Let me tell you, I am willing to spend money for a quality vacuum.  In addition to a crafty 13-year old girl and very, VERY messy seven-year old boy, we have six cats, two dogs, and a lot of visitors.  Our house is one-sixth carpeted with rugs throughout.  I lacked a vacuum that I would consider "all purpose" and heavy duty.  Before running the Shark, I ran both our current vacuum and then the robot vacuum.  What the Shark pulled up was horrifying and mystifying.  It is light enough to travel up the steps, and the hoses and wands make it super easy to get in the small spaces.  We tested it on the car yesterday and it worked amazingly.  I strongly recommend!  Oh, one more add.  I had suction issues early in.  There was a pen stuck in the hose, which was simple to solve because the bend in the hose is clear for viewing.  It also has two different spots to disconnect the hose to clean it quickly and easily.