Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum - SV75Z

Q. Why I am qualified to review this vacuum and you should trust my opinion:

A. Because I own a cat with white fur.

In a nutshell,  the need to vacuum is frequently or more accurately - always.  It is a neverending battle. But, it is one that I will gladly endure for the love of my pet.   In addition to my white haired cat we have 2 other pets in the home that also shed but not as much.  I also have 2 children, a husband, and the messes that come with them.

I went out in search of a small handheld vacuum primarily because our other handheld vacuum was losing suction and not handling the amount of the white cat fur.  The cat had taken to sleeping on the kids dark green futon couch and the white fur was really obvious.  Using the handtools on my big vacuum worked but I wanted something that I could quickly pull out for in between cleanings.  Also, I had recently added dark brown stair runner carpet pads on our wood steps. They seem to be magnetic with cat hair, sand, and every bit of dust or dirt.   Getting dark brown wasn't a wise move in retrospect but I like the look enough that I will vacuum the steps more frequently. However, it is hard for me to lug my main vacuum up and down the steps and very unwieldy.   I found the Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum - SV75Z at Wal-Mart for $39 and figured it was worth a shot.

The need for something portable yet high suction was great and this fit the bill. The voltage is 15.6v which was higher than some of the others that were shelfed next to it. I don't claim to be an expert on voltage but I equated this to mean more power to suck (up the pethair).

It says that it is cordless and it is. Though at first I was confused... the vacuum needs to be plugged into the wall to charge in between uses. I guess I was thinking it would have some kind of battery pack or charging base. It is simpler than that, an adaptor that plugs in.  It comes only with a partial charge and will need to be fully charged before use.  It charges in a couple of hours but they say to charge it for 24 hours before using it.   You will be tempted to use it without charging it fully, don't bother.  When this unit has a low charge it really doesn't function well at all and has poor suction.  However, when it has a full charge the suction is great.  When plugged in to charge you will see a light come on.  The light just indicates it is charging - it doesn't go off when it is fully charged (I wish it did).  In between use they say you shouldn't leave it plugged in - I am guilty of doing this sometimes just out of habit of keeping it near the charger and outlet. 

For the past several months I have used this hand vacuum almost daily.  Every 2 or 3 days I have to plug it in and recharge it.  The running time on the battery does vary and if you use the brush attachment the battery tends to drain quicker. I haven't run the vacuum out in a single session but my estimate would be no more than about 15-20  minutes of vacuuming before the charge is completely gone.  The charge will noticeably decrease as you use it and you can tell by the sound as well as the suction loss.  This may seem very short but think about instances when you might be using a hand vac for that length of time. It is meant for quick pickups and does the job just fine for my futon, the stair carpettings, around molding, or for quick cleanups of kicked out litter around the litterbox, for example.  The only time I felt frustrated with the charge being too short was when I tried to clean my car out with it.


I am pleased with the suction and the results when using it.  The Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum - SV75Z comes with 2 attachments - one is a brush attachment and the other is a crevice tool.  You can use it with out any attachments or plug these attachments on (they are a little stiff going on and off but I am a wimp).  One issue is that there is no place to store these attachments when not in use. It would have been nice if they affixed to the vacuum someplace and clicked in place. 

Every time that you use the Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum - SV75Z you will need to empty out the dirt cup. As the dirt cup fills you can also notice the suction decreasing so you will want to empty it frequently.  Simply open it up, dump it out and tap out the re-usable filter.

The Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum - SV75Z is easy to use, so much so that my kids like to use it and vacuuming the steps has now become one of their daily chores.  My 11 year old is very good at switching the attachments and emptying out the dirtcup. He has fun using it to suck things up but he does complain that it is very loud. I would have to agree with him. Also, he is the first to let me know that "it needs to charge".

For under $40 this is a powerful little handheld vacuum that performs well and sucks great (when charged).  Is it perfect? No. Does it get the job done in a white cat household? Yes.







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Recommend this product? Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 39