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Shark Rotator Professional Upright Vacuum Review (NV501)

The Shark Rotator NV501 is often regarded as one of the best Shark upright vacuums on the market, and it’s not difficult to see why. Not only is this an ultra-powerful vacuum, but its Lift-Away canister module makes it an excellent spot-cleaner for high-up surfaces. Let’s take a closer look at the NV501 to see what about it is so great.

Shark Rotator NV501


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20-kPa Suction Power

The NV501 is packing some major heat. Inside of this upright is a humungous 10-amp motor that delivers up to 20 kPa of suction power—more than enough to lift the tiniest dust particles hidden in shaggy carpet fibers. What’s even more amazing is that the NV501 doesn’t suction and chomp up area rugs like many other 20-plus-kPa models do.

Shark Rotator NV501 Review
Shark NV501

Whether you have wall-to-wall carpeting or not, the NV501 is an excellent choice. Even without variable suction, it remains one of Shark’s most versatile uprights to this day.

Brushroll Shutoff

An excellent feature of the NV501 is its optional brushroll. The brushroll can be dropped when vacuuming carpeted surfaces to reach deep into the fibers and pull out whatever debris is hiding within. When transitioning to smooth floors, you can manually lift the brushroll so it stays out of the way and doesn’t cause unwanted damage on your floors.

Rotator Swivel Steering

The Rotator Swivel Steering System in the NV501 isn’t much different from what you’d find in other Shark and non-Shark models. The swivel steering system allows users to glide the floorhead underneath and in between pieces of furniture effortlessly.

Basically, you won’t need to move a lot of furniture before preparing for a thorough vacuuming session.

Shark Rotator NV501 Upright Vacuum
Shark NV501

Lift-Away Handheld Canister Unit

Perhaps the most prominent features that sets this upright vacuum apart from the sea of other uprights is its detachable canister pod. The NV501 can convert into a handheld canister, known as Lift-Away technology, to help reach spaces where it wouldn’t normally reach in upright mode.
The Lift-Away unit is ultra-lightweight so getting at overhead surfaces (vents, ceiling fans, drapes, etc.) isn’t going to be a problem. In Lift-Away mode, you use a long suction hose and one of the cleaning attachments to do a bit of spot-cleaning.

8.6-foot Suction Hose + Premium Cleaning Tools

Speaking of which, the NV501 comes with a long 8.6-foot suction hose and an assortment of premium cleaning tools. The suction hose itself isn’t tremendously long, but it’s what attaches to the end of the hose that makes the NV501 so great.

The cleaning tool set comes with a 12-inch crevice tool, a standard dusting brush, a wide pet upholstery tool, and the shining star, a premium Pet Power brush.

Pet lovers out there will tell you that the biggest challenge when vacuuming is picking pet hair from various surfaces. With the NV501’s Pet Power brush, no strand of pet (or human) hair will remain on the floor/furniture/wherever.

Complete Anti-Allergen Seal + True HEPA Filter

To ensure that the NV501 is equipped to handle whatever hairy messes your pet leaves, the entire system is sealed in anti-allergen protection.

This system prevents not only hair from escaping from the dust cup and shooting out of the exhaust but also pet dander from tickling your nose. And then there’s the tried and true True HEPA Filter that captures nearly all particles 0.3 microns and larger. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Shark Rotator NV501 Professional Upright Vacuum Cleaner
Shark NV501

1.3-quart XL Dust Cup

The larger the dust cup, the longer you can vacuum. The NV501 sports a sizable 1.3-quart dust cup, XL size by Shark standards, to help reduce the number of interruptions during a vigorous vacuuming session.

This isn’t as large as the 3XL found in the Navigator ZU62, but it should be enough to complete a day’s worth of cleaning before needing to dump the contents out.

Quiet (for an Upright Vacuum)

For an upright vacuum cleaner, the NV501 is actually a lot quieter than we expected. Though nowhere near whisper-quiet, at 72 decibels with its brushroll lifted (79 decibels with it on the ground), it’s a lot quieter than even some canister vacuums with built-in soundproofing.

That’s not to say this won’t wake a sleeping child or pet, but a good pair of headphones should be able to block most of the noise.

Verdict: Should I Get the Shark Rotator NV501?

After seeing what the Shark Rotator NV501 comes with and how it performs, it’s pretty clear that this is one of the best Shark-made upright vacuum cleaners we’ve ever had to fortune of trying.

This is especially a great upright for pet owners since it is completely protected against leaks and traps strands of pet hair from ever escaping its awesome suction.

Related Shark Vacuum Articles

Buying Guides
 • Best Shark Upright Vacuums

Comparison Articles
 • Shark Navigator vs. Rotator
 • Shark Navigator vs Hoover MAXLife vs. Bissell CleanView
 • Shark vs Eureka

Info Articles
 • What is a Shark “Lift-Away” Vacuum?



Our Recommended Upright Vacuums

Our Pick The Bissell 2252 CleanView gives you the outstanding performance you’d expect from an expert floor care company at a great price. It has specialized pet tools and features, so you know it’s designed for homes with pets.

Budget Pick The Eureka Airspeed NEU100 is an affordable, lightweight, and good upright vacuum for cleaning small apartments. With a 10.5-inch wide cleaning path, it gets the job done quickly.

Best of the Best The Bissell 2998 is a well-balanced, convertible, bagless upright vacuum intended as a cleaning solution for larger homes and apartments.

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About the author

Hi I’m Alex, founder of HouseholdMe.com and I’d like to say thank you for dropping by. Like most of you, the first thing I look at before buying something online is reviews or buying guides. By reading what other people say will help me gauge whether or not a product is good or not.  I am trying to help people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired.

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