Our team has tested different brands and models to find out the best vacuum for shag carpet. To remove dirt and ensure sustainable usage, you need to be cleaning your carpets regularly. The problem is cleaning this kind of sensitive material with high piles is not an easy job. With the help of a good vacuum cleaner, this job can be easier and less time-consuming. There are hundreds of new models of vacuum cleaners available in the market. Let’s have a look at some of the best on the market.
Best Vacuum for Shag Carpet 2020
Table of Contents
| Model | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Electrolux UltraFlex Canister Vacuum | Bagless Canister | $$$ |
| Miele Complete C3 Soft Carpet Vacuum | Bagged Canister | $$$$ |
| Kenmore Bagless Canister 22614 | Bagless Canister | $$$ |
| Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless UH70120 | Bagless Upright | $$ |
| Bissell Clean View Plus with OnePass 9595 | Bagless Upright | $ |
| Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E | Bagless Upright | $$$ |
Before we jump in to look at the best ones, ask yourself a couple of questions. As well as the shag rug, what other issues are you faced with? Do you have pets, is long hair an issue? Would a multi-floor cleaner be better for your home as opposed to one that can only clean shag rugs/ carpets? How much do you want to spend on your new machine etc?
What should you look for?
To find the best vacuum for a shag rug we have broken down some of the various options.
* Canister or Upright?
To clean your high pile shag rug then a canister can be more helpful than the upright vacuum. Canister vacuums are powerful for deep cleaning the high pile of a shag carpet along with all the other types of floors.
Many upright vacuums are specially made for shag carpets. These vacuums have an adjustable height function that helps you to clean the carpet without making the vacuum hard to push or damage any other type of flooring you may have.
So, between the two, the decision is purely based on personal preference.
* Vacuum Without a Beater Brush
Cleaning your shag carpet with a beater bar head is unadvisable. Using a beater bar could pull the fibers from the yarn or lose the twist of the fibers. You will end up harming your shag carpet if you use either a beater bar or a brush roll. So while cleaning your shag carpet, just attach the suction only nozzle. To clean your other regular carpets, you can use the beater bar.
* Easy To Push
Sometimes the thick pile fibers of shag carpet can jam the opening of the vacuum cleaner and make it impossible to push. This is a usual problem for heavy suction upright vacuums. Avoid those vacuums if you want to use it for cleaning a shag carpet.
* Deep Cleaning Suction
Good suction power is very important to deep clean your shag carpet. The objects and dust particles can easily get trapped inside the threads and the surface of your carpet. You could buy a canister or upright vacuum that comes with good suction power.
* Adjustable Height
While choosing a good vacuum for shag carpet, a height adjustment feature is a must to look for. I’ve seen many powerful suction vacuums which are very hard to move across long pile carpets. You need the feature to adjust the height of the vacuum and set it to the level where it is neither very easy nor hard to push. If you are buying an upright, it is better if you can adjust the height of the upright vacuum.
* Large Wheels
Tiny wheels can easily get stuck in the long threads of the carpet. Go for a vacuum that contains large wheels. Large wheels make the vacuum easy to move and prevent any kind of a tangled mess.
* Suction & Air Flow Control
The suction power is very important for deep cleaning the carpet. But each carpet needs an optimum level of suction and wind power for cleaning. So, look for a vacuum that lets you control suction and airflow.
Check Bestselling Vacuums for Shag Carpets from Amazon
Best Vacuum for High Pile Carpet or Shag Carpet
1. Electrolux UltraFlex Canister Vacuum
Are you looking for the best vacuum cleaner to clean your shag carpets? My answer is the Electrolux UltraFlex Bagless Canister Vacuum Cleaner. It has passed many stringent tests that can prove it is a good vacuum for shag carpets.
This vacuum is specially designed for soft and super plush carpets. I love the way you can have full control of all of the features. You can manually control the suction power; you can easily on/off the brush roll and most importantly, you can manually adjust for the pile height.
It has everything that you need as a vacuum for a high pile carpet. It also contains two big-size wheels, so the shag threads never get tangled. I just love the design and the modern look of this vacuum.
The weight is very easy to carry and good for pushing over carpets. The powerful 12 amp suction can easily clean rugs, high pile carpets, and bare floors. It is one of the best choices if you have a big house and need a machine for heavy and regular cleaning.
It is also a good choice if you have any issues with the cleaning of pet hair. The suction power is excellent on pet hair and dander. The self-cleaning brushroll technology will prevent the brushroll from getting tangled.
All of the four attachment tools, along with the crevice tool are easy to use and come in very handy while cleaning different types of surfaces. Overall, it is very good value for money.
2. Miele Complete C3 Soft Carpet Vacuum
This bag equipped canister vacuum is a high profile vacuum cleaner from the very well-known brand Miele. To clean heavy-duty carpeting, you probably won’t get a better vacuum than this. I can personally recommend this model as the best vacuum for a shag rug. It works very well on shag carpets and long pile carpets. If you do have a long shag rug that gets regular use then you can’t go wrong with the Miele. It has all the features that you need to clean your rugs and shag carpets.
The suction is very powerful, and you have full control over it. Adjust the suction to whatever you need to clean your shag carpet. Even on low power, it easily drags up the dirt and hair from the pile.
You can control the height adjustments as you need. Also, you can quickly switch off the brush roll while cleaning sensitive things like your shag carpet. I also love the led light attached in front of the beater bar. It helps while operating in dark places like under tables or dimly lit rooms.
