I admire Shark Ambition. With its latest vacuum cleaner (recently unveiled at IFA), Shark is trying to solve two major problems. The first is that in many cases, simply lifting the mop pads off the floor is often not enough to prevent the dirty, wet mop from dragging across the clean carpet. That’s why the new Shark robot vacuum has a mop pad that automatically detaches when you’re vacuuming.
The second, and more interesting, problem is that robot vacuums tend to get stuck on small ledges or rugs around the house. So the Shark now has what I’ve been calling a “butt hitch,” to jump over obstacles in its path. At first glance, these two improvements are very, very interesting.and They work. “Is that robot vacuum stepping on the floor?” my husband asked as he propelled himself into the living room from the kitchen. However, as if to make up for it, the Shark fails at some basic robot vacuum tasks. If you’re interested in this vacuum, I suggest you wait for the price to drop and for the company to fix some basic issues.
I’ll smell you later
Setup is a breeze. It’s a cool-looking robot vacuum, with a docking station that includes a clean water tank, a dirty water tank, a dustbin with a remarkable 0.33 litre capacity, and a refillable odour-neutralising pod that keeps things from getting too stinky. It’s compact, at less than 45cm tall and less than 38cm wide, and very easy to set up. I downloaded the app and added the vacuum to it; Shark even provides a list of cute and fun names (I chose “Steve McClean”).
Photography: Adrienne So
Pre-cleaning mapping was quick and easy, and the vacuum didn’t get stuck at all. The map is a bit odd and not at all accurate, but it does manage to orient rooms correctly, and the inaccuracy of the map isn’t reflected in how the robot cleans.
When you start cleaning, you can choose to vacuum or mop (not both) and if you vacuum, you can select to mop or deep clean. I found this confusing as tapping the Clean button before You can select the mode (just a little residual PTSD from having turned on too many robot vacuums in the wrong cleaning mode and not being able to stop them, nothing to worry about). You can also choose to clean by room or to clean specific areas (more on that later).
The vacuum takes about 90 minutes to go through a full 750-square-foot vacuuming cycle, and it’s about 60 percent of the battery charged, meaning I could mop after I vacuumed, if I wanted to. Having a detachable mop pad meant I didn’t need to plan my cleaning in advance; with non-detachable ones, I have to make sure I vacuum before I mop. You also can’t track the vacuum’s live progress on the map. It’s an easy way to make sure you’re getting complete coverage — or it would be with an accurate map.
Three times you’re out
Photography: Adrienne So
On the surface, the Shark vacuum has DirtDetect, a feature that first appeared on iRobot’s Roomba line. Sensors on the bottom of the vacuum can locate areas with unusual dirt and focus on them. It’s remarkably effective with an iRobot, but not so much with the Shark.