Shark Detect Pro [IW1111, IW3511, IW3615] Vacuum Review

Build quality is only okay. The vacuum is made mostly from plastic, though it does have a lightweight metal wand, not to mention solid rubber wheels on its floorhead and a textured rubber grip. Overall, it doesn't feel particularly robust: the vacuum's floorhead is quite heavy, causing the wand to creak and flex slightly when the appliance is lifted from its handle. Check out the Shark PowerDetect Cordless if you want a better-built Shark cordless vacuum.

On the upside, this vacuum is very easy to take apart and put back together, with intuitively-placed release latches.

The Shark Detect Pro is fairly easy to maintain but has many parts that need periodic cleaning.

• Dirt compartment: The vacuum's dustbin can be emptied by either setting it on its self-empty dock or by hand. If you'd like to empty it by hand, you'll need to detach the wand and press the grey door release button before dumping out any accumulated debris into a trash bin; if you don't go for a variant of this vacuum with a self-empty dock, you'll be doing this pretty often, due to the dustbin's small size. You can also wipe it out with a clean cloth or rinse it under water if it's especially dirty. Just let it dry for at least 24 hours before reinstalling it.
• Floorhead: You can clean the floorhead's brushroll by hitting the release button on the side of the head and then sliding the brushroll off. Despite its 'self-cleaning' design, it can easily get tangled up with hair. On the upside, you can pull away any stuck-on hair without much difficulty, with no scissors required. You can also clean it as needed underwater, but let it dry completely before reinstalling it.
• Vacuum pre-filter: You can access the pre-filter by opening the dustbin's lower door, depressing the two release buttons inside, then sliding the dirt compartment away. There's no specific maintenance interval, so rinse it under water as needed. Leave it to dry for at least 24 hours before reinserting it back into the vacuum.
• Vacuum HEPA filter: Twist the filter cover at the top of the vacuum and remove the filter cover to access the HEPA filter. It's recommended that you clean it once a month, either by tapping it against the side of a trash bin to dislodge any dirt or debris or, in cases where it looks especially soiled, rinsing it under water. If you do the latter, leave it to dry for at least 48 hours.
• Floorhead sensors: You can simply wipe down the edge sensors, light sensors, and dirt sensors on the vacuum's floorhead with a clean microfiber cloth whenever you notice that they're getting dusty.
• Dock station dustbin: You can simply lift the docking station's dustbin free. Pressing the release button on its side drops open the bottom door, allowing you to dump out any accumulated debris. You should empty it whenever the indicator says it's full.
• Dock station pre-motor filters: The two foam filters for the docking station are only accessible after you've lifted away the station's dirt compartment. You should rinse them under water once a month and leave them to dry for at least 24 hours.
• Dock station motor filter: The main dock filter is found behind the door on the side of the docking station; after opening it up, you can just take it out using the pull tab. Like the foam pre-filters, you should rinse it under water once a month and leave it to dry for at least 24 hours.

If you buy a variant of this vacuum bundled with a self-empty docking station, know that this accessory incurs its own separate set of recurring costs.

• Vacuum HEPA filter: No replacement interval is given for the HEPA filter, but Shark does recommend replacing it "regularly." You can buy a replacement here.
• Vacuum pre-motor filter: Once again, the manufacturer doesn't give a specific replacement interval for this filter, only recommending that you replace it "regularly."
• Dock station pre-motor filters: No replacement interval is given for the dock station's pre-motor filters. You can buy a new set here.
• Dock station motor filter: No replacement interval is given for the dock station's motor filter. You can buy a new one here.
• Odor-Neutralizer cartridge: The odor-neutralizing cartridge in the cleaning dock should be replaced every six months. You can buy a replacement here.

The Shark Detect Pro is pretty easy to store. The vacuum itself is quite compact, though its docking station does take up quite a bit of room. If you go for a model without the self-empty station, you can stow it in such a way that decreases its vertical footprint by detaching the motor unit from its wand and mounting it just above the floorhead, as seen here. Some models also come with a storage clip for attaching accessories when not in use.

If you take into account the Shark Cordless Detect Pro's self-empty station, the overall debris capacity is quite large. The vacuum's internal dustbin has a capacity of 0.11 gal (0.40 L), which falls well short of larger Shark stick models like the Shark Stratos Cordless. It's also worth noting that the vacuum will stop its suction motor when it detects that its internal dustbin is full. The LED display at the back of the body will also flash red. Its docking station has a capacity of 0.63 gal (2.4 L), which is a little less than the Samsung Bespoke Jet's bundled Cleaning Station, which uses high-capacity dustbags as opposed to the Shark's bagless design.

• Shark Detect Pro vacuum
• Hand Vac (vacuum body/motor unit)
• Hand Vac dustbin
• Floorhead
• QuadClean™ Multi-Surface brushroll
• HEPA filter
• HEPA filter cover
• HEPA filter locking ring
• Pre-filter
• Wand
• 1x Battery
• User Guide
• Tools and brushes
  • Crevice tool
  • Upholstery tool + Soft Brush Attachment
  • Wand clip
• Docking station
  • Charging post
  • Auto-Empty Dock base
  • Dock dustbin
  • Dock motor filter
  • Dock motor filter door
  • Dock exhaust foam filters
  • 1x Odor Neutralizer cartridge

Since it's a cordless vacuum, its range is limited only by the remaining battery life and room left in its dirt compartment.