Miele is very well known for its quality vacuum cleaners. With lots of power and super comfortable features, this vacuum cleaner does cost more than a lot of other vacuums on the market. I would rather spend my money on something that does a great job and that will last. This vacuum is going to be long-lasting with proper use and can save you money in the long run. It is a great choice if you are looking for a good vacuum cleaner for your high pile carpet.
3. Kenmore Bagless Canister 22614
Kenmore Bagless Canister is also a good vacuum for cleaning your shag carpets. If you don’t want to mess about buying and changing bags, then you should be more comfortable with a canister vacuum.
Like most other canister vacuums, the Kenmore is very easy to operate and cleans your carpets effortlessly. With 11 amps of power suction, it can easily tackle anything in its path.
When you need to vacuum shag carpet you can just switch off the brush to prevent you from doing any harm to your soft shag carpet by using the handy switch near the handle of the vacuum. You can clean the long piles of your shag rug with the crevice tool that comes with the vacuum cleaner.
You can work with the brush on short pile carpets and the suction along with the brush is very useful to clean dirty carpets. I tested it by vacuuming thick carpets and rugs that don’t have long piles and it worked really well.
It is an excellent vacuum for pet owners and comes with a motorized pet power mate tool that picks up the pet hair effortlessly.
The only thing I’m not particularly happy about is the size of the dust cup. It is easy enough to clean the dust cup but obviously, you need to clean it more frequently due to the lack of size.
4. Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless UH70120
The Hoover Wind Tunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless upright vacuum is quite a traditional looking vacuum and is highly recommended as one of the best vacuums for high pile carpet. This easy to use vacuum has good suction power and comes with a five-position carpet height adjustment which is very useful for different floors and carpets.
If you need to clean your shag carpet regularly and you are looking for a good vacuum that is already tested by thousands of other users then this is the vacuum for you. I have heard from a lot of satisfied users who love this vacuum for cleaning multi types of floor and is very useful for medium to heavy use.
It is a bagless vacuum that contains a fairly large dust cup. The HEPA Filtration system is vital for those who have allergy problems by trapping any dust particles within the filtration system.
It’s an all-feature vacuum cleaner that costs much less than other vacuums available in the market so if you are on a budget then it is an excellent choice and a great value for money purchase.
On the negative side, I did find the tangled brush roll very irritating. So if you have pets and need to do a lot of long pet hair vacuuming, then you need to clean the brush roll more regularly. Also, it does not have a brush roll switch on the system. So while cleaning a shag rug, you cannot use the beater bar; instead, try cleaning with the crevice tool. Your shag carpet will easily get clean with that.
5. Bissell Clean View Plus with OnePass 9595
Bissell is very well known for its budget-friendly vacuum cleaners. This Bissell Clean View Plus with OnePass will easily fit into a tight budget and provides you with all the features you need in a vacuum.
For those of you that need to vacuum a shag carpet, then I would always suggest a Bissell vacuum cleaner. This lightweight bagless upright vacuum would be a perfect solution for those who have a medium size apartment.
My brother, who lives in a 900 sq. Ft apartment, and has used this vacuum for the last four years without any issues. He cleans all of his different size rugs and shag carpets with it. The suction power is nearly the same as any other powerful vacuum, so it does clean very thoroughly.
It contains multi-height adjustments for different sizes of carpet piles, and it is easy to clean a long pile carpet without ruining it. To clean shag carpets only then just use the crevice tool, and you are good to go.
So whether you need to vacuum pet hair or just your hardwood floor, the extra tools make it very easy to clean any type of surface.
Shark is also very popular for its budget-friendly quality vacuum cleaners. The Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional Vacuum is a bagless upright vacuum with a 10 amp suction and is great for anyone who is looking for a budget purchase.
The Shark Navigator allows you to detach it from the base, so it is easy to use on stairs and ceilings using any of the supplied attachments. The suction is more than powerful enough to deep clean your carpets. It is a very lightweight vacuum, and the crevice tool can reach deep inside your high pile shag carpets. The supplied tools can be beneficial to clean pet hair from carpet, bare floor, and other surfaces.
If you are cleaning shag carpets then avoid using the brush as it may leave a brush mark, use the vacuum only option. The manual suction control also helps while vacuuming carpets.
Find out How to Vacuum a Shag Rug.
If you are still confused, then here is my list of some of the best vacuums for shag carpet with all the specifications you need to consider before buying.
| Name | Electrolux UltraFlex Canister Vacuum | Miele Complete C3 Soft Carpet Vacuum | Kenmore Bagless Canister 22614 | Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless UH70120 | Bissell Clean View Plus with OnePass 9595 | Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Bagless Canister | Bagged Canister | Bagless Canister | Bagless Upright | Bagless Upright | Bagless Upright |
| Power | 12 Amp | 12 Amp | 11 Amp | 12 Amp | 12 Amp | 10 Amp |
| Brush on/off | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Height Adjust | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Suction Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| HEPA Filter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cord | 27 ft | 24 ft | 24 ft | 27 ft | 25 ft | 25 ft |
| Extra Tools | Crevice Tool, Dusting Brush, Combo Carpet & Floor Nozzle, Upholstery Brush | Dusting Brush, Upholstery Tool, Extended Crevice Tool | Crevice Nozzle, Dusting Brush; Motorized Pet Power Mate Tool | Air-Powered Hand Tool, 12" Extension Wand, Crevice Tool, Upholstery / Dusting Brush | Crevice Tool, TurboBrush Tool, Dusting Brush Reach, Extension Wand | Dust-Away Hard Floor Attachment, Premium Pet Power Brush, Extra-Long Crevice Tool |
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