Shark Rotator LA502 Review

Even though this Lift-Away dustbin on the Shark Rotator LA502 doesn't power the floor nozzle like in Powered Lift-Away models, it still lets you lift the dustbin and move around while using hand tools. If you've ever tipped over a vacuum while using a hand tool attachment, you might appreciate this feature like we do.

Carpet Performance

At first glance, we thought the Rotator did an awesome job, picking up everything quickly. However, once we lifted the dustbin to weigh the results, we literally gasped because there was so much sand on the filter. We experienced this same problem with the Shark PowerDetect AZ4002, so there must be some bin design issue that struggles to handle high volumes of sand in some situations.

The second time we ran this same test, it cleaned up the lane and delivered a stellar 96% collection rate without accumulating much sand on the filter. So what's going on here? We suspect a bin partially full of typical household dirt and dust bunnies could catch and soften occasional sand from ricocheting inside the bin and exiting it to the filter. If this is true, it's possible that the machine sucked up enough Cheerios and rice to soften the flow of rice in the wild vortex of air movement inside the dust bin, keeping it where it's supposed to be.

The floor nozzle rolled over much of the debris on the high-pile, leaving a smattering of rice, sand, and Cheerios. We don't believe the brush roller design can agitate deep carpet particularly well.

Hardwood Performance

On the forward passes, it easily rolled over the Cheerios, collecting them while also sucking up most of the rice and sand. We've found this successful pattern consistent with any Shark vacuum that uses a DuoClean floor nozzle with a tall, soft front roller and a second primary roller behind it.

We did notice some slight backplowing on reverse passes, but the forward direction was so impressive it didn't bother us much.

Interestingly, we did not experience any sand collection on the filter in this test as we did on low-pile carpet, indicating that sand might accumulate rarely and only in special circumstances, i.e., with an empty dustbin and a heavy load of sand.

Before Testing After Testing

With a head-on attempt, the Rotator collected most of the coffee grounds. It will be reasonably effective at nabbing crumbs that fall from kitchen counters and accumulate under the toe kick area.

Before Testing After Testing

The parallel pass was even better, sucking up all of the coffee grounds. This indicates that those with long hallways can use this machine to vacuum along walls effectively.

Pet Hair

This vacuum performed really well on low pile carpet, almost nonchalantly sucking up 86% of the hair! We were amazed.

When we flipped the cleaner head, there was only a tiny lump of hair caught in the tines of the brush roller, and only a small portion of the long hair wrapped around the brush roller.

While it only collected 73% of the hair on high pile carpet, that's still well above average. When we consider both types of carpet together, the Shark Rotator easily earned our recommendation for pet owners.

Filtration

The meters did not flag any notable spike from the room's baseline, indicating excellent filtration, which we typically find when we test vacuums that include HEPA filters like this one.

According to Dylos, any readings that do not spike more than 75 particles in the air are considered excellent quality compared to poor, which is noted from 1,050 to 3,000 particles. This machine is unlikely to increase sensitivities for those sensitive to pet dander, pollen, or dust.

Ease of Use

It was easy to maneuver around the cones in the obstacle course, and it glided right onto the bamboo mat, no questions asked. Many other vacuums stumble onto this hard, raised mat, and we think it did better than some of the larger Sharks because it weighs less, just 13.7 pounds.

We also liked the easy head swivel action for turning around coffee table legs, but the canister did limit reaching far underneath coffee tables, sofas, and chairs. The Lift-Away feature is non-powered, so it only allowed us to detach the cleaner head to gain some mobility for when we tested the hand tool attachments.

Many of Shark's dustbins have two compartments, which means you sometimes have to empty debris from both compartments, giving you an extra step. It's slightly more complicated than some dustbins, but hardly a challenge. The filters are easy to access and clean, and we can remove the front brush roller for cleaning when it eventually gets dirty. The main brush roller isn't removable, but at least there aren't any extra annoying tines or braces that make it harder to cut away wrapped hair or string.

Aside from coffee grounds, we think this brush roller will be handy for cleaning pet beds, furniture, and carpeted stairs, as we found during our upholstery test.

Should You Buy the Shark Rotator?

The Shark Rotator is particularly good at collecting pet hair from common low-pile carpets, and it's also great at cleaning hardwood floors, making it a versatile pick for pet owners with dogs and cats that shed hair, regardless of the floor type. It's relatively lightweight and nimble compared to larger uprights, making it easier to use for those with strength or balance issues, and its midrange price point makes it a solid overall value. Our only quibble is concern for those who often face sandy debris challenges because it occasionally shuttled sand to the filter in our tests, rather than keeping it in the bin.

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