Welp MagazineShaggy carpet is a great way to add a touch of luxury (or 70s throwback glam) to your home. It’s soft, plush, and can make any room feel more inviting… but then there’s the cleaning issue. The best shaggy carpets deserve the best vacuum for shaggy carpet. When choosing a vacuum for shaggy carpet, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you’ll want a vacuum that’s lightweight and easy to maneuver. This will make it easier to get into all the nooks and crannies of your shag carpet and get them dust-free, especially if you’ve carpeted your stairs!
Second, you’ll want a vacuum with powerful suction. This will help to pick up dirt, dust, and debris from even the thickest shaggy carpet. If you keep pets, you’ll also need the best vacuum that’s pet-hair friendly, with attachments and a HEPA Filter for pet dander. Finally, you’ll want a vacuum that’s small enough to fit in your home’s storage space. This is especially important if you have a small home or apartment. So, that’s several things to think about when you’re shopping for the best vacuum for shaggy carpet. Let’s get into it!
Product Comparison Table: Best Vacuum for Shaggy Carpet
| Title | Price | Rating (Amazon) | Best in class | Buy | |
 | Miele Triflex HX1 Pro Battery Powered Bagless Stick Vacuum | $$$$ | 4 stars | Best Cordless | Amazon |
 | BISSELL 27909 Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Rewind Vacuum | $$ | 4.4 stars | Best for Pet Hair | Amazon |
 | BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Handheld Vacuum | $ | 4.4 stars | Best Handheld Vacuum | Amazon |
 | Shark UpLight Upright Vacuum | $$$ | 4.5 stars | Best Budget | Amazon |
 | Dyson V15 Detect Cordless Vacuum Cleaner | $$$$ | 4.5 stars | Best for Smart Vacuum | Amazon |
Miele Triflex HX1 Pro Battery Powered Bagless Stick Vacuum
Cords are so last decade. Just because you’ve got vintage shag carpeting doesn’t mean you have to be constrained by retro corded vacuum cleaners. Our best vacuum for shaggy carpet in the cordless category is the Miele Triflex HX1 Pro, which has powerful Vortex suction and electrobrush technology that can easily pick up dirt, dust, and debris from even the thickest shag carpet – without the restrictive cords or bags of the past.
The HX1 Pro has three ‘Triflex’ modes: Comfort mode, for effortless cleaning of large areas, Reach mode for corners and under furniture, and Compact mode, which offers easy handling for quick clean-ups and tight spaces. This is, of course, a great advantage for large homes or homes with multiple floors of shag carpeting, especially with the Triflex HX1 Pro’s 60 minute runtime from 2 exchangeable VARTA Li-Ion batteries.
Pros
- Three cleaning modes
- Cordless
- Easy-empty Twist2Open dust container
Cons
- Requires charging (but flexible charging options)
- Expensive
Verdict
With its innovative 3-in-1 design, the Miele Triflex HX1 Pro Battery Powered Bagless Stick Vacuum is our best vacuum for shaggy carpet in the cordless category. Versatile and unconstrained, the (albeit more expensive) Pro model is a must for thick carpets as opposed to the regular HX1, due to its increased runtime and more powerful electrobrush.
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BISSELL 27909 Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Rewind Vacuum
You love your pets – but you don’t love sneezing. For this reason, the BISSELL 27909 Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Rewind Vacuum is our best vacuum for shaggy carpets in homes with pets. This vacuum busts pet hair with a Tangle-Free Brush Roll that actively prevents hair wrap, a Cyclonic Pet Hair Spooling System that means you, in BISSELL’s terms, don’t have to “touch the yuck” when emptying.
Pet owners with shaggy carpets will also appreciate the SmartSeal Allergen Filter, which captures even the smallest of potentially allergenic particles, and specialised attachments: the Pet TurboEraser Tool, 2-in-1 Pet Brush and LED Lighted Crevice Tool that removes embedded pet hair from soft surfaces and shag. If your pet’s smell also gets up your nose, a partnership with Febreze means a sweet-smelling attachment is also available for the washable filter!
Pros
- Pet-hair-busting features
- SmartSeal Allergen Filter
- Easy to empty when filled with hair
Cons
- Corded, but self-winding
Verdict
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Rewind is a vacuum that is specifically designed to pick up pet hair – that’s why it’s on this list of the best vacuums for shaggy carpet. Best of all, BISSELL’s pledge that Every Purchase Saves Pets means that buying the best vacuum for shaggy carpet also helps the BISSELL Pet Foundation save homeless pets!
