Shark VacMop review: a brilliant hard floor cleaner

T3’s Shark VacMop review in a sentence: A slick hard floor cleaner that works brilliantly but relies on disposable floor pads and Shark cleaning fluid to get the job done.

Much as I like the convenience of having hard floors, they can be a magnet for dust, fluff and dirt, all of which is less easy to spot with carpet. However, having a hard floor is also a necessity in some locations, like the kitchen or utility room. As a result, I’ve covered the whole lower area of our house with wood flooring, which is both a blessing and a curse.

I was therefore really interested in trying this, the Shark VacMop, which is a 2-in-1 cordless hard floor vacuum and spray combi-machine. It’s not going to be a replacement for a proper vacuum but has been design for quick and easy hard floor once overs. The idea is to suck up any dirt, dust and detritus and follow that with a quick light liquid clean, which is done by applying a fine spray of Shark’s own dedicated floor cleaning liquid.

The Shark VacMop isn’t going to replace the best vacuum cleaner models out there, or the best cordless vacuums either. Nevertheless, this is a natty home appliance that is going to be perfect for the likes of me and my temperamental hard floors. The Shark VacMop is similar to the Tefal X-Clean 4 Hard Floor Washer I tried recently, with the only downside being that the disposable mop heads are basically single-use only.

Shark VacMop review: Price and availability

I got the Shark VacMop 2-in-1 Cordless Hard Floor Vacuum Spray Mop Starter Kit bundle pack, as sold on Amazon, which costs £99.99. It came complete with a pack of six replacement disposal mop heads, along with cleaning fluid.

Shark also offers a lime green variant of this model too, which is also priced at £99.99 from Amazon.

Shark VacMop review: What is it?

The Shark VacMop is a cordless appliance, powered by an internal and non-detachable battery that’s charged using a power adapter. It’s been designed to mainly tackle sealed hard floors, although can be used on carpets for a light once over to pick up crumbs or fluff. The 2-in-1 design is stick-like and weighs in at just 1.51 kilograms, making it easy to lift and handle. It doesn’t come with a docking station, but can be hung on a hook in a utility room or similar to keep it out of the way.

Central to the appeal of the Shark VacMop is its convenience factor because it uses disposal mopping heads, that not only allow hard floors to be wiped over using a spray of Shark cleaner, but also to store dust, crumbs and detritus all within the throwaway head. This can be detached using a one-touch button, with the disposal mop heads going straight into the bin after use. Bought as a starter pack edition, the Shark VacMop comes with 6 disposable mop heads and 350ml of cleaning fluid.

Shark VacMop review: Is it any good?

Hard floors tend to need frequent cleaning, especially if they’re light coloured and show the dirt more easily than darker shades. The Shark VacMop is therefore perfectly suited to cleaning anything from sealed wood floors through to tiled surfaces. A big part of the appeal is that this is an appliance that is focused on ease of use. I’ve been trying it out on the hard floor coverings in my home, and it is certainly convenient. The Shark VacMop needs to be charged before use and, ideally, is best plugged in again after it’s been in action so that it is ready to go again on the next cleaning task.

Setting up the Shark VacMop couldn’t be easier. The disposable cleaning mop heads simply click into place and only fit one way, so this is virtually impossible to get wrong. Dirty heads that have been used can simply be unclipped using the press button functionality on the side of the articulated cleaning head. These can be ditched straight into the bin and replaced, although the obvious downside is the cost for replacements over time. Shark also advises to only use their own preparatory floor cleaning solution.

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Activating the Shark VacMop is a cinch too. There’s a trigger on the underside of slimline handle, which is depressed to start the power/suction. An indicator light on the lower body shows as white when it’s working as it should. Meanwhile, there’s a button on the top of the handle that needs to be depressed to dispense a spray of floor cleaner onto a hard surface.

This then needs to be worked over the floor area using a to and fro motion. Suction can be on or off when doing this. Adding fluid is easy enough and is poured into an opening on the body of the main unit. The great thing about the Shark VacMop is its rectangular cleaning head, which means the mop can get right into tight corners near kitchen units or along skirting boards.

Shark VacMop review: Performance

I have to say that the Shark brand always delivers the goods when it comes to performance and things were no different when using the Shark VacMop. Considering its svelte design, the battery and motor combination feels potent and it’s got quite a lot of suction. The downside is that the runtime isn’t as good, but I think this is justified as the Shark VacMop is very much a quick once over kind of appliance. I don’t expect to be using it for extended periods of time.

Equally though, the Shark VacMop is super versatile and incredibly easy to use. Those angular mopping pads are cleverly designed, so crumbs and fluff just disappear during a dry pass over a hard floor. I did this in my kitchen area to begin with, and things looked better right away. More impressive though was the spray option, which mists a squirt of Shark cleaning fluid across the floor. I then passed the pad over the damp area and it not only got rid of kitchen stains but also made the wood floor look the best it had been in ages.

I’m very carefully with the wood floors in our downstairs area as they are quite sensitive to moisture. However, the Shark VacMop doesn’t dispense too much cleaner if short pushes of the button are used, so it is easy to absorb cleaning fluid as the unit is moved backwards and forwards across a small area at a time. It’s also brilliant for spot stains and spills too, and can be whipped out if something like milk is splashed onto the floor and needs to be removed to avoid the inevitable whiff that comes with things like that if they’re not tackled right away.

I also found the Shark VacMop good at handling longer term stains, although some stubborn marks did need more than one pass. While the appliance is brilliant at what it does, there is the downside of the mopping heads going downhill the more you use one. Cover an entire floor area, like a kitchen or downstairs and it’s definitely a case of chucking the disposable mop head straight in the bin.

It’s obviously possible to do a one-off pass over a stain or small area, but the problem then is the pad will be moist and probably dirty if you put it away again. This is worth remembering when it’s brought out again as the pad might have dried out and be less effective. My thinking for the Shark VacMop is to do a whole sealed hard floor area in one go, which will reduce the wastage of mop heads and mean it’s going to be more effective over time.

Shark VacMop review: Verdict

The Shark VacMop is a great addition for any household with problematic sealed hard floors. There’s plenty to like about it, with excellent levels of suction and disposable mop heads that clean hard floors brilliantly when used in tandem with the Shark proprietary floor cleaning solution. This is a low-maintenance machine, which does require a regular recharge due to the fairly limited runtime if it’s delivering suction continuously.

A downside is the way that the replaced pads add ongoing cost to owning the Shark VacMop. There’s cleaning fluid replacement to think about too. The best way to maximise its efficiency is to do a once over across a whole floor at one time. That’s not always going to work for spot spills and stains though, so it might not be for everyone. However, the Shark VacMop is also quite keenly priced and is certainly a joy to use. Overall, then, the pros outweigh the cons here.

Shark VacMop review: Alternatives to consider

The most obvious rival that I can think of right now is the Tefal X-Clean 4 Hard Floor Washer, which I reviewed just before getting the Shark VacMop. There’s a lot to be said in favour of that appliance, with the main bonus being it has a mopping head that doesn’t need to be thrown away and replaced all the time. The trade-off is that it requires cleaning after use.

Elsewhere, the Eufy Mach V1 Ultra is another great floor cleaner. It’s expensive, but for good reason with brilliant mopping performance being the main factor.

Similarly, the tried and trusted Bissell brand is worthy of inspection with its Crosswave Cordless Max model, which is another solid performer. The Vax ONEPWR Glide is a popular option too, which might not look like it’s going to be that great but is super-efficient. An added bonus is that it’s very keenly priced too.