by Furnishly | Jun 22, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Amazon Prime Day will be here before you know it. On July 12 and 13, Prime members can expect serious markdowns on a variety of home goods (and more!), and lucky for you we’ve conveniently discovered some of the items you’d be smart to keep an eye on. When such major sales come around, it’s a naturally a good idea to pick up some of the more pricey home gadgets and appliances you might’ve been holding off on. Well, all that waiting is about to pay off. One product we highly recommend buying at a time like this is a great vacuum. If we’re being specific, a robot vacuum is just the thing for efficient, hands-free cleaning, and you can snag one on major sale ahead of Prime Day.
The Shark IQ robot vacuum is currently a whopping $100 less than its original price, and nearly 1,000 five-star reviewers can attest to its impressive functionality. “The best robot vacuum I’ve ever used,” one buyer proclaimed. “This vacuum has great suction, cleans in a consistent pattern and doesn’t miss anything.” Be it hardwood floors, shag carpet, or a home with lots of pets, this robot vacuum’s strong suction power will leave every surface spick and span.
Of course, if it was just good at cleaning up, the Shark IQ Robot would be like any other well-built product in its category. But this vacuum also comes with a self-cleaning brush roll that removes hair as it goes along, meaning no more tangled strands in its bristles that threaten to cause damage to the machine itself. Additionally, it has a filter to catch dust and other potential allergens, as well as a large dust bin that you won’t have to empty out at an annoyingly high rate.
As with any smart device, incorporating a robot vacuum into your home cleaning routine takes some adjusting. One previous buyer shared that it took the machine a couple days to learn its way around the house, but from there, it was smooth sailing. The vacuum actually employs a row-by-row cleaning system before navigating to other rooms, ensuring total floor coverage. If its battery runs out, no worries — the Shark IQ Robot will return to its dock and get back to work as soon as it’s recharged.
We can’t overlook that this is a device that cleans without you having to lift a finger! (I think we’ve gotten too immune to the novelty of that aspect.) This is great for those busy days when vacuuming feels endlessly tedious. “I have a 120-lb dog that sheds everywhere and a toddler,” one reviewer shared. “The amount of hair ‘Sharky’ picks up is AMAZING! Sharky does the in-between vacuuming for me so I’m more comfortable with my toddler playing on the floor.”
Not only can you sit back and relax while the robot vacuum does its job, but you can also schedule cleanings on the SharkClean app, or via Amazon Assistant and Google’s Alexa. If you ask me, being able to cross one more item off your to-do list and come home to a clean apartment makes this robot vacuum worth some serious consideration.
by Furnishly | Jun 16, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
We love our adorable pets, but they definitely can cause some pretty big messes — their fur alone can coat every piece of furniture and rug you own. And you don’t always want to trot out the full-size vacuum to tackle the couch during Fido’s shedding season, but sometimes hand vacuums aren’t up to the task (even though they are considerably nicer to our backs and arms). Luckily for you, we stumbled upon one that is both lightweight and powerful enough to disappear fur and other annoying messes from your surfaces and furniture. Plus, it’s on rare sale. Enter: Shark’s UltraLight Corded Hand Vacuum.
With the same powerful cleaning ability as full-sized Shark vacuums, this pint-sized design has a sleek and tapered form that allows you to get into various nooks and crannies (think: in between couch cushions, beneath your driver’s seat, or behind the bed) to make quick work of pet hair, crumbs, dust, and more.
The main body of this vacuum is amazing as-is (with a standard precision duster head), but what really steps this purchase up a notch are the accessories it comes with. Attachments like a self-cleaning pet power brush and crevice tool allow you to ensure every speck of dust and fur is banned from your floors with each and every clean. Once the canister is full, simply remove it via an easy button in the back before continuing on in your cleaning spree. Oh, and have we mentioned the best part? This pick holds up in the aesthetics department too, with five (yes, FIVE!) chic colors to choose from, from rich navy and emerald to spicy paprika, chic rose gold, and futuristic silver.
