Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 Review
A powerful and well-priced vacuum cleaner for dealing with pet hair
Verdict
A little larger and bulkier than some other handheld cleaners, the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 is nevertheless a well priced and quality cleaner for those looking to specifically deal with pet hair. It can tackle some other jobs, too, although pet hair is its speciality.
Pros
- Good price
- Deals with pet hair easily
- Simple to use
Cons
- A little bulky
- Long charge time
Availability
- USARRP: $89.99
- Europeunavailable
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- TypeA handheld vacuum cleaner that ships with a motorised pet brush for removing hair from carpet, couches and more.
- Battery lifeDelivers 10 minutes of battery, but recharging takes six hours.
Introduction
As pet owners can attest, the biggest problem of accommodating a furry friend is the amount of hair that gets everywhere. Sure, you can grab your regular (or cordless) vacuum for pet-hair pickup, but it can be a hassle if you’re regularly having to do that. With the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951, you get a grab-and-go vacuum cleaner designed specifically for this job.
It’s well priced and performs well, but it’s a touch bulky and not quite as versatile as I’d hoped – making it a unit for pet owners only.
Design and features
- Simple to use
- Dust cup is a little fiddly to empty
- Decent range of accessories
Bold, big and a little bulky is the best way to describe the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951. At 20.8 x 3.8 x 4.3in, this vacuum cleaner is a little larger than some of its rival handheld cleaners, although at 1.28kg, it still very much fits into the light and easy-to-grab category of cleaners.
Having a slightly larger body allows for the inclusion of a slightly larger 0.45qts dust cup on this model, which is typically bigger than you’d get with most handheld cleaners. Given that this vacuum is designed for sucking up pet hair, which can be bulky, this makes a lot of sense.
You eject the bin by pressing the button at the back, which springs the whole forward-half of the unit open. Make sure that you aim carefully into the bin, as the energetic eject action could result in dust and debris landing outside the desired area. It’s a little fiddly to get all the contents out, since a lip at the bottom of the pin tends to collate dust.
I found it easier to remove the entire bin from the vacuum cleaner, which allowed me to give it a good shake to get everything out, and even clean it regularly under running water. At the back of the dust cup is the pull-out washable filter, which requires regular cleaning to keep the vacuum cleaner in its best operating condition.
As with most handheld cleaners, the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 is simple to use. There’s a single power button on the rear that turns it on and off, as well as a large looped handle that makes it easy to hold.
In the box you get three tools: a motorised pet brush, which will be your main tool for carpets and couches, plus a crevice tool and stiff-bristled brush – the latter is great for lifting ground-in hair out. The pet brush is a self-cleaning one, which means hair won’t become wrapped around it, so you won’t have to experience the painful job of cutting filthy pet hair out of the roller.
This model comes with an integrated battery, which is charged by plugging the provided adapter into the back. It’s a shame there’s no charging dock in the box – this is an optional $29.95 accessory, which wall-mounts and provides storage for two tools.
Performance
- Short battery life and long charge times
- Deals with pet hair easily
- Can tackle some other small spills
To test the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951, I put it through my usual set of tests. First, I started with my raw power test, which measures the vacuum cleaner in AirWatts (a combination of airflow and suction power). Here, I got a score of 29.11AW, which is towards the low-end of what you’d expect from a regular cordless model. The Roborock H7, for example, managed 44.32AW on its standard mode.
But raw power is just an indicator of performance; it’s the quality of tools that often makes a difference to how well an appliance cleans. Plus, the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 has a short nozzle without a wand, so that suction power is available right at the tip of the tools you use.
I started my real-world tests with the carpet test. Here, I sprinkled a teaspoon of flour on the floor and gave the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 a pass (backward and forward) through the middle. As you can see, there was mostly a clean path, but the vacuum left a bit of dust at its edges, where the brush wasn’t quite making contact.
Still, with a few more passes forward and backward, it was possible to lift dirt easily enough from the entire carpet.
For the hard floor test, I sprinkled a teaspoon of rice onto the floor. A single-pass was sufficient for the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 to pick up everything along the width of the motorised brush. I could get the rest of the mess by the wall using a crevice tool. Impressively, no grains of rice fell out of the tool.
Cleaning pet hair is the main purpose of this appliance, and in this regard the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 did a great job. Combing cat hair into my test carpet, a single sweep of the cleaner was enough to pull out everything in one go. Likewise, I was able to get my velvet couch looking its best again quickly. I mostly used the motorised brush, but the hard bristle brush was useful for getting into the corners.
Battery life is around 10 minutes off a charge, which doesn’t sound like much However, if you’re just tackling a couch, a pet bed or a bit of carpet, it will be sufficient to get the job done. Recharge times are six hours from zero to 100%, which is quite long. As such, this cleaner is best used often for smaller periods of time, as you won’t get bigger jobs done in a reasonable amount of time.
In terms of noise, I measured the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 at 77.5dB – which makes it louder than your average vacuum cleaner, but it isn’t too intrusive.
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Should you buy it?
If you have pets and regularly need to tackle small areas of shred hair, this is a great little vacuum cleaner that makes it easy to clean everything up. It can do the odd job elsewhere around your home, too.
If you need to do bigger jobs regularly, the short battery life and long charge time aren’t ideal. In addition, this cleaner’s tools are aimed at pet mess, so those who need greater versatility should look elsewhere.
Verdict
At this kind of price, the Hoover ONEPWR Cordless HandVac (sold under the Vax brand in Europe), is the closest rival to the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951. That cleaner is a little more powerful and comes with replaceable batteries, but no motorised tools. It’s a good choice if you want a cleaner for kitchen spills and small tidy-up jobs.
With its motorised pet brush, the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ CH951 is a great choice for pet hair. It can tackle other spills, too, although the motorised brush isn’t great foe such jobs; you may need a few sweeps to pick up everything. Check out my guide to the best cordless vacuum cleaners for some alternatives.
FAQs
Yes, but it isn’t include; it’s an optional extra.
You get 10 minutes of runtime from a full charge, which takes six hours.
Specs
Jargon buster
AirWatt
A rating of how powerful a vacuum cleaner is. AirWatts combines suction power with airflow to give one score, where the higher the number is better.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.