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BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Handheld Vacuum
Red wine spill alert! Even if you’ve already picked up one of our other best vacuums for shaggy carpets on this list, a hand vacuum is a great tool for any shag carpet owner to have on ‘hand’ (pun intended) for quick and versatile – especially emergency – cleaning. Worry no more about tomato sauce disasters and kids’ cereal incidents with the BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Handheld Vacuum!
Our best vacuum for shaggy carpet in the handheld category features a motorized brushroll to loosen and remove dirt from deep within, variable suction to adjust to any cleaning scenario, and that trusty allergy-friendly HEPA Filter to trap 99.97% of allergens and pollutants. The emergency appeal of the Dustbuster is even greater when you know about the LED headlights that make it easy to see what you’re cleaning, even in dark or dimly lit areas.
Pros
- Ideal for emergencies
- HEPA Filter
- Handheld and versatile
Cons
- Not a full-scale vacuum cleaner
- Can be difficult to empty the dust cup
Verdict
Never worry about your shag carpet’s safety again with the BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Handheld Vacuum! Compact and versatile, this model’s the best vacuum for shaggy carpet when you’re caught in a fix, dealing with spills and stains, or just in a hurry. You could avert just about any cleaning disaster with the Dustbuster – even if your carpet’s white.
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Shark UpLight Upright Vacuum
Heavy shag carpet does not equal a heavy vacuum. The Shark UpLight Upright Vacuum is our best vacuum for shaggy carpet that’s light as a feather. Although super lightweight and easy to maneuver – making it perfect for cleaning any size shaggy carpet – the Shark UpLight has powerful DuoClean dual-brushroll technology that can pick up even the heaviest of dirt. Meanwhile, the HyperVelocity Suction gives the suction power of an upright in an ultra-lightweight frame.
Shark specialises in lightweight vacuums, and the name ‘UpLight’ is descriptive. This unit weighs in at only 15 pounds. The ‘Lift-Away’ part refers to the way the even more lightweight pod detaches with extendable hose still attached, to easily clean fluffy-carpeted stairs without lugging the whole vacuum. Somehow, this tiny unit also fits a HEPA seal that traps 99.97% of allergens and pollutants, releasing only clean, light air.
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to maneuver
- HEPA Filter and Allergen Seal
- Powerful HyperVelocity suction
Cons
- Still corded (but Lift-Away pod)
Verdict
‘UpLight’ by name, ‘UpLight’ by nature! With weight-reducing Lift-Away technology, the Shark UpLight Upright Vacuum is our best vacuum for shaggy carpet that’s both powerful and light as a feather. It also releases some of the lightest air on our list of the best vacuums, thanks to a Complete Allergen Seal and HEPA Filter that captures particles of just 0.3 microns.
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Dyson V15 Detect Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
What makes the best vacuum for shaggy carpet so… smart? Laser illumination that reveals microscopic dust? A power saving trigger to maximize battery life? A combination of Piezo particle sensors and Dyson DLS technology that automatically senses debris level and floor type to adapt suction for the right balance of power and run time when you need it? Or is it an LCD screen that displays scientific proof of a deep clean as it calculates and categorizes picked-up particles, showing you on-screen stats as you clean in one of three smart modes?
Not only is it smart, but the Dyson V15 is the best vacuum for shaggy carpet because it obliterates deep-seated dirt with a killer 230AW motor. It has a massive 60 minute battery life, HEPA Filter, and a sleek design, not to mention the massive variety of attachments: an anti-tangle hair screw tool, combination tool, stubborn dirt brush, mini soft dusting brush, Wand clip, de-tangling digital Motorbar™ cleaner head, Laser Slim Fluffy™ cleaner head, flexi crevice tool AND wall mount docking station!
Pros
- Renowned Dyson technology
- The vacuum of the future
- Cordless and lightweight
Cons
- High-tech features could confuse some
Verdict
With power to handle all of your shaggy carpet cleaning needs and trademark top-of-the-range smart technology, the smarty-pants Dyson V15 Detect Cordless Vacuum Cleaner probably cinches it as our best vacuum for shaggy carpet overall! In fact – this vacuum is so intelligent, it should probably be installing carpets, not cleaning them.
