Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet Stain & Spot Cleaner PX250UKT

Introduction

Not all stains are the same, and different messes need different cleaning methods.

To that end, the Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet Stain & Spot Cleaner PX250UKT is a powerful all-in-one spot cleaner with a wide range of attachments, designed for a variety of jobs.

Design and features

• Lots of tools
• Dual cleaning formulas
• Self-clean option for most tools

Squat and compact, the Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet Stain & Spot Cleaner PX250UKT is easy to store and will slip into most cupboards without taking up much room.

It’s designed so that the power cable wraps around the nodules on the side, and the hose wraps around the body, then clips into place. All wrapped up, the cleaner is neat.

It’s a little trickier to store the accessories, as there are so many of them in the box and no storage bag. Still, it’s important to have all of the tools, as they’re all aimed at doing slightly different things.

First, are the regular brushes, much as you get on any spot cleaner, such as the Vax SpotWash Duo Spot Cleaner. There are two in the box: a HairPro Tough Stain Tool and the larger HairPro Wide Tough Stain Tool.

Both have tough bristles on one side, and are reversible with a rubber side of Hair Gripping Fins for hair removal and working on delicate surfaces.

Take these tools off on the hose and you’ll find an integrated crevice tool for getting into smaller areas. Again, there’s a choice of brush: bristles or soft rubber spikes. It’s neat having the integrated crevice tool, as it’s easy to swap between area and detail cleaning.

Then there are two special tools, with the smaller Hair Pickup tool. This has a fixed Hair Gripping Fins brush on it, and a separate unit that’s designed to catch pet hair before it goes into the bin. It’s useful for areas with a lot of hair, such as a pet bed.

Then, there’s the larger Pet Mess Cleaning tool, which is similar to the one that comes with the upright Shark CarpetXpert Deep Carpet Cleaner with Built-In StainStriker EX200UK.

This tool has soft bristles, and a separate dirty tank where waste goes. It’s designed for dirty pet messes where you don’t want to contaminate the main machine.

For all of the main tools, water is sucked up into the 0.72-litre dirty tank. This has a float inside it that prevents overfilling.

To clean, you need to add detergent to the Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet Stain & Spot Cleaner PX250UKT. There’s a 2.1-litre tank that has marks on it for where to fill with water and where to fill to with Shark’s Deep Clean Pet solution.

There’s also a secondary tank for the Shark Oxy Multiplier, which is mixed with the main detergent automatically to improve cleaning power. A bundle can be bought for £22.99.

Cleaning is easy. There’s a 4.5m power cord and a 1.5m hose, so it’s easy to get the spot cleaner where you want it, and then plenty of reach to clean a large area with the hose.

For cleaning, Shark recommends different operations depending on the stain. For wet stains, you should spray the area with the integrated sprayer, then scrub, then tilt the tool forward to extract. For dry stains, it’s the same, only start by scrubbing the stain first, then do as above.

As there’s not much weight to the hose, it’s very easy to use this tool for longer periods, working methodically on stains.

At the end of cleaning, the dirty tank needs to be emptied. Then, the tools need to be cleaned. All but the Wide, Hair and Pet Mess tools can be cleaned using the Self Wash cycle. Just press them to the marked area on the clean tank, and clean water and solution are washed through the tools.

It’s a shame that this method can’t be used for the bigger tools. Instead, you have to take them apart and wash them under a tap.

Performance

• Powerful cleaning
• Versatile

I set the Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet Stain & Spot Cleaner PX250UKT the task of cleaning several stains that I’d added to some test carpet. I began with the dried red wine stain.

I was impressed to see that this started to disappear as soon as the solution was added to it. That’s the same effect I had when using Shark’s spray solution in the Shark StainForce Cordless Stain-Destroying Spot Cleaner HX100UKT.

After a bit of agitation, I just had to suck up the dirty water. This took a few minutes and I kept going while I could see dirty water moving through the clear plastic cover to the regular handheld tool.

At the end of the cleaning process, the stain was gone and the carpet was nice and fresh looking.

Next, I tried my dried-on mud stain. This was a bit tougher and took a few sprays and suction sessions to clear up the mess. However, at the end, the carpet was clean.

I then tried cleaning up a wet spill with the Pet Mess tool. Here, all of the liquid was stored in the tool’s own tank, which was good to see, as nothing entered the main tank. 

I also tried the Hair tool. I cut up sections of hair extension, which I normally use for vacuum cleaner testing, and spread these on the floor. These were easily vacuumed up, and all of the hair strands were kept in the tool’s compartment. That’s handy, as it prevents wet hair from clogging the system and makes clean-up easier at the end.

At the end of cleaning, when no more moisture would come out of the carpet, I measured relative humidity at 29%. That’s not bad, but the carpet took a couple of hours to fully dry after this.

I measured the Shark StainStriker HairPro Pet Stain & Spot Cleaner PX250UKT at 78.3dB, which is quite loud. It’s handy that the hose is so long, as I could keep the main unit further away from me, where it’s less distracting.

Should you buy it?

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