This budget-friendly, wet-and-dry vacuum's cleaning powers that are right up there with the premium models I've tested

Hoover HW3 wet and dry vacuum: two-minute review

The Hoover HW3 is a wet-and-dry vacuum that delivers impressive cleaning performance for a very affordable price. Designed for use on hard floors, it combines a wet roller to scrub away dirt with suction to pull up solid debris.

On test, it cleared spillages of all kinds with ease, sucking up or wiping away soy sauce, dry cereal, oats and even sticky Marmite spread with minimal effort. The battery life is in line with the rest of the market, maneuverability is good, and the self-clean mode takes care of everyday maintenance. The design of the water tanks could be improved – the clean one is slightly fiddly to fill, and both on occasion failed to clip in properly – but these are nit-picks. This is hands-down the best wet-and-dry vacuum I've tested in this budget-friendly price bracket.

Yes, if you spend a bit more you can unlock fancier features, such as the ability to adjust water use, hot water self-cleaning, steam functions, and even AI-based dirt detection. If you have more hardcore cleaning needs – and are regularly dealing with grease, in particular – then it might be worth investing in a pricier model.

However, for the average household, this wet-dry vacuum will be more than adequate. If you're looking for something affordable to help you stay on top of everyday cleaning of hard floors, it's a stellar choice. Read on for more info in my full Hoover HW3 review.

Hoover HW3 review: price & availability

• List price: £249
• Launched: August 2025
• Available: UK

The Hoover HW3 launched in summer 2025, and is available in the UK direct from Hoover, as well as via various third-party retailers such as Currys and John Lewis. At the time of writing, it was widely discounted to £199.

Even at full price, that's extremely affordable for a wet-dry vacuum. Pricier models offer features such as dirt detection and hot water in the self-clean cycle; but in terms of the basics, you're more than covered here. It isn't the most premium feeling wet-dry vacuum I've used, but neither is it flimsy, making it pretty good value for money.

For a slightly higher price, you could pick up a Shark HydroVac Cordless (US$359.99 / £329.99), which offers a similar feature-set to the HW3, but it also comes with a "Freshen mode" that's designed for use on area rugs.

At the premium end of the market there are models such as the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro, which costs $799.99 / £599.99 and has several modes, including the ability to deodorize and disinfect floors. There's also the Dyson WashG1, which costs $699.99/ £599.99 and doesn't do much the HW3 can't, except that you can choose how much water it uses and there's a mechanism to separate solids and liquids, designed to ensure smooth running with minimal maintenance.

• Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5

Hoover HW3 specs

Hoover HW3 wet and dry vacuum review: design

• Cordless wet-and-dry cleaner with button controls and a screen for info
• Vacuum and vac+mop modes, plus a Max mode for extra suction
• Self-clean function with cold water and cool air

The Hoover HW3 is a cordless wet-dry cleaner that's designed for maintaining hard floors. There are two main modes: vacuum-and-mop and vacuum-only. The latter is for picking up loose dirt from hard floors before going in with the mop; it isn't really designed for carpet (if you need a dust-buster for carpets and rugs, head to my guide to the best cordless vacuums).

There's also a Max mode, which boosts suction in either mode. Note that there's no way to adjust the flow of water: for example, for those instances you might want to hydrate a dried-on stain more thoroughly, or decrease water when cleaning a wooden floor.

Controls are positioned on the top of the handle, within easy reach while cleaning. There are three buttons: On/Off, Max, and third button for switching modes, inexplicably indicated by a four-part diamond icon. A secret fourth button sits on the bottom corner of the handle (more visible when the vacuum is docked) – this one has a droplet and some sparkles, and launches the self-clean cycle.

A screen on top of the motor section displays a large number to indicate battery life (make sure you're reading it the right way up – for a while I thought it was saying "Eh"; in fact, it was "43"). Icons around the edge of the screen help with troubleshooting. This is far from the whizziest screen I've seen on this kind of machine, but it does the job, and is supplemented by verbal prompts.

Down at the business end you'll find a soft, microfiber-covered roller. Inside its housing you'll see a row of jagged plastic spikes – I assume to scrape dirt and hair off the roller. Said roller easily unclips and slides out as required, and the whole top of the floorhead also lifts off if you want it to. I tend to think with something as potentially messy as a wet cleaner, the more parts that can be removed for rinsing, the better.

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The clean and dirty water tanks clip to the front and back of the HW3 respectively. If I'm being picky, the design of these could be better. Filling the clean tank is a little fiddly, because the inlet is on the vertical side, and the tanks didn't always clip on properly first time.

To empty the dirty tank you pull the top section of it upwards, then pour the dirty liquid out through a grille. This top section can also be fully removed to allow you to tap out solid debris, although you won't be able to get your hand in there to give it a more thorough clean, plus there are plenty of nooks and crannies where I expect grime will start to build up. This kind of design isn't unusual for a wet-dry cleaner, though.

The self-clean cycle runs clean water through the system and spins the roller. It then dries the mop, over the course of several hours, using cold air. Fancier, more pricey wet-dry vacuums can clean using hot water (to cut through grease) and dry more quickly, with hot air. Nevertheless, this remains a solid basic option.

