REASONS TO BUY
Large double-sided pad
Hands-free pad changing
Great for edges
Lots of attachments
REASONS TO AVOID
Over-pivots and is challenging to steer
Difficult to swap between attachments
Lacks pressure
Shark Lift-Away Pro Review
A solid cleaner with plenty of attachments for non-floors and the padded surface area for large rooms
Credit: Shark
RELATED: Best Steam Mops of 2023
Our Verdict
If you have a lot of surface area to cover — floors or otherwise — the Shark Lift-Away Pro has the attachments to get the job done. It's not the best steam cleaning option we've tested, but it handles regular messes well. Two large mop heads help you cover large areas in less time. The water tank can be detached, and a slew of various attachments make this steam mop ready to clean far more than just your floors. If you can get used to the overly-pivoting mop head that likes to change directions on textured floors, this feature-filled model has the right attachments at a moderate price and is a solid value cleaner for just about any room of the house.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Shark Lift-Away Pro | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  | |  | ||
| Price | $180 List $159.99 at Amazon | $93 List $92.69 at Amazon | $103 List $102.95 at Amazon | $145 List $97.00 at Amazon | Check Price at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Large double-sided pad, hands-free pad changing, great for edges, lots of attachments | Built-in scrub brush, stands unsupported, articulating head | Powerful, maneuverable, great scrubbing brush, reasonably priced | Tons of attachments, great handling, good spot cleaning, versatile for more than just the floor | Many accessories, huge tank, great at cleaning heavy stains |
| Cons | Over-pivots and is challenging to steer, difficult to swap between attachments, lacks pressure | Limited accessories, designed for floors only, scrub brush is a bit small | No hands-free cleaning pad changing, few accesorries | Switching between attachments isn't convenient, tank fills on side | Hard to fill tank, bulky and heavy, expensive |
| Bottom Line | A solid cleaner with plenty of attachments for non-floors and the padded surface area for large rooms | A simple, easy-to-operate, highly effective steam-cleaning device with a motivating price tag | The best, most effective model we've tested at an impeccably fair price | Tons of attachments offer unique, high-quality cleaning options for all throughout your home | A steam-cleaning powerhouse that comes with many accessories but is a bit of a pain for quick clean-ups |
| Rating Categories | Shark Lift-Away Pro | Bissell PowerFresh | Bissell PowerFresh... | Bissell PowerFresh... | McCulloch MC1385 De... |
| Cleaning Performance (40%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (25%) | |||||
| Maneuverability (20%) | |||||
| Features (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Shark Lift-Away Pro | Bissell PowerFresh | Bissell PowerFresh... | Bissell PowerFresh... | McCulloch MC1385 De... |
| Steam Adjustability | Low, high | Low, med, high | Low, high | Low, high | Dial |
| Water Tank Capacity | 500 ml | 455 ml | 474 ml | 399 ml | 1893 ml |
| Water Fill Opening Diameter | 1" | 1" | 1" | 0.75" | 1" |
| Pad Attachment | Hands-free | Elastic | Elastic | Elastic | Velcro |
| Additional Mop Head? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Included Pads | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Cleaning Brush? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hose Attachment? | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cord Length | 22' | 23' | 25' | 25' | 18' |
| Additional Accessories Included | Hose, triangle mop head, small cleaning pad with removable scrubber, small cleaning pad with soft side and abrasive side | Microfiber soft pad, microfiber scrubby pad, spring breeze fragrance discs and a carpet glider | Built-in scrubber | Built-in scrubber, squeegee, hose, medium cleaning head, small cleaning head, grout tool, small scraper, precision power nozzle, 3 small scrubbing brushes, microfiber cloth | Large mop head and 16.5" extension wands, microfiber mop pad, scrubbing mop pad, and bristle brush attachment, large brush and 4" triangle brush, jet nozzle, angled nozzle, 3" scrapper, and 9" squeegee, 2.5" round scrub pad and 2.5" round brush, nylon utility brush and 1.5" brass utility brush, storage bag, accessory net, and fill cup |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Shark Lift-Away Pro has a 500ml capacity water tank with a 1-inch opening and a 22-foot long cord. It comes with two different-shaped mop heads that feature hands-free pad replacement, as well as a scrubbing brush. It has a removable tank with a hose and several other attachments for cleaning more than just your floors.
