Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E handle pet hair well?
Yes, one pass on low-pile carpet removes visible hair, and two passes make it look like no pet lives there. The brush roll has self-cleaning bristles that prevent hair wrap.
What is the Lift-Away feature on this vacuum?
You can press a button to remove the canister and carry it like a handheld, making it easy to vacuum stairs, car interiors, and under furniture without moving the full upright unit.
Does this vacuum have a HEPA filter?
Yes, it includes a HEPA filter that traps allergens, which is helpful for homes with pet dander.
How long is the cord on the Shark Navigator Lift-Away?
The cord is 25 feet long, so in a 900-square-foot apartment the reviewer rarely needed to change outlets.
Can the brush roll be turned off for hard floors?
Yes, the brush roll can be switched off when vacuuming bare floors, preventing scattering of debris.
Multi-Pet Homes Need a Real Game Plan – Shark Navigator Lift-Away Review
Look, I love my pets. Three cats, one dog that sheds like a snow machine, and a kid named Sparkles who tracks in half the backyard every day. But loving animals doesn’t mean you have to live buried in fur. The problem is that most vacuums treat pet hair like a polite suggestion. You run them over a rug, they pick up the top layer, and the rest gets pushed deeper into the fibers. After years of trial and error – and a lot of frustrated sighs – I finally found a vacuum that actually earns its keep in a multi-pet home. It’s the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E. Sparkles named it “The Fur-Pocalypse Fighter,” and honestly, that’s pretty accurate.
Who This Vacuum Is For
If you live in an apartment, a small house, or any space where carpet meets tile meets hardwood, and you have at least two animals that exist, this vacuum is for you. It’s also for anyone who gets tired of bending down to pick up clumps of hair from corners. The Lift-Away feature lets you remove the canister and carry it like a handheld, which means you can vacuum stairs, car interiors, and under furniture without wrestling a full upright unit. It’s not a stick vacuum – there’s a cord – but the cord is long enough (25 feet) that I rarely need to change outlets in our 900-square-foot apartment. If you have a huge house with multiple levels, you might want a cordless model. But for small spaces with pets? This thing is a beast.
Key Specs and Features
Here’s what you get out of the box: a lift-away canister design, a HEPA filter, a brush roll that can be turned off for bare floors, and a large 1.2-liter dust cup. The motor is 1200 watts, which is strong enough to pull hair out of medium-pile carpets without bogging down. The brush roll has self-cleaning bristles – a feature I was skeptical about but that actually works. After every use, I check the brush roll and there’s zero hair wrapped around it. That alone saved me twenty minutes of haircutting every week. The HEPA filter traps allergens, which matters when you’ve got dander floating around. The dust cup empties with a button push, and the whole unit disassembles easily for cleaning. It weighs about 12 pounds, which isn’t light, but the handle is well-balanced. Sparkles can push it on hard floors, but carpets still need an adult.
What Works Great
- Pet hair pickup: This is the main reason I bought it. On our living room rug (low-pile), one pass removes visible hair. Two passes and you can’t tell a cat lives here. On the couch, the hose attachment works better than any lint roller. I vacuumed a throw pillow and the dust cup filled with gray fur – the cat was black. That’s how much was hiding.
- Lift-Away mode: For stairs and car seats, this is a lifesaver. You press a button, pull the canister off, attach the hose, and you’ve got a portable vacuum that actually has suction. It’s not a toy – it’s the same motor.
- Brush roll on/off: Switching from carpet to hardwood used to mean changing settings on my old vacuum. With the Shark, you just flip a switch and the brush roll stops spinning. No scattering debris, no scratching floors. Perfect for the kitchen after the dog eats.
- Dust cup capacity: I can vacuum the whole apartment before needing to empty it. With three pets, that’s a big deal. My old canister needed emptying halfway through.
- Filtration: The HEPA filter catches fine particles. I noticed less dust settling on surfaces within an hour of vacuuming. My allergies didn’t disappear, but they improved.
What Doesn’t Work So Well
- Cord management: The cord is long, but there’s no retractable mechanism. You have to wind it around the clips by hand. After a while, it gets annoying, especially when you’re in a hurry.
- Weight on stairs: The Lift-Away mode is great, but the canister itself is a bit heavy to carry up and down stairs. For a single flight, it’s fine. For two floors, your arm will feel it.
- Not for high-pile or shag rugs: The brush roll can struggle with thick shag. It will still pick up hair, but the vacuum might push the rug around. Turn the brush roll off and use the hose instead – that works.
- Filter cleaning: The HEPA filter needs washing every couple of months. If you forget, suction drops off fast. Set a reminder.
The Verdict – Buy It or Skip It?
I’ve owned this vacuum for over a year. It replaced a Dyson Ball Animal that cost twice as much and left hair wrapped around the brush roll every single use. The Shark Navigator Lift-Away is not flashy – it doesn’t have a digital display or a laser light – but it does the job reliably. In a multi-pet home, you need something that works every time, doesn’t clog, and handles both carpets and hard floors. This vacuum checks all those boxes. The only reason I’d skip it is if you have a very large house with wall-to-wall thick carpet, or if you absolutely need cordless convenience. For apartments and small homes with multiple pets, this is the game plan you’re missing. It’s not the most expensive vacuum out there, and it’s not the lightest, but it is the most effective I’ve used for pet hair. Sparkles gave it two thumbs up – and then she vacuumed the cat. The cat was not amused, but the floor was clean.
Buy it if you’re tired of fighting fur. Skip it if you hate cords or have stairs you can’t handle 12 pounds on. Otherwise, this is the vacuum that finally makes multi-pet living manageable.