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Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum ZU561 Review

  • Writer: Loredo Litherland
    Loredo Litherland
  • Feb 2, 2020
  • 4 min read

If you’re on the market for a good upright vacuum, then you’ve come to the right place! The Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum ZU561 is one of the best upright vacuums on the market, and you’re going to learn what it has to offer you!

Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum ZU561 Review

Most upright vacuums are large, bulky, and clunky. This upright vacuum is the exact opposite. Instead of being large and cumbersome, this upright vacuum is quite slim and it lacks the bulk and heft of most upright vacuums. Instead of having a clunky and confusing design, this upright vacuum has a design that is simple, clear, and concise.

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It is this convenience and simplicity that defines this upright vacuum. Using this upright vacuum is easy, and since it’s easy to use the vacuum, it’s easy to vacuum the floors in your home.

When you are moving the vacuum across your floors, you’ll find that the actual movement and maneuvering is almost effortless. This is due to a feature known as “Swivel Steering”. Swivel Steering is a feature that allows you to swivel and turn the vacuum with just a slight motion on the handle.

Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum ZU561

Shark ZU561


Instead of having to pick up and adjust the vacuum, as you do with most other upright vacuums, you can simply swivel the vacuum and push it towards the space that you need to clean.

Along with Swivel Steering, however, there is another feature that adds a significant amount of convenience to the overall vacuuming experience. This is the “Lift-Away” feature, and it has to do with the fact that the motor and dirt tank are contained within a single unit, which is in the middle of the vacuum cleaner.

You can remove this unit from the main cleaner head, by grabbing onto the handle of the vacuum. Then, when you’ve picked up the unit, you have access to the extended wand, and the nozzle that is attached to the wand. Using that nozzle, you can vacuum underneath couches and chairs, on couches and chairs, along walls and doorways, and in a variety of other spaces that would, normally, be very difficult to reach.

If you don’t want to use the vacuum in Lift-Away Mode – or, you simply don’t need to – then you can use Upright Mode. Upright Mode is the mode that you’ll, most likely, be using the most with this upright vacuum.

Shark Navigator ZU561 Review

Shark ZU561


In Upright Mode, you simply maneuver the vacuum around your home, just as you would a normal upright vacuum. It’s a basic mode that makes use of the excellent Swivel Steering feature, as well as the fantastic brushroll that this vacuum uses.

Through the use of the Zero-M Brushroll, you are able to vacuum on hard floors and soft floors. What makes the Zero-M Brushroll special is the fact that it’s able to dive into the depths of a carpet/rug, so that it can remove all of the dirt, hair, and gunk that is within those surfaces.

Then, it’s able to clean itself, without you having to do anything, on its own.

Shark Navigator ZU561

Shark ZU561


The Zero-M Brushroll is exceptionally useful. It makes vacuuming on rugs and carpets easy, and it cleans itself. But, the Zero-M Brushroll wouldn’t be nearly as useful, if this vacuum wasn’t equipped with strong suction power.

With the powerful motor that this vacuum contains, the entire vacuum works exceptionally well, because it’s able to vacuum up everything that’s in its path. If it’s moving across a thick rug that is full of dirt and dust, it’s able to vacuum up the dirt and dust that is within that surface.

And, if you are using Lift-Away Mode, the same applies to surfaces such as couches and chairs.

Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum

Shark ZU561


While this upright vacuum is excellent, it does have two small flaws that may, or may not, be important to you. One of these flaws is the price. This isn’t a particularly inexpensive upright vacuum, and as such, if you aren’t looking for something that offers this level of convenience and efficiency, then this may not be the upright vacuum you are looking for.

The other flaw is that the Zero-M Brushroll doesn’t always work very well, when using the Self-Cleaning feature. Most of the time, it does, but there are times when hair gets stuck to it and you have to remove it yourself, which can be annoying.

Final Words

If you are able to look past those flaws, and are willing to spend some money, then the Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum ZU561 is a very good upright vacuum that offers everything you could want in a good upright vacuum!

Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum ZU561 Review

Our Recommended Upright vacuums

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Shark APEX AZ1002

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17.7 lbs. Washable Filter 25 ft. Cord

13.6 lbs. Lift-Away 25 ft. Cord 27 ft. Cord

Shark's most powerful vacuum. DuoClean dual brushrolls on floors and carpets pair with the Zero-M self-cleaning brushroll for nonstop hair removal.

The Bissell Clean View swivel pet gives you the outstanding performance you’d expect from an expert floor care company at a great price.

Equipped with dynamic swivel steering, the Shark NV356E Navigator provides excellent control when maneuvering around furniture and other obstacles.

Best of the Best


Shark APEX AZ1002

17.1 lbs. Lift-Away 30 ft. Cord

Shark's most powerful vacuum. DuoClean dual brushrolls on floors and carpets pair with the Zero-M self-cleaning brushroll for nonstop hair removal.

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Bissell 2252

17.7 lbs. Washable Filter 25 ft. Cord

The Bissell Clean View swivel pet gives you the outstanding performance you’d expect from an expert floor care company at a great price.

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Shark NV356E

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Equipped with dynamic swivel steering, the Shark NV356E Navigator provides excellent control when maneuvering around furniture and other obstacles.

Upright Vacuums Upright vacuums outsell all other types by far. In fact, almost half the vacuums on the US market are upright models. The upright vacuum has a design edge over canisters when it comes to carpet cleaning as they make quick work of large areas.

This website is supported by readers. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you have any questions, please add them below in the comment section. Similarly, please let us know if you spot any mistakes.

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