setting. Again, everything was collected with ease.

I measured the Shark IZ320UKT at 71.2dB (Eco), 75.4dB (Standard) and 76.8dB (Boost). That’s about average for a cordless vacuum cleaner with this much power. The Shark IZ201UK Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is one of the best vacuum cleaners for pet hairon the market. It has a 0.7 litre dustbin which, while not the largest, is adequate for cleaning most homes without the need to empty mid-way. We also enjoy how lightweight it is, at just over 4 kg. With its 4.58kg weight, the Shark IZ320UKT sits about in the middle of the cordless pile, balancing weight against power. I found it very easy to move around, with the floor head dashing around carpets and hard floors, and the LED headlights helping in darker areas.Since 2018, Dyson has been focussing on cordless vacuums, and while the brand does offer a handful of corded upright vacuums and in the US and Australia, canister-style floor cleaners (often referred to as cylinder vacuums or barrel vacuums), its biggest range of floor cleaners are wire-free.