The HW3's base is shallow in height but quite deep, so you'll want to make sure you have space for it near a power outlet. It's predominantly for charging the HW3, but it also protects the floor during the self-clean cycle. The base tray can be lifted out for rinsing.

There are pockets at the rear that are almost certainly meant to house accessories, but since the only accessories that were supplied with my machine are a bottle of cleaning fluid and a tube brush, neither of which fit in the slots, they're a bit of a waste of space.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Hoover HW3 wet and dry vacuum review: performance

• Excellent cleaning of solid and liquid spills, and can handle sticky stains too
• Simple but effective in use
• Instructions for setup aren't clear

Setup was a case of trial and error, since the instructions provided take the form of drawings that have all the narrative clarity of an interpretive dance performance. Once the vacuum was all charged up, I added a mix of water and a splash of the cleaning fluid provided to the tank, and was ready to roll.

Immediately, I was hit with two error messages – one informing me the dirty water tank needed emptying, and another stating that the roller was jammed. The former was because I'd filled up the wrong tank, and the latter was the result of the brand-new roller being just too darned fluffy. I dampened it down with some water and all was well.

I started by cleaning the kitchen floor in "vacuum and mop" mode. Like most wet-dry vacuums, the HW3 propels itself forwards when switched on, making it easy to drive. It's easy enough to maneuver, and the floorhead pivots fairly well, although it isn't as nimble as something the Dyson WashG1, for example.

In standard mode, the mopping on my tiled floor was even, with no drips or accidental puddles. It left a light sheen of water that dried within around five minutes, which is the ideal scenario. From the grubby state of the waste water I later poured down my sink, the rollering was also plenty vigorous enough for everyday cleaning. I was impressed by how close this wet-dry vacuum can get to the edges of rooms, too – approaching side-on, there was only a very narrow border left un-mopped.

Like many wet-dry vacuums, the HW3 instructs you verbally, too; but it's noisy enough that it's quite difficult to hear the voice cues while you're cleaning. Luckily, icons also appear on-screen, and these are easy enough to understand.

When I was done cleaning, I hit the power Off button. This didn't immediately cut power, but instead continued suction for a second or so still, to ensure any lingering grubby water is sucked into the waste tank, rather than dribbling out onto the newly cleaned floor – a nice touch.

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To give the cleaner a more thorough challenge, I drizzled soy sauce, soy milk, oats and puffed rice cereal onto a tiled floor, and approached in "vacuum-and-mop" mode. I was very impressed with the results; the HW3 cleared everything on the first pass.

I then decided to up the ante with some sticky Marmite and some maple syrup. The syrup was wiped away almost immediately, but the Marmite took a few passes, and the machine smeared it around a little before clearing it.

The floor was also a tiny bit tacky after the water had dried, so I did a further pass with the HW3 after it'd been through a self-clean, which took care of it. That's a strong result in my book – Marmite is a tricky substance to clean, even manually.

Despite only using cold water and cool air, the self-clean mode seems solid, too. The part where the system is being flushed with fresh water is noisy, but that lasts only 2 minutes 40 seconds, after which the air-dry mode kicks in. This is just a fairly quiet grumble, but it does last several hours, so perhaps one to launch when you're off to bed. On this point, I like that the auto-clean doesn't kick in automatically – you need to press a button to activate it.

After the self-clean was complete, the roller looked relatively fresh, and was good to use for another round of cleaning. As with all wet-dry vacuums, you'll want to supplement the auto-clean with your own occasional deep clean. This is straightforward, since the roller easily pops out from the floorhead, ready to be rinsed with hot water and washing up liquid, then left to dry.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Hoover HW3 review: battery life

• Battery displayed as a countdown on the screen
• 40min runtime in standard vac-mop mode – in line with the wider market
• Recharge is slow

Hoover promises 40 minutes of cleaning on a single charge with this vacuum, and in my tests (in standard vac-mop mode) that figure was spot-on. It's shorter than you'd expect from a suction-only machine, but it's in line with the wet-dry competition, including the far pricier models I've tested. It's also ample cleaning time for most people's needs – bar, perhaps, those with a large houses that have hard floors throughout.

Note that you probably will have to refill the clean water tank during this 40-minute period. In addition, the recharge period is long at four and a half hours.

• Battery life score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the Hoover HW3 wet and dry vacuum?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Hoover HW3 wet and dry vacuum

I used the Hoover HW3 regularly over the course of a couple of weeks to clean a large tiled kitchen and utility room. During this time, I tested all the various cleaning modes and monitored how well it dealt with food crumbs, hair (dog and human) and general dirt buildup, as well as considering how easy it was to use, its maneuverability, and if there were any niggling issues with performance.

I ran tests to see how it would cope with more challenging spillages such as soy sauce, maple syrup and Marmite spread, and timed how long the battery lasted per charge, and the effectiveness of its self-clean mode. I compared all my findings to other wet-and-dry vacuums I've tested, and considered if it was good value for money.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners

• First reviewed October 2025