Glad you are happy with it. I love mine also, and agree about the cord being too low. Actually, if it had a retractable cord, it would be perfect! Makes you think that men design these things, without significant input from women.

Actually, if it had a retractable cord, it would be perfect!
I'm no longer a fan of retractable cords since the one on my upright quit working not long after I got it and it was too much of a hassle to get it sent off for repair. Often, the fewer moving parts on something, the better....just more things to go wrong.

Yes I had a retractable cord on my Kenmore and when it quit working then there was no where for the cord to go, hassle!
I am glad to hear you are happy with it.
My cleaning lady told me last week she sure was glad I had that vacuum and how much she loved it. I said well there are several people I know of that feel the same way LOL.

I do agree with the cord placement, it took me a while to find the holder so that it did not keep falling to the floor behind me. In case you have not found it either it is on the back side of the handle upright, just to the left of where the big cord holder is.

I also had to figure out how to make it have less suction by turning the collar to let in air, when I vacuum my big rug it latched onto that rug like a tick on a dog and you can not pull it loose LOL. Lots of suction!

I guess I've been lucky with retractable cords! I had an old Kenmore canister with a retractable cord for 32 years and it still worked fine, when I gave the vacuum to my son years ago. And I recently gave my father my 29-year-old Electrolux with a great retractable cord. Maybe the secret is in the age. The older things seem to work better!

Glad to see you are able to post again at the KT! Glad you are enjoying the new vacuum too!

Yes, Tamara worked some of her magic, and I'm back at the table.

My old, old Electrolux had a retractable cord that never failed. I agree, "old" is the operative word.

Mine is a lavender/purple? color. I don't know if it's a
heavier or lighter model but I like it...

Wanda, I have a Kenmore canister that is the same age as yours. It still works like charm, including the retractable cord. I love it.

My Kenmore Progressive canister is probably 12 + years and I love it. But I have been looking at the Shark navigator to keep in my kitchen closet so that I can quickly vacuum up the dog hair.

Does this vacuum work well on hardwood floors and tile? At least 2500 sqft of my house is tile and hardwoods. I need something to make cleaning easier.

YES! that is one reason I wanted it because most of my house is tile or wood. It has a special setting for those types and it does not blow stuff all over the place like most vacuums do. Plus it has an entire separate head with a dusting cloth that attaches to really clean those type floors. It is the only vacuum we use now.

I also have a kirby and the kenmore canister vac but they are put in the closet and will be sold at a garage sale.

this is what it says about that hard wood attachment
Dust-Away� hard floor attachment - vacuums and dusts bare floors in one easy step

Shark� Navigator� Lift-Away� Pro

Shark Navigator Professional Lift-Away Vacuum Cleaner - Model NV356E
at amazon

I have to laugh at some people who do reviews, one person gave a lower rating because she did not figure out that you had to unwrap the cord from the cord holder to use the wand! Well duh how can you use any part of the vacuum with out first unwinding the cord and plugging it in?? Just because you lack the ability to figure something that simple out don't blame the machine LOL.
over all it has a lot of very good reviews on the sites I have read. I use those reviews, I like to hear what real people who really own something have to say.

I also donated my Kirby, that thing was a beast.

I'll take a look at this one tho.....thanks Susan for starting this post....and giving your opinion....:0)

Thanks! I put it on my wish list to think about it.

Susan- do you still love your Shark now that you've had it for a while?

Since I gave my little kitchen Sanyo vacuum to my DD I need to replace it and I went to BB&B to compare the Shark and the Dyson Animal. Obviously the biggest difference is price - but I'm willing to pay for a quality machine that can handle the dog hair. While I still use my Kenmore canister in the rest of the house I want a bagless in the kitchen so that I can easily empty the bin and not have dog hair sitting in a vacuum bag and giving off a stale, doggy smell.

But I was surprised at how difficult it was to push the Dyson. The ball feature works great and it does turn easily but the overall weight of the Dyson made me decide against it. And that was just pushing it on the bare floor, it would be harder on carpet. I'm accustomed to my ultra lightweight Sanyo and even my Kenmore canister is easier.

So then I tried the Shark and while it is lighter and easier to maneuver than the Dyson I was still surprised at the amount of effort it took to push. Certainly much less than the Dyson but that's when it occurred to me that the reason is the weight distribution. On the Kenmore the weight is resting on the floor - either in the power head or the canister that I'm pulling. With the Shark there's more weight along the handle than I'm used to.

So now I plan on going back to BB&B and trying the Shark again and then trying a stick vacuum. The arthritis in my hand makes me more aware of the need for a vacuum that doesn't put too much strain on it.

We have the Electrolux Ergorapido Ultra 2 In1 Stick Vacuum EL1022A and love it!!!! Sells for around $90 at costco or amazon. Very light and works great onour tile floors! We have tiles throughout the house (Nicaragua) and some throw rugs and it cleans them as well. I'm pretty happy with it. My dad and my 2 sisters all have one and we are all pretty happy with it. Only only has about 20 min of charge time on the battery,maybe its only draw back.

I have the Electrolux AirForceGuy mentioned, and I liked it for about a month--until the stick vacuum part lost a lot of suction. I had a part replaced (I forget which part), and then it worked well for another month or so. Now I use only the hand vac part. I probably would have gotten rid of the whole thing except it was a gift from my daughter and I hate to do that with gifts.

Maire, I do like the Shark, although I wish I had tried out both the Pro model (which I bought) and the lower-priced lavender colored model, which is lighter. I don't need the bigger capacity since I empty it after each use, and with my bad shoulder I'm not likely to detach the canister and carry it around. The Pro model does have swivel steering, which I like.

When the Shark took a lot of effort to push, were you using it on a rug? Maybe the strong suction was holding it to the rug. Also, the On/Off switch turns on first for bare floors. When you push it further for rugs it engages the brush, and that gives you a forward assist. Perhaps yours wasn't turned on all the way?

Anyway, I'm not sorry I replaced my Dyson with the Shark.

Thanks for the update Susan. Neither vacuum was turned on because the store was really busy. But I'm hoping to go over when they first open in the morning and really vacuum. Both the Dyson and Shark had been used, you could still see carpet fibers wrapped abound the brush on one and both bins were dusty. And I will also check out the lavender one. Like you I don't need a huge bin because I'll empty it after each use.

Which is another reason I'll also research stick vacuums.

If the vacuums weren't turned on, that would make a big difference, Maire. Let us know how you feel about them after you get to use them powered up. With my Dyson (which is not the newest model), it wasn't only hard to push while vacuuming, but I found it a strain to move it into place, etc. Just very heavy.

Frog & Jan agree

I am still extremely happy with my shark Navigator Pro Lift away. So is my husband and my cleaning lady!

My kirby generation is put away to either sell or pass on.

Unfortunetly some people get duds, happens more than it should! All 4 of ours have worked with no problems. I use mine daily(Elctrolux) Thats 1 huge benefit of costco--easy to return things--well harder for me since I'm now in Nicaragua,lol

Thanks for mentioning Costco - my son has a membership - but they do have a generous return policy. That could play into my decision. I'll check to see what vacuums they carry.

Lazypup,

I have the same model that you do and same vintage. I got mine 3 years ago though and absolutely love it!!

Stacie