Wet and dry vacuums are handy tools to have in your home because they offer wet cleaning for hard floors, together with suction for dry messes and debris. The downside of having two cleaners in one is that they’re usually bulky and can’t reach tight spots or get under furniture, as I found while testing the Roborock F25 Ultra. Dyson tried to solve that issue with the ultrathin PencilWash, which offers easy maneuverability but sacrifices some cleaning power because of its smaller water tank and weaker suction.

Shark’s fix for getting to those hard-to-reach spots is different. The Shark AquaReach includes a full-size wet and dry vacuum with an extendable wand that lets you clean baseboards and under furniture without having to maneuver the entire unit into place. Shark says this design addresses one of people’s biggest cleaning frustrations.

Shark

“People weren’t creating cleaning hacks because they wanted to; they were creating them because they had to,” said Petra Oman, VP of marketing at SharkNinja, in a statement. “They showed us what was missing. AquaReach was built around the way people were already cleaning, combining  vacuuming, mopping and extended reach so they can tackle more of the mess in one routine.” 

The main body has a self-refreshing brush roll that cycles clean water to refresh the brush roll as it cleans. There are two water tanks, for clean and dirty water, with solid debris captured in the dirty water tank. The AquaReach also sprays cleaning solution to loosen stuck-on debris on hard floors while applying suction at the same time.

Shark

The expandable wand includes a stain scrubber and detailer mop with an extendable hose connected to the main water tank. The stain scrubber tool is an active, targeted spray that includes suction, while the detailer works for edges and tight spaces. It works on floors, baseboards, windowsills and behind toilets and bathtub edges. Essentially, you get the thinness and lightness of the PencilWash with the stronger cleaning power and suction of a wet-and-dry vacuum.

It’s an interesting solution and one that might help solve the typical trade-off for wet/dry vacuums, where the thinner and lighter models can get into tight spaces but lack cleaning power.

Shark

In terms of other features, both AquaReach models come with a self-cleaning, drying and sanitizing dock that rinses the brush roll and dries it with heated air up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Sharsaysms that it can eliminate 99.9% of bacteria from the brush roll.

The AquaReach comes in two models: the $400 AquaReach and the more powerful $530 AquaReach Pro, which seems to have a different design and color scheme. The models will be available on SharkNinja.com and TikTok Shop, with additional color options and retail availability planned for the coming weeks.

Ajay Kumar

Smart Home & Robotics Editor

CNET's Smart Home & Robotics Editor covering robot vacs, home appliances, smart home, and yard & outdoors. Built CNET's lab-exclusive testing methodology and lab awards. See full bio