Shark HydroVac Cordless review: a very effective vacuum-mop

Shark HydroVac Cordless review: two-minute review

The Shark HydroVac Cordless is a multipurpose cleaner that vacuums and mops at the same time. For this review, I tested the UK version, but there are equivalent models in the US and Australia (there are minor differences in specs, but essentially this is the same product):

• UK: Shark HydroVac Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner WD210UK
• US: Shark HydroVac Pro XL Cordless WD201
• AU: Shark HydroVac Pro XL Cordless 3-In-1 Cleaner WD210ANZ

There are plenty of reasons to admire this product. It’s powerful, and can tackle lots of different types of wet and dry debris on hardwood flooring, as well as freshening up door mats and rugs. This means you can do away with your traditional mop – should you be able to prize yourself away from it – and condense the number of cleaning tools you need. 

It cleans by sucking up the spillage as you push back and forth until the area is left looking clean and smelling fresh. It’s capable of tackling mess such as milky cereal, baked beans and biscuits. It works fast too. We'd expect nothing less from the brand behind many of the best vacuum cleaners on the market. 

It's not quite perfect. It doesn’t come with a crevice attachment, so you’ll need to use the vacuum’s head to get right up to the skirting and into corners, which can sometimes be tricky. And while it has a self-cleaning feature to keep the insides smelling fresh, you will also need to keep on top of the vacuum’s maintenance and clean and dry the dirty water tank and brush roll after every use, which can be a bit of a pain.

Overall, I was very impressed with pick up – both on finer dust and larger wet debris. I also like how easy the vacuum is to store on the charging dock so that it’s conveniently ready when you need it. It gives you a decent 25 minutes of runtime too – all in its handy cordless design. If you're on a tighter budget and don't mind a cable, there's a corded version that's cheaper. 

That's the short version – read on for my full Shark HydroVac Cordless Cleaner review.

Shark HydroVac Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner review: price & availability

• List price: US$359.99 / £329.99 / AU$399.99
• Launched: 2023
• Available: worldwide

While Shark sells small appliances worldwide. The cordless model I tested is the UK version, which has a list price of £329.99. The US version (WD201) has a list price of $359.99, but at time of writing was discounted to a far-more-affordable $199.99. The Australian version (WD210ANZ) has a list price of AU$399.99.

 If you’re looking to spend a little less and don’t mind a corded model, you can get a corded version in the UK and US. In the UK, this is the WD110UK and costs £279.99, in the US it's the WD161 and costs $249.99. Note that Shark recommends that you replace the filter and brush roll every six months, which is an ongoing cost. 

Two-in-one vacuum cleaner/mops can vary quite a bit in price, with the cheapest starting around £150 / $190 / AU$285 and going up to around £350 / $440 / AU$665. While the Shark HydroVac isn't the cheapest option on the market, the design has a lot of premium features, and I'd say it's good value for money. 

While Shark offers discounts at peak sale times throughout the year including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, at the time of writing the product is being sold at full price.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Shark HydroVac Cordless cleaner specs

Shark HydroVac Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner review: design

• LED headlights illuminate hidden debris
• Ample 500ml water tank
• Stylish charcoal grey design plus compact charging dock

The Shark HydroVac Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner WD210UK has a stylish charcoal grey finish and sleek body. The body is relatively light at 3.95kg, and the design includes an antimicrobial brush roll and a 500ml water tank.

Although you can't wall-hang this device, it does come with a docking station where the cleaner sits neatly when not in use. It’s the size of a standard cordless vacuum, so while it won't take up too much room, it helps if you have a large room or separate utility area to store it.

What I instantly liked about the two-in-one cleaner is how easy it is to get set up. Attach the body to the head by following the simple instructions provided. When it's ready to go, fill the tank with water and add some of the cleaning solution provided. The LED control panel on the cleaner is simple to read and provides info on battery life and cleaning solution levels.

This cleaner is designed for use on both wet and dry messes, and a variety of floor types. You start it up simply by leaning the handle of the device back.

There are two modes. In hard floor cleaning mode, it'll vacuum when you're pushing forwards and wash when you pull back. The device automatically starts in this mode when you turn it on. You can also switch to a freshen mode using the button at the top of the handle. In this mode, it seems to mop lightly in both directions. There's a self-cleaning mode that you can activate by pressing the start button once the device is on its stand. You’ll need to supplement this with your own cleaning, however – I'll get into that more in the Performance section.

