What is a Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner 2024?

When you buy a Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner, you have the ability to clean up both dry and wet dirt and spillages in your home and even clean up spillages in your garage or even on the outer patio decks. They are a much more diverse and sturdier machine appliance than your standard vacuum so you will need to read through the user manuals and keep them on file for future reference (copies available further below)

Included on this page will be a video demo on how to use a Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner, our top 3 recommended best Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaners with their user manuals (you can view or download) plus an outline of exactly what a Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner can and cannot do.

Read also: Best UK Cordless Vacuum cleaners

Advantages of Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaners

Not only can these Vacuum cleaners clean up the dry dirt around your home, they can also be used to clean up after wet spillages or leaks throughout your home be it yoghurts, milk, water, drinks, faulty pipes and more and they can also be used to clean up leaves around the patio decking or on the driveway. They are a sturdier machine that can clean up cold ash soot from your fireplaces and some models even have the ability to fix blockages in sinks using their powerful blow exhaust port systems.

As they are a sturdier appliance, they can be taken out of the home and used in the shed or garage to clean up spillages, dust, dry dirt and water plus they can handle DIY leftover dirt such as plaster, sawdust, sand and stubborn debris or even the removal of snow from your doorstep. They come with multiple tools for car cleaning, sofas, kitchen worktops, pet hair and curtains and you have the confidence of being able to use it on a wider spectrum of dirt around your home without damaging the appliance components.

Original use of Wet and Dry Vacuums

When the Wet and Dry vacuum cleaners came out first, they were originally used and designed for DIY commercial jobs and construction jobs and tidying up after various work type jobs. After customising their designs and suction systems, they can now be used in your average home for both indoor and outdoor cleaning tasks. Certain brands and models allow the blowing of garden leaves into piles, clearing the doorways of snow, cleaning up liquid spillages in the kitchen or garage and the clearing of blockages in sinks is certainly a big attraction and handy tool to have in your toolbox for when this need arrives.

Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaners – How do they work?

Basically the Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner has a 2 bucket type system instead of a canister cylinder or vacuum bag where the liquids are stored in the first bucket and solids are stored in the second bucket. You will need to clear out the vacuum immediately after suction of the wet spillages and they are a lot more powerful than your regular type vacuum cleaner so treat it with a little respect.

To avoid any electrical faults, they come with a separate motor and insulated debris collection mechanism and they can be used for more unusual tasks such as sucking out water from water beds, clearing ashes from stoves, cleaning up spilled paint and clearing blocked pipes (blow settings). To give you a visual overview of how to operate a Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner, please make sure to check out the video below

Video: Henry Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner Unboxing & Demo (HWD370)

Read also: Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaners for cars

Best Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaners – 3 Recommendations

1, Henry Wet & Dry Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner HWD370

Our first recommendation when it comes to Wet & Dry Vacuum cleaners would have to be the Henry Wet & Dry Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner code reference HWD370 which performs to a very high standard for cleaning up both dry and wet spillages and you should be able to get your hands on it for less than £170 when last seen on sale. It has a wet storage capacity of 9 litres, a dry storage capacity of 15 litres and it comes with a large powerful 1060W motor for superior suction and cleaning results

What we liked about this appliance is the wide versatility of the type of work it can do be it suction, dealing with blocked sinks, carpet cleaning, wet spillages cleaning and you get a decent size power cord of 10m along with a hose pipe that is 2.4m long. You need to change the settings to either wet or dry depending on the job you are doing and you get a wide range of cleaning tools included in the pack as well as a warranty protection of 3 years for peace of mind. A copy of the user manual can be viewed or downloaded here

Price Guide: £130 to £170 @ Argos UK

2, Guild 30L Wet & Dry Cleaner with Power Take Off - 1500W

Another wet and dry vacuum cleaner that we really liked is the Guild 30L Wet & Dry Cleaner 1500W with the Power Take Off which can be used in your garage, in commercial settings and your home and it offers a larger dry capacity of 30 litres and a wet capacity of 23 litres for the extra-large clean up jobs. We were really impressed with the blower on this appliance for tidying up large floor areas in sheds and all you have to do is attach the suction hose to the exhaust blower port.

It has a shorter power cord of 5m and the hose length is 2.5m so the total working length is 7.5m long. There is a great selection of cleaning tools included in the packs such as the dusting brush and crevice nozzle and it can be used on all floor types including concrete – plus you get 5 disposable dust bags to get you started. You empty the contents through the rear port and it is well able to clean up the dirty jobs such as sludge, spilled paint, leaves, snow from the doorways and so much more.

The tank itself is made using stainless steel, it can extract dust as you are sanding or drilling and it comes backed with a 2 year warranty. A copy of the user manual can be viewed or downloaded here

Price Guide: £80 to £130 @ Argos UK

3, Kärcher WD2 Wet & Dry Vacuum Energy Class A

Our last recommendation is from a brand that you will already be familiar with and it’s the Kärcher WD2 Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner and you should be able to get your hands on it for less than £100 when seen at the time of our review. There are multiple models available from the Kärcher brand but the WD2 was the one that we felt provided the best value for the amount of money you need to spend.

When it comes to tough cleaning jobs, this vacuum from Kärcher is well able to stand up to the test and make light work for dirty jobs in the shed and garage and even across your decking and patio slabs. The motor is smaller at 1000W which explains the lower price tag on offer, the storage capacity is 12 litres and it comes backed with a 2 year warranty for peace of mind.

When working the machine, you need to use the pull and push locking system, it has the onboard storage for the tools and the power cord cable and it has no problem with the suction of sand, sawdust, mud, water spillages and even gravel components. A copy of the Kärcher WD2 user manual can be viewed or downloaded here.

Price Guide: £70 to £100 @ Amazon UK

Operational Tips

When using a Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner, you need to switch from the wet mode to the dry mode and vice versa depending on the type of job you are doing. It can act as a hoover for your garage as well as your home and you will need to switch from the dry filter to the wet float filter valve and change the floor cleaning tools. Once finished with the wet suction, it will need to be emptied straight away but please refer to individual manuals as the operational procedures can vary from one brand to the next.

View also: Best UK Bagless Vacuum cleaners

Conclusion

In summary, Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaners are not needed by everyone but they have proven to be an excellent tool when it comes to cleaning jobs that are too difficult for your regular vacuum cleaner. They have also proven to be excellent in cleaning up both wet and dry spillages as well as cleaning up sheds and garages and we would have no hesitation in recommending them to the wider public

Have you used a Wet and Dry Vacuum cleaner yourself in the recent past and have you anything positive or negative to report? If possible, please share you experiences or opinions with the wider community by leaving a comment in the comment box section provided below – so that others across the community can learn also…