Performance Comparison
Tons of attachments make this steam mop one of the most versatile cleaning implements we tested.
Credit: Laura Casner
Cleaning Performance
For your standard, everyday cleaning of tile and stone floors, the Lift-Away Pro does an okay job. It provides powerful, even steam and a large mop pad that easily handles larger surface areas. It does catch a bit on textured flooring and deeply grouted tiles, but it's easy to turn the mop head sideways to reach around objects in your home. The freely pivoting head sometimes works against this unit, though, allowing it to get sidetracked rather than run in straight lines.
The mop head pivots a little too easily, sometimes making it difficult to mop in a straight line.
Credit: Laura Casner
When it comes to stubborn stains, the Lift-Away Pro falls short. It's not the worst we tested, but its pad is quite soft and unable to deliver the abrasion needed to really scrub. You can swap to a triangle pad, which is slightly abrasive and has a scrubbing section you can press down with your foot, but it's not particularly convenient to use for more than a quick spot here and there. The Lift-Away does offer an extra blast of steam to help loosen tough messes, though it's difficult to aim.
An extra burst of steam helps loosen dirt.
Credit: Laura Casner
Ease of Use
The Lift-Away Pro has all of the hallmarks of an easy-to-use steam mop: it has simple buttons for adjusting the steam level, it heats up in less than a minute, and it feels sturdy and well-built. The opening for filling the water tank is just an inch across, but the steaming unit detaches from the mop, so you can rest it on the counter while you fill it. Its capacity is 500ml, which is standard for most home steam mops, though its semi-opaque sides are difficult to see the water level through.
As the name suggests, simply lift away the water tank from the main body of the mop to attach all the accessories for cleaning beyond your floors.
Credit: Laura Casner
Where the Lift-Away Pro separates itself from the field is its hands-free pad changing. This lets you change pads on the fly without having to bend over, wait for the mop to cool down, or get your hands dirty. The pad is also double-sided, giving you twice the cleaning surface before needing a wash. However, the pivoting neck on the Lift-Away Pro can be rather squirrely during handling and doesn't allow the mop to stand up on its own. It's also challenging to prop up against the wall or counter due to this easily mobile head and rounded handle, and ours frequently clattered to the floor when we left it unattended.
Hands free mop pad changing is an added bonus.
Credit: Laura Casner
Maneuverability
The Lift-Away Pro glides relatively easily over minimally textured floors, like high gloss tile, but catches a bit on ceramic or stone. Both heads of this mop are quite large, helping to cover more floor in less time. The large rectangular pad easily pivots sideways to fit into narrower spaces — though its overall larger size doesn't fit into quite as small of spots as some others we tested. The triangular head gets into narrower corners, and both do a fantastic job cleaning right up to the edge of baseboards. It also has a reasonably long, 22-foot power cord, which is plenty for cleaning averaged-sized homes.
The ability to mop at some odd angles allows you to clean atypical surfaces like stair fronts.
Credit: Laura Casner
Features
Apart from having both a rectangular and triangular cleaning head (only the rectangular can do hands-free pad changing), the water tank can be removed from the mop to be used in a multitude of different ways. It has an included hose that can be hooked up to multiple hand-held cleaning brushes, allowing you to steam clean things like countertops, refrigerators, and showers. There is also a nozzle attachment that lets you steam garments, curtains, and other fabrics. This lineup of diverse attachments makes it an exceptionally versatile mop, good for more than just your floors.
A number of accessories let you steam clean many other surfaces around your home.
Credit: Laura Casner
Value
The Shark Lift-Away Pro isn't cheap, but also isn't the most expensive model we tested. It's not the most amazing cleaner for just floors but has a slew of attachments that help it to be useful in just about every room of your house. Other units with this variety of attachments cost far more than the Lift-Away Pro, making it a solid value purchase for a full home cleaning experience.
Conclusion
If you have large areas to clean and want the ability to use your steam mop on more than just the floor, the Lift-Away Pro is an excellent choice. It's a complete cleaning package that's well worth the price tag. On the other hand, if your focus is just flooring or you're hoping to do some deep cleaning, there are other models we like more.
There are lots of things to like about this handy and versatile steam cleaning package.
Credit: Laura Casner
—
Michelle Powell and Maggie Nichols
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