Start with the heart of your vacuum's cleaning power. For single brush-roll models, detach the floorhead and remove debris from the bristles. Use scissors to carefully cut away any tangled hair or string. If you have a DuoClean model, clean both the bristle brush-roll and the soft front roller according to your instruction manual.

As of Oct. 3, you can get the Shark Matrix Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum for just $329 at Walmart. That's a discount of 38% and $170.99 off its normal price of $499.99. The sale is open to all Walmart shoppers, so no Walmart+ needed to take advantage of the deal.

The Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum sells for $429.99, or $499.99 if you go for the version with the auto-empty base. At time of publish it's only available in the US, but an EU and UK release is due before the end of 2024. I've requested pricing info, but based on US figures, it might be around £325 / £375.