We’re not the only ones obsessed with this hand vac, though — reviewers rave about the vac’s versatility and power, with one happy customer saying, ” I really like this vacuum. It’s powerful, super-fast, and easy to empty the debris canister out. The pet hair attachment works amazing, and the skinny attachment is absolutely perfect for getting in the cracks and crevices of my car.” Another reviewer touts its ability to, “… make a not-so-easy job easier and faster!”
Now through June 20, you can score the Shark UltraLight Corded Hand Vacuum (and all the awesome accessories!) at QVC for almost 50 percent off. That’s a deal you — and your home — can’t miss.
by Furnishly | Jun 16, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Britt Franklin
Assistant Shopping Editor
Britt is a stargazer and sunrise-chaser with a collection of magic erasers, and a fascination with the fantastic. A storyteller at heart, she finds inspiration in all the small things, and can likely be found singing show tunes, catching up on K-dramas, or going on adventures to satiate her natural-born wanderlust. (Sometimes even all at the same time.)
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by Furnishly | Jun 6, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Newsflash: If you own carpets and rely solely on a vacuum to clean them, they are still dirty. Think about it. Even the most powerful vacuum can only get so far down into the fibers, leaving behind a lot of ground-in dirt, stains, dander, and who knows what else. That’s why it’s so important to give your carpets and rugs a deep shampoo every so often, especially if you have pets or live in a busy, high-traffic home — and you don’t have to hire a professional or buy something bulky contraption to get the job done. Hoover’s PowerDash Carpet Cleaner can handle all the dirty work.
This Hoover is compact, easy to use, super effective, and (best of all!) on sale for only $87.99 (normally $99.99). Just ask the over 47,000 reviewers who gave it a five-star rating on Amazon, and they’ll tell you that this carpet cleaner is worth every penny. It weighs less than 13 pounds and spans only about 15 inches at the base, making it smooth to maneuver into tight spaces and slim to store between uses.
To get started, just mix water with some cleaning solution (free trial size included!), plug it in and you’re ready to go. The antimicrobial brush roll and handy nozzle cleanout tool get deep into fibers, and the HeatForce technology makes dry time much faster than traditional carpet cleaners. One reviewer was “flabbergasted” by both the powerful suction and the fact that the carpet dried within two hours.
Wondering how effective it really is? Another reviewer discovered that the tan rug in their rental apartment was actually off-white — talk about powerful! And a doggy daycare owner raves, “Holy moly! It picks up a CRAZY amount of deeply embedded debris, dirt, stains, and hair,” while another pet owner was “totally impressed” at how much gets picked up after only one pass.
by Furnishly | Jun 3, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Apartment Therapy received compensation for this post, which was written and edited independently by our editorial team.
I’ve always been skeptical of higher-end vacuums — partially because my parents have bought the expensive, trendy models, only to have them break within a matter of months. My mom is convinced we’re cursed, and honestly, I believe her. Because of my family’s history with vacuums, I’ve never spent more than $40 on one in case it disappoints me and breaks. But when I got the opportunity to try LG’s CordZero All in One Auto-Empty Cordless Stick Vacuum, which ranked on AT’s list of best vacuums for pet hair, I couldn’t say no.
The LG CordZero boasts a sleek design, powerful suction, and an auto-emptying dock that charges the batteries at the same time (the first stick vac of its kind!). Best of all, it leaves behind zero dust and worry. That’s not all either — this vacuum easily converts into a handheld vac, comes with plenty of cleaning tools and transforms into a mop with the included power mop attachment. The vacuum motor has a 10-year warranty and the parts have a 1-year warranty for your peace of mind, too. That all just sounded too good to be true to me, so I had to try it!
