Shark IF250UK cordless vacuum cleaner review

Bendable and cordless cleaner for anywhere in your home

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Maintenace

We found the cleaning process of the Shark IF250UK to be easy, and that’s something you’ll particularly want from a new vacuum cleaner.

If you disconnect the top from the rest of the cleaner, it’s a button press to then empty the bin everything you’ve picked up from around your home. You can’t take the bin element out of the cleaner though, so it means you have to hover over the top of your bin to be able to do this.

You can then also access any caught hair that’s easy to pull out, especially when compared to competing cleaners. Then from the top of the gun you can access the filters, which Shark recommends you clean out monthly.

We found the cleaner could do a journey around three large rooms and it wouldn’t fill up the bin. If you’ve got a large house, you may find you need to empty out a bit more often but the bin space is good considering the size of the cleaner.

The cleaner at the bottom of the vacuum will also need regular cleaning, and we found it got caught in hair after a month or so. It’s an easy enough process to pull out the runner from the cleaner to take this off, but it’s not a particularly enjoyable job.

If you manage to break an element of your IF250UK, you’ll find Shark offer replacement parts from its website too.

Cleaning performance and battery life

The Shark IF250UK is nothing if not efficient. We found it to be one of the strongest vacuum cleaners we’ve tested. It has limited modes though, which you may find a struggle if you have lots of different areas in your home.

One mode is for flat floors such as tiling or hard wood, while another is for carpet. Then in both modes you have the choice of regular or maximum suction. 

It'll probably take you a little while to get used to the forward pull when using the maximum mode. The first few times we used the cleaner, it took us by surprise how hard it pulled forward when changing direction but once you know it does it we found it easy enough to control.

We found the regular suction would work fine on flat flooring but if you’re planning to clean carpet it may be best to go for the maximum suction.

That will drain the battery much quicker though, and the estimated 22 minutes charge time from Shark is spot on. We found it would last for exactly that amount of time on regular mode, which was enough time to clean the flat we tested the Shark in but may prove annoying if you have a larger home.

For that reason Shark sells a version of this cleaner with two battery packs, which are easy to swap out at the top of the cleaner. You can pull the battery out from the top element of the cleaner and charge it away from the vacuum if you want to put it away or keep one on charge while you clean up.

Another thing to note is the Shark IF250UK doesn’t come with TruePet technology, so there’s no ‘Pet Power Brush’ like you can get on the Shark IF250UKT.

We’ve not had the opportunity to test this with pets around, so it may be worth looking at the IF250UKT model with the True Pet tech if you’re an animal lover and want that extra mode to keep your house clean.

Verdict

The Shark IF250UK is an attractive cleaner that while a little heavy and a bit cumbersome is easy enough to glide around your home to clean up.

With okay battery life and the ability to swap out batteries with ease, we think this Shark should be able to clean up your home in no time at all for a much more palatable price than some of the other big brands.

The cleaning performance here is particularly impressive with the most powerful mode being useful for most home owners. There’s no pet specialism mode here, so it may not suit everyone but if you’re looking for a high-end cleaner for an around average price, this Shark may be built for you.

First reviewed: March 2018

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.