Henry or Shark?

[Awakeforhours]

I’m in the market for a new vacuum cleaner.

I already own a shark which has been ok but despite cleaning the filters doesn’t clean like it used to and I find it’s a bit top heavy. I have a disability so I already find vacuuming hard work.

I have a cleaner to help things along for once a month and she uses a Henry. That seems to leave the carpet looking cleaner but I wonder how you manage to clean the stairs with it? I’m never here when she comes so I can’t see.

Does it get right in the corners? It will need to be good on pet hair and how does it work on stairs? Is it bulky and annoying and am I going to find it a struggle to pull around?
Do you have to buy bags for it?

all pros and cons gladly received!

Henry requires bags, it gets stuck in every door way and on furniture, it also falls over.....a lot. That said, I've owned the same Henry for over 10 years, it's still as good as the day I got it, the builders tried to break it everyday for 4 months, they didn't succeed and it's outlasted a Miele, Shark and Dyson, which were all vastly more expensive. Stairs, I attack from the bottom, you can get pretty much to the top with the hose. For all it's numerous faults, I will never buy another hoover, they are like marmite though, you either love them or don't!

I came here to say Shark but actually I agree with pp.

I've had Henry, miele and Dyson and I agree with the above poster. Henry gets stuck on corners and falls over BUT the bags rarely need changing and it sucks up everything.It' pretty indestructible. I have a dog and it gets all her fluff (she's poodle so doesn't shed like a lab though).It doesn't smell doggy like my utterly rubbish dyson did whatever I did to clean it .You pull the extending bit off and there's a handle for cleaning corners and stairs so I don't have to change attachments.The brush can get stuck to the handle though...oil it before you put it on.Its bulky so harder to store but I won't buy another hoover.Miele pet was the best at power but the bags fill up too quickly.

I came here via Active Conservations, and thought this a thread about what name to give your baby. I was going to say Shark was a stupid name, and to go for Henry.

But as for vacuum cleaners, I agree with the pp. I've got a Henry, and yes it's good but heavy and unwieldy.

I thought this was a name thread too! Although I quite like Shark, Henry is quite boring 😅

@Spidey66 I disagree I love the name Shark 😀

Henry is indestructible ( ours also survived a long build) and will outlast us all. However he's also heavy and cumbersome and so if you have a physical disability I think you might struggle.

We have both - our cleaner uses the Henry for the proper hoovering and we get it out if we're doing anything particularly heavy duty. And we have a Shark cordless for day to day crumbs under the table, quick runaround stuff.

Henry requires bags, it gets stuck in every door way and on furniture, it also falls over.....a lot

All of this. I split with Henry after a long time, he was replaced by a Miele, massive upgrade.

Hi, I'm a professional cleaner and have used nearly every vacuum cleaner going.
Although Henry can be annoyingly clumsy, they do last forever and I've never known one to break, unlike Shark and Dyson which are constantly blocked/needing new parts etc

Sorry totally not the point but when I first saw this in active threads I thought it was a baby name thread 🤣

In answer to your question. Had both and Shark is by far superior!

Henry and me had a final flipping over disagreement and I divorced him, they're indestructible but clumpy and a pain.
Now have a Miele 🥳

Also a Henry devotee, you can clean anything with it. We have a gtech multi too - I use Henry to clean the filter on that, it sucks up every last bit of dust.

Team Shark. I like Henry's bit my life is so much better after getting a Shark.

Dogs and cats, mix of carpet and hardwood. It does it all so well, and is easy to move around.

My only gripe is that the chamber is small so needs emptying more often but that's it.

I've had a shark and a Henry. The shark was great at the beginning but Henry has lasted way better! I will always choose Henry now.

Henry all day long, esp for pet hair!

Henry is an incredible sucker but an awkward unit.

It's also quite heavy so that might be something that counts it out for you.

I've never used a Shark but if you are looking for a lighter decent vacuum look at Miele. They do bagless but I find the bagged ones are lower maintenance.

I’ve had both band I’m going for Henry . The shark was nearly 3 times the price and was great for about a year then it just wouldn’t clean as well and the air it blew out smelt dusty . I like Henry , he’s never let me down

Me too @Spidey66, I have no valuable input on hoovers so I'll leave now!

Henry is what sent me scurrying for a Shark

House vacuum was a very old Miele cat and dog, which was so old it couldn't be repaired so when it died, I had to resort to the Henry ( the garage/ dirty jobs vacuum - husband is a builder ) and I hated it so much. The getting trapped at doors and furniture and the constant falling over made me vacuum less and less and with a dog and a cat, it wasnt long before I was living in a very hairy house that Henry just couldn't cope with

Now I have the Shark corded Lift away and its a pleasure to use, even DH doesn't need to be prompted to vacuum

For stairs ( I have a shoulder injury and can do this, its not hard work ) I use a dogs slicker brush and work it over top to bottom. I just sit on the stairs and work my way down and cos Im already sat, its dead easy to wipe the skirtings and bannister rods at the same time

Henry or in my case Hettie the pink one, indestructible.

I used to have a Henry but he was crap at dealing with my carpets. My Shark upright (which I've had about four years) is much better.

Are Henrys any good on laminate floors? We have a shark and honestly the bloody broom is more effective.

Yes Henry is a cumbersome bastard but there's a reason he is the choice of builders and cleaners alike and that's because he does the job properly.

All the bells and whistles and promises of all the other hoovers I've had in my life are pointless when they stop effectively hovering the bloody floor. Henry for all his faults actually gets the job done and therefore he gets my vote every time.

Our Henry is 12yo. We love him. It is clunky though.

However... they had to change the design a few years ago, it only has one power level now. I'm not sure if the newer ones will be as indestructible!

We also have a little Vax Gator handheld we use for awkward stuff like stairs.

Wait, what?! I don't think my Henry has a handle like this - is it a new thing?