I live in an apartment with a slight bug problem and a cute but shedding cat. My cheap stick vacuum couldn’t handle Pepper’s hair — or food crumbs for that matter, so I unboxed the LG CordZero as soon as it arrived. Although this vacuum looked intimidating with its charging stand, it only took me, a person who once built her IKEA dresser drawers inside out, a matter of minutes to assemble it. I just had to slide a stabilizing platform underneath the charging stand, slot the two pieces of the vacuum together and put in the battery. It was sweat- and stress-free. Upon agreeing to try this, I was a little afraid it was going to take up too much room in my small-space apartment, but I was able to slide it right in next to my desk. It’s only 10.1″ wide and 11.7″ deep, making it easy to put in a corner (or even a large closet). The beige is actually my exact wall color so it blends in perfectly with my decor.
I plugged in the charging stand and let the vacuum charge for about an hour before testing it. When I lifted the CordZero out of the charger, I was surprised at how lightweight it was. Weighing in at 5.5 lbs., it only felt a little heavier than the stick vacuums I had used in the past. I turned it on “normal” mode to test the suction and noticed the vac, which makes only 84dB of noise, was much quieter than other versions I had used — the cat did not run scampering per usual but was curious enough to approach what was removing her fur from surfaces.
This LG model easily slides underneath my couch and coffee table without banging up against anything. It had no problem tackling the tile and wood floor in my apartment either. After I was done vacuuming, I put the vacuum on top of a blanketed ottoman that the cat usually sleeps on and tried vacuuming it. Months of fur build-up disappeared in two swipes with this vacuum. It was basically magic.
The CordZero has Kompressor technology, which compacts all of the dust and debris that you’re sucking up from surfaces. I was appalled by how much had been collected — it seemed like my floors were finally clean for the first time in months. Sometimes after vacuuming, my roommate and I will feel bits of debris on the floor, but that was not the case with this high-tech vacuum. The floors were spotless, and if I didn’t believe it, the LG CordZero has an app that tells you about the cleanliness of your floors and gives you a report on how your vac is running.
I put the vacuum back in the charger and within seconds it began auto-emptying into the concealed trash bin. The emptying feature is louder than the actual vacuuming and lasted for about 30 seconds, but the specs say that it can last up to 45 seconds. The canister and the head of the vac were cleaned out entirely — I had noticed some debris stuck in the head, but that disappeared. I keep the stand set to auto-empty, but you can turn that feature off. After vacuuming, I gave the mop a whirl. The spinning microfiber pads were able to get out stubborn stains and make mopping a quick task (and less of a chore), much like the vacuuming.
Because the CordZero has several different modes (Normal, Power and Turbo), the battery charge time can vary. In stick mode, here are the run-times: Normal (80 minutes), Power (40 minutes) and Turbo (12 minutes). When it’s transformed into a handheld vacuum, it lasts: Normal (120 minutes), Power (60 minutes) and Turbo (14 minutes). If you keep the stand plugged in (it has an auto-shut off after the vacuum is charged), you won’t ever come home to a dead vacuum.
Although this vacuum may be pricey, it comes with all you could possibly ever want. You get a Crevice Tool, a Power Mini Nozzle, a Combination tool, and an interchangeable mop head with microfiber cleaning cloths. The tools can be nestled into the stand, so they don’t take up any space or become eyesores. The mop head can sit on a latch on the side of the stand, though I personally keep the mop head underneath a cabinet with other cleaning supplies.
Overall, I was surprisingly impressed by this vacuum. I expected it to not live up to the expectations (or price tag) after hearing of friends’ $500 vacuums not fitting the bill. Cleaning is my most dreaded activity, but the LG CordZero makes it as stress-free as possible. And because it tackles every spec of debris, I feel that it’s actually making my floors spotless whereas before I was just pushing the dirt and fur around. I agree with AT’s assessment that this vacuum is the best investment for pet hair.
Plus, as part of LG’s Memorial Day deals (which last until June 30), you’ll receive three free additional bags that normally retail for $19.
Alicia Kort
Senior Commerce Editor
Alicia Kort is the Senior Commerce Editor at Apartment Therapy. She enjoys writing about cool finds and all things organizational. She’s based in Brooklyn and is from the suburbs of Chicago.
