Tom's Guide Verdict
The Shark AquaReach Pro is a decent option for homes with hard floors. Its cordless design offers mobility, smaller attachments reach tight spaces, and it effectively lifts grime. However, the non-retractable extendable hose looks clunky in storage, dock self-cleaning is very loud, and the one-hour battery life limits longer cleaning sessions.
Reasons to buy
- +
Reaches tight spaces
- +
Cordless design
- +
Effectively lifts grime
- +
Roller mop is good at scrubbing the floor
Reasons to avoid
- -
Extendable hose is tricky to store
- -
Self-cleaning is very loud
- -
Only an hour of battery life
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Vacuuming alone won’t keep the hard floors in your home clean. And a quick mop isn’t always enough to lift all the grime from everyday activities. One of the best vacuum mops, like the Shark AquaReach Pro, is a great addition to any home.
There’s a great deal to like about the Shark, including how it effortlessly gets into tight spaces and can be moved anywhere thanks to the cordless design. It effectively lifts grime, and the roller mop is fast.
But it’s not all roses. The extendable hose is clunky in storage, and the self-cleaning process on the dock is extremely loud. The one hour of battery life may also put off some users. To find out more, read on for my full Shark AquaReach Pro review.
Shark AquaReach Pro review: Specs
Shark AquaReach Pro review: Price & availability
The Shark AquaReach Pro is available to purchase from Amazon U.S. for $529. In the U.K., you can buy the cleaner directly from the SharkNinja website for £499.
It’s a little cheaper than the Roborock F25 ACE Pro, which costs $599, but this model effortlessly glides along the floor, and means you’re not always manually pushing the mop. That said, if you want the convenience that comes with smaller attachments to get into small spaces, then the Shark is the better option for you.
I’ve also tested the Dreame H15 Pro Heat, which costs $899. This wet/dry vacuum is a better option if you tend to find more stubborn stains in your home, as the water can be heated. But keep in mind that the heated water means the battery life will diminish a lot faster. So if you just want a basic clean, the Shark is a good option.
Shark AquaReach Pro review: Design
The Shark AquaReach Pro is a good-looking home device. Its rose gold and blue accents make it look like a well-thought-out home design piece. When not in use, the Shark sits on a docking station. This is where the device self-cleans, and it has a tray on the side to store smaller attachments for the nozzle.
The docking station plugs into a power outlet and charges the Aqua Reach Pro, and the 5.9-foot power cord means you'll need to keep it near a power outlet. The extendable wand lets you reach surfaces the roller mop can't, and the two extra included attachments get into smaller gaps.
Although this extendable hose helps you get into those hard-to-reach places, It’s probably my least favorite feature of the device from a design perspective. The hose is simply far too long, and when storing the device, it doesn’t retract, as I’m used to with other vacuums and mops. Instead, it clips to the body of the AquaReach Pro and springs back out. I’d love for this to have a more slinky design, so it isn’t fully extended at all times. However, since it has a cordless design, there aren’t any wires to carry around with you, which I appreciate.
There’s a clean water tank on the front of the Shark, and this easily clips on and off. The dirty water tank is on the side, and this has a max fill line so I knew when it needed to be emptied.
For simple floor cleaning, I prefer the design of the Roborock F25 Ace Pro. It looks a lot more basic, but I found it a lot more convenient to use.
The control buttons at the top of the device light up when each mode is in use. After reading the included instructions for the first few uses, I got to grips with each function quickly.
Shark AquaReach Pro review: Cleaning performance
The Shark AquaReach Pro did a great job of making the floors in my kitchen and bathroom incredibly shiny. I filled the clean water tank with water and topped it up with the included cleaning solution as per the guidance on the tank.
The device works by letting out water and then sucking it back up with a vacuum. If a tougher stain requires a bit more help, you can use the trigger on the handle to squirt out more cleaning solution.
This device is designed to be used on hard surfaces, so firstly, I carried out my usual lab testing. I splashed some mayonnaise, soy sauce and ketchup on the floor and allowed them to dry down. The process wasn’t as quick as when I tested the Dreame H15 Pro Heat, but since that’s a heated floor cleaner, I also had to use less elbow grease than with this Shark vacuum mop to lift stains.
The Shark AquaReach Pro brought up all of the mess with relative ease though. Initially, the condiments were moved around the floors but in just six passes, all of the grime had been lifted.
I then took the AquaReach around the house to clean windowsills and in small spaces such as the toilets where the roller mop can’t quite reach. This was very useful, and it left everything feeling fresh. The smaller attachments are very useful; I still wish the hose design was more compact though.
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Shark AquaReach Pro review: Storage & maintenance
The Shark AquaReach Pro needs to be stored on its docking station. This means that it will have a permanent home near a power outlet wherever you set it up. It measures 4.53 x 11.61 x 11.02 inches, which is about the same size as a vacuum cleaner, so it’s not a home appliance that can be hidden.
It’s self-cleaning; however, this operation is very loud. When I measured the process using the Decibel X app, I got readings between 60db and 75db. This is what I expect when I’m testing a blender. The self-cleaning on the Dreame H15 Pro Heat is much quieter.
Shark AquaReach Pro review: Battery life
The battery life of the Shark AquaReach Pro lasts for around an hour, which is around the same as the Dreame H15 Pro Heat, which has 72 minutes of cleaning time. And this would be good if I were only cleaning the hard floors in my home.
But that’s not all the AquaReach Pro is for. Since I can use it on all hard surfaces in my home because of the extendable arm and attachments, I needed more than an hour when using it for cleaning.
It also takes three hours to fully charge, and I felt like I was waiting around forever when I just wanted to get on with cleaning.
Shark AquaReach Pro review: Verdict
The Shark AquaReach Pro is a decent option if you have hard floors throughout your home. It has a cordless design, so you’re not limited by power outlets when cleaning, and it can reach into tight spaces with its smaller attachments. It effectively lifts grime, and the roller mop does a great job of agitating the stains on the floor to completely lift them.
However, there are awesome things I don’t love. The extendable hose looks clunky when in storage as it doesn’t retract, and the self-cleaning on the dock is very loud. The hour of battery life may also put you off when you can use it for so many jobs around your home that will certainly take longer than an hour to complete.
I’d recommend it for basic cleaning of floors and baseboards, but if you want something more heavy-duty for other areas of your home like the bathroom, I’d opt for something with a longer battery life.
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