Eureka QuickShift OmniVerse NEU801BL Review

Our Analysis & Test Results

The Eureka QuickShift OmniVerse represents a powerful leap up in both quality and innovation for Eureka. The namesake QuickShift technology is basically a pair of design elements that let you transform the form factor of the vacuum in two ways: First, you can raise the canister up on the handle, letting you slide the cleaner head farther under furniture. Second, you can remove the canister altogether, letting you attach hand tools to more easily clean furniture, stairs, and hard-to-reach nooks.

Performance Comparison

Carpet Performance

While some modern vacuums are excellent for hardwood floors, most people still prefer upright vacuums for carpet cleaning, which is often their number one requirement. We start our tests on low pile carpets, as they are more common, but we also evaluate how vacuums perform on high pile carpets, which are more often cushy shaggy area rugs than classic wall-to-wall carpeting. Our detailed results consider suction power and cleaner head features, as these characteristics can impact how well a vacuum functions in different situations.

To begin our carpet tests, we measured 1/2 cup of each sand, rice, and Cheerios. These reflect the typical sizes and weights of household dirt, cereal, crumbs, or potato chips that could be tracked across a living floor or spill during a family get-together. We spread this party mix over 9' x 3' sections of both carpet varieties, providing ample room to move the vacuums forward, backward, and with some side-to-side shifts, including reverse passes, which sometimes work better than forward passes. When it comes to timing, we allow each vacuum just 24 seconds to gather as much debris as possible—this mirrors the brisk pace most of us prefer when vacuuming at home. We run these exact same tests for all household vacuums we evaluate, which improves our vacuuming knowledge and experience. We conduct each test 2-3 times to ensure we get accurate average results.

Low Pile

The QuickShift OmniVerse sucked up 92% of the sand, rice, and Cheerios, posting a score well above average.

This little machine did a great job. On my reverse passes, it back plowed some rice and Cheerios but did very well on the forward passes.

Before Testing After Testing

I appreciated the relatively tall head gate openings because they let the larger Cheerios pass under and get sucked up. For those who have kids or pets that track in multi-sized debris from a backyard, I would expect this cleaner head to work well.

High Pile

Because taller carpet fibers make it easier for debris to hide, vacuums have a harder time collecting all the sand and rice that work down into the weave.

This vacuum actually started cleaning the carpet and impressed me! It sucked up 65% of our test debris, but when I consider how well it did on each pass, I believe that if I kept vacuuming with multiple passes, I would continue to collect debris. Some vacuums stall out over the top, but this one is a pleasant surprise.

Overall Carpet Cleaning Performance

This vacuum performed above average on low pile carpet and well above average on high pile carpet.

I found the high pile results particularly interesting. The tall head gate openings let many of the Cheerios slide under. Better yet, the cleaner head created just enough suction to be effective but not so much that it was hard to push. If you have a mix of carpet and rugs in your home, these results are very impressive. The Kenmore Intuition 3-in-1 performed better on carpet and costs less but isn't quite as versatile. If low pile is your carpet priority and you want to start vacuuming hard floors, too, the Shark Stratos is hard to beat.

Hardwood Performance

With the increasing popularity of vinyl and hardwood floors, people are now in demand of vacuums that can manage different surfaces seamlessly. For example, if your open-plan living room and kitchen include a big area rug, a flexible vacuum that transitions smoothly from the rug to the hard floor might mean you can stop using a broom altogether. To determine how well these vacuums perform on hard surfaces, we test them on vinyl floors, examine their gap and crevice handling, and operate them along wall edges.

To assess the ability of vacuums on hard floors, we first distribute a mix of 1/2 cup each of sand, rice, and Cheerios over a 27-square-foot hardwood space. By employing the same materials for hardwood and carpet tests, we can accurately compare how a vacuum performs on each surface type, offering trustworthy insights. Each vacuum is allowed 24 seconds to pick up as much as possible, and the test is repeated to obtain a reliable average for our rankings.

Cleaning Performance

On both test runs, this machine sucked up 94% of debris, well above average.

