Shark PowerDetect ThermaCharged

What testers say about the Shark PowerDetect ThermaCharged

Hot water is what separates the Shark PowerDetect ThermaCharged from the PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro it is built on. Its dock washes the pad at 85 degrees, above the 75 degrees such docks commonly reach, then dries it with warm air. For Just A Dad Approved that was the change that earned its recommendation, since the pad no longer sat damp and musty between runs.

Vacuum Wars ran the two side by side and preferred the unheated one, and its reason is the weak point here. The ThermaCharged put down about twice as much water, close to 5 grams on each test area, and the app has no setting to reduce it. On a glossy floor that means streaks and a wait before it can be walked on. Stains came up well, and its mopping mark of 3.27 on that lab's five-point scale beats the 2.58 midpoint.

Vacuuming is the stronger half. Vacuum Wars had it over its halfway line and found its deep carpet cleaning well above what it usually measures. From Just A Dad Approved came a 6.5, half a point shy of that tester's middling 7, since a fitted pad tilts the rear up on carpet until the suction goes. The pad's 20-millimetre lift is about double the 10.5 millimetres rivals reach, and the pad may stay at the dock while the robot vacuums alone. Plan for a broad stretch of wall, as the dock spans 478 millimetres and 395 millimetres is the common width.

Each point sums up, in our words, the review of the test it names, and its link leads to that review. We do not summarise RTINGS or Wirecutter: their lists are linked above.