This is a very lightweight stick vacuum, weighing noticeably less than full-size cordless stick vacuums like the Dyson Gen5detect.

The battery performance is decent. When the vacuum is set to its most powerful 'BOOST' suction mode with its wand and vacuum head attached, it supplies a little over 10 minutes of runtime. Using it as a hand vacuum in its most energy-efficient 'ECO' mode increases its runtime to over an hour, which is quite good as far as cordless vacuums go. Models with an XBATR525DC battery pack won't for as long; Shark advertises a 40-minute runtime for those models, as opposed to the 60-minute claim for variants like the IW3511 that come with an XBTR625KDC battery pack.

The Shark Detect Pro has a few quality-of-life features. As the name implies, it's capable of detecting a number of elements while cleaning. Its floorhead features sensors for detecting dirt, surface type, walls, and ambient light. All of these sensors are enabled when the vacuum is left in its 'AUTO' power mode, allowing it to automatically boost suction when passing over an area with a lot of debris, maneuvering onto carpets, or cleaning along walls. The LED indicator light will change color depending on debris levels:

• Blue: No heavy debris detected
• Orange: Debris is being cleaned
• Red: Heavy debris detected

The floorhead's headlight will also illuminate when cleaning darker areas. There are two other cleaning modes: the energy-saving 'ECO' mode and the high-power 'BOOST' mode. You can cycle between these modes by pressing the 'Fan' button at the back of the body.

The self-empty dock has a 'Quiet' mode button, seen here, which prevents the self-empty function from running at night. The dock also has an odor-neutralizing cartridge mounted in the floorhead, and you can adjust its intensity by twisting the cartridge in its slot; do note that it can become overwhelming if you leave it at its highest intensity level.

The Shark IW3511 comes with a couple of attachments. There's a crevice tool for cleaning tight spots and a combination upholstery tool/hard-bristle brush for cleaning furniture and dealing with stubborn dirt.

The top-end AMZIW3615 model comes with a miniature turbo brush.

You can use this vacuum as a handheld by removing its wand and floorhead.

This vacuum delivers great overall performance on hard floors. It's highly effective in dealing with larger debris like cereal pieces as well as medium-sized debris like rice, clearing the majority of debris within a single back-and-forth pass. That said, despite its 'EdgeDetect' function, a small amount of material can be left along walls.

Performance on high-pile carpet is poor. While it clears away larger debris like cereal and the majority of medium-sized debris like rice within a single pass, its floorhead doesn't provide the necessary level of agitation to lift away finer debris like cereal that's been pressed into carpet fibers.

This vacuum delivers okay performance on low-pile carpet when left in its 'AUTO' setting. As with its performance on other surface types, it's quite effective in dealing with larger debris like cereal. That said, you'll probably need to make an extra pass or two to fully clear away smaller debris like rice or sand, especially along walls and in corners.

This vacuum does a great job of handling pet hair on low-pile carpet. It'll clear away all but the most heavily embedded strands of hair within a single back-and-forth pass. That said, its floorhead is somewhat tangle-prone.

The Shark Detect Pro's suction force, measured from its floorhead, is pretty poor. It may have some trouble lifting away heavier material in deeper crevices. You'll want to remove its wand and floorhead and clean these sorts of areas using its crevice tool instead.

The Shark Detect Pro's airflow performance is middling. Despite advertising that this vacuum will perform similarly to the Shark Stratos Cordless, airflow also falls some way short. As such it might have some trouble with especially heavy debris.

The Shark Cordless Detect Pro isn't too loud. It's loud enough to just about mask nearby conversation at a normal volume, but it's unlikely to be too disruptive if you use it in a partially enclosed room. The vacuum dock emits a 71.2 dBA sound when working, so you might want to have it run off-peak hours.

Maneuverability is good, but there are a few caveats. The Detect Pro's floorhead pivots well enough, but the overall flimsy nature of the vacuum's construction causes it to wobble slightly when it's pushed forward and to move slightly in unintended directions. The floorhead is also relatively heavy and gives the vacuum an unbalanced, nose-heavy feel. Its floorhead also gets stuck on thick, shag-pile rugs. On the upside, removing the wand and floorhead and attaching the included attachments for cleaning furniture or shelves is easy. IW3611UK and AMZIW3615 model variants come with a flexible wand, similar to the one found on the Shark Stratos Cordless, that would make cleaning under tables and chairs easier since you don't have to bend as deeply.

This vacuum does a great job of handling pet hair on fabric furniture with its upholstery tool, as it easily clears away the vast majority of short and long strands of hair within a single pass. The dirt-detection feature still works when the vacuum is being used handheld, boosting and throttling suction as needed.

The Shark Cordless Pro effectively seals fine allergens, partly thanks to its onboard HEPA filter. The self-empty dock station also has a HEPA filter, but we haven't evaluated its particle filtration performance.

When left in its 'AUTO' mode, the Shark Cordless Detect Pro's crevice cleaning performance is poor. Its dirt detection feature seemingly doesn't pick up on debris in thinner cracks, and the vacuum doesn't have the power to lift away material in deeper crevices. We also ran the vacuum in its max-power 'BOOST' mode for this test, which resulted in only a marginal improvement in performance, as seen here.

This vacuum has no impact on stains.

The Shark Cordless Detect Pro isn't rated to suck up liquid spills.