This little OmniVerse did pretty good! It crushed the first pass but struggled a bit on the reverse — it performs better moving forward. All the material it backplowed would be easy to pick up with an extra head-on pass or two.

Crevice

Areas where different flooring types meet — especially in older homes that have been remodeled over time — can sometimes have gaps or cracks that can become cluttered with dirt and debris. Similarly, tile floors with deep grout lines can be hard to vacuum. To assess a vacuum's performance in removing deep material, we place 1/2 cup of sand into the crevices of a bamboo mat. Each vacuum makes four back-and-forth passes, and we tally the sand left after eight total passes. This test is challenging because the vacuum's roller bristles cannot reach the sand, relying solely on its suction power to clean thoroughly.

By sucking up 87%, this model did an outstanding job. I don't usually see affordable vacuums do so well in our crevice test, so this is particularly cool if you have mixed flooring and are on a budget.

Edges

Not every vacuum is adept at cleaning along walls, but many homes have long hallways and toe-kick areas under kitchen counters that seem to be magnets for crumbs. To assess their edge-cleaning performance, we conducted tests by placing coffee grounds next to a wall and examining the outcomes with both parallel and head-on approaches.

Wow! Again, I was impressed. When I tried a direct head-on pass, it cleaned up all the coffee — whoosh, gone, love it — without needing to approach the wall many times. On the parallel pass, the same result — no crumbs. If you are tired of using a broom to sweep along walls and under kitchen cabinets, I think you'll be pleased with this model.

Overall Hardwood Cleaning Performance

When we rank all upright vacuums on hardwood performance, the Eureka QuickShift doesn't rank the best in each metric but is very competitive.

I have no complaints about this affordable vacuum's performance. The overall feel isn't as refined as the Shark PowerDetect, but it costs half as much and gets the job done.

Pet Hair

Pet fur cleanup is a common challenge for owners, especially for those who have breeds of dogs and cats that shed constantly. To help them choose the best vacuums, we conduct thorough tests on carpets of varying pile heights. This process lets us evaluate each machine's capability to handle the fur that often troubles us around the house.

We kick off our pet hair stress test with a 4-gram fistful of real dog hair from different breeds, highlighting a range of hair and fur types. We then cover 13-square-foot sections of carpet with this hair. To make it more realistic, we incorporate 1 gram of long hair extensions, simulating the shedding of long-haired humans in a home. But wait, there's more: We mimic the foot traffic that builds up over time by pressing the hair into the carpet with a heavy wheel, resulting in the sticky, clingy mat of pet hair owners who often struggle to vacuum.

Before Testing After Testing

After such outstanding results with typical debris, I hoped for a stellar performance again, but this machine was just above average. It left a few clumps behind in the carpet, and when I flipped over the cleaner head to check out the brush roller, I found quite a bit of hair wrapped up. Once hair gets wrapped around a brush roller, it becomes less effective at collecting debris, so you must cut it off or spend more time vacuuming.

Filtration & Suction

We thoroughly examine vacuums' filtration and suction to ascertain their quality and performance. Effective filtration is crucial because vacuums with poor filtration can release tiny particles into the air, which may affect health, especially for those with heart or lung conditions.

Suction power is also significant, as it determines the vacuum's effectiveness in removing deeply embedded debris from carpets and crevices. Evaluating a vacuum's suction capacity offers insight into its performance in our tests, helping to explain why it might perform well or poorly in different cleaning scenarios.

Filtration

Our filtration test is designed to be more challenging and practical than relying on a fog machine to spot visual leaks. To begin, I create a clean room environment by running three air purifiers overnight in a sealed room, using two Dylos air quality monitors to set an air quality baseline. The next day, I distribute 1/3 cup of household flour on the floor, turn off the air purifiers, and let the room settle for 10 seconds. Finally, I vacuum up the flour, ensuring the vacuum runs for no more than 30 seconds.