When the device starts, LED headlights illuminate to help you see hidden debris as you vacuum.

It’s worth noting that while the Shark HydroVac Cleaner can be used on low-pile carpets rugs, the brush roll won't work on plush/thick long pile. If you’re after a cleaner for a thicker carpet, you’re better off taking a look at the Shark CarpetXpert Deep Carpet Cleaner EX150UK.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Shark HydroVac Cordless floor cleaner review: performance

• Effective cleaning on sealed hard floors
• Quite noisy in use
• Lightweight and easy to move about

If you’ve ever tested a cordless vacuum cleaner, you know how bulky they can sometimes feel. But I found this design reasonably lightweight and well balanced. It's easy to drive around the floor – both on hard flooring, mats and rugs. The head of the vacuum is wide enough to make good progress in just a few strokes, but not overly chunky.

There are LED headlights on the main brush head that help to light the way. While this isn’t overly helpful during the day, these do make it easier to see what you’re vacuuming and mopping when dusk falls and the room lights are low.  

On a full charge, it ran for 25 minutes, which was long enough for me to do a refresh of my hallway, dining room, living room and kitchen before needing to refill the water and pop it back on the charger.

In hard floor cleaning mode, the simple push-pull action is a joy to use, and perfect on the days that I simply needed to quickly pep up my dusty dark walnut hardwood flooring. I found it also worked well on tougher messes – for example when the kids had brought mud into the hallway, or spilt cereal under the kitchen breakfast table (Cheerios are the bane of my life!).

The HydroVac also managed to clean up baked beans on vinyl flooring within seconds, as well as sucking up digestive biscuit crumbs with ease, and always leaving a fresh smelling surface behind. The suction is powerful and I was impressed with just how quickly it got to work.

I also tried refresh mode on a doormat and my Persian carpet. I was a little apprehensive as I've tried wet-dry cleaners in the past that have left my carpet sodden wet. Luckily, the HydroVac didn’t leave too much residue behind. While it’s hard to tell whether it makes any real difference when freshening mats and carpets, I think the fact that it leaves behind a trace of multi-surface cleaning solution with odour neutraliser reassuring.

On the down-side, I found the Shark HydroVac could get quite noisy – ramping up to 83.1 decibels in use and really packing a punch for a minute or so when it’s in self-cleaning mode. Comparatively, I measured my Dyson V15 Detect Absolute at 76.4 decibels.

Maintenance

The HydroVac has a self-cleaning mode, which can be activated when it's back on its charging base. This helps freshen up the inside mechanisms and cleans the brush roll. That's useful because the antimicrobial brush roll can take a bit of a battering, depending on what you’re cleaning. Straight after cleaning up beans and biscuits it was looking rather dirty, for example.

That said, you will need to then empty the dirty water tank and also leave the brush roll out to dry for up to 24 hours before using it again. If you forget to empty the tank after use, the dirty water tank will start to smell as I found out on one occasion..

However, you'll also have to do your own maintenance work. After every use, I had to empty the dirty water tank and take off the brush roll (often clogged up with food or hair) to clean myself and leave it out to dry. While this is relatively easy, it is something to bear in mind if you think that the self-cleaning mode here does it all.

• Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should I buy a Shark HydroVac Cordless?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Shark HydroVac Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner

I used the Shark Hydrovac in my home for six weeks. In my home, walnut hardwood flooring runs through the hall to the dining room and living area and it’s prone to looking dusty if not cleaned regularly. I used the Shark Hydrovac to clean the floor daily. I also used it on the vinyl tiles in the kitchen and upstairs in the bedroom where we have laminate hardwood flooring.

I tested how well it did on targeted areas and scattered a section of the room with large oats – to mimic large debris – and a mixture of flour and crushed biscuits – to mimic finer dust. I was keen to see how quickly and effectively it could clean up the area. I also used it to clear up a baked beans spillage on the vinyl flooring in my kitchen and measured the noise levels of the vacuum using the Decibel Meter App on my iPhone. Finally, I also used it in freshen mode to clean the small carpets and doormats throughout the ground floor of my home.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed: May 2024