Our Dylos sensors detect and count particles ranging from small (0.5-2.5 microns) to large (>2.5 microns) sizes that are commonly found in flour. For reference, pet dander is typically smaller than 1 micron, and pollen can range from 10 to 100 microns. During testing, there were no notable spikes from the room's baseline, indicating excellent filtration — as I would expect from a vacuum equipped with HEPA filters like this one. According to Dylos, increases from 0-75 on their air quality monitors indicate excellent air quality. This vacuum is unlikely to exacerbate sensitivities for individuals allergic to pet dander, pollen, or dust.

Suction

Our suction measurement is taken at the cleaner head, not the intake tube, to reflect the vacuum's performance where it matters most. We achieve this by creating a differential pressure reading using a test box with a central hole connected to a manometer. As the cleaner head rolls over the hole, we precisely record the suction power at that location.

We recorded a respectable 398 pascals of suction power at the cleaner head. This is an above-average measurement, but it is lower than most premium vacuums that cost more. Still, it has 4x the suction of the similarly priced Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe NV360, giving the Eureka QuickShift a boost of suction performance that sucked up nearly twice the amount of sand from our crevice test.

Ease of Use

Upon beginning my evaluation of upright vacuum cleaners, I was surprised by the significant variations in their ease of use. Some models were cumbersome to maneuver, while others performed exceptionally well on carpets, hardwood floors, and navigating around furniture. Our tests highlight the usability of each model, especially for individuals with challenging home layouts or concerns about strength and balance.

To rank Ease of Use, we test and evaluate for maneuverability, maintenance, reach, and attachment functionality.

Maneuverability

To evaluate the efficiency of these machines, I run them through a maneuverability obstacle course. This includes transitioning from hardwood to a bamboo mat, which is used for the crevice test mentioned earlier, and then to a low pile rug. Additionally, the vacuums are tested around cones and under furniture to assess their overall performance.

Eureka has been typically known for its budget vacuums, so I was excited to see the company improve its performance and innovation with its new QuickShift OmniVerse vacuum. While its maneuverability was above average, I hoped for a more agile experience, especially since this vacuum weighed in at just 12.5 pounds.

I had trouble getting it to transition from a hard floor onto my admittedly tall bamboo test mat, but other vacuums can climb onto it easily, so it's not insurmountable. While it was easy to push around, and swivels nicely, I struggled to make tight corners.

The QuickShift feature let me change the form factor of the machine to fit better under furniture, which I liked. It seems to be Eureka's answer to the popular Lift-Away technology used by many Shark vacuums, but it is not as easy to adjust. Similarly, when I removed the canister, I had to hunt around to find the hose to attach to it, which is not stored onboard the machine itself.

So, what's my takeaway here? I'm pleased to see these new features added, but their implementation could use some refinements to make them less finicky and compete with more premium vacuums.

Maintenance

One annoyance we always like to avoid is cleaning home appliances that are supposed to make our lives easier. To ensure that vacuum maintenance isn't onerous, we test and evaluate how to clean the dustbin, filters, and cleaner heads.

I'm a fan of removable brush rollers because they make cutting away wrapped hair and cleaning built-up dust and dirt much easier, so Eureka gains points here. The dustbin is also easy to empty and clean.

Upholstery & Attachments

Most modern vacuums now include several attachments for cleaning furniture, stairs, nooks, crannies, crevices, and even the interior of cars. To identify which attachments are most useful, we put them to work and evaluate how easy and effective they are to use. For our upholstery test, we spread coffee grounds on a pillow and then use the most suitable included attachment to clean it up.

Overall, to use the attachments, you basically have to transform the machine into a mode more akin to a handheld vacuum. It works, but it can be cumbersome to find the right angles to clean furniture and reach into small areas. More versatility is better than no versatility, though, so I hesitate to complain too much. I like the direction Eureka seems to be heading toward!

Should You Buy the Eureka QuickShift OmniVerse?

The Eureka QuickShift OmniVerse is easily one of the best overall performing midrange upright vacuums we've ever tested. Considering its performance, it competes well against vacuums that cost twice as much, but its user experience is less refined than the premium competition. If you care more about typical vacuuming performance than silky turns around chairs and refined or even automatic controls, this machine will likely do the job.

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