A wet-and-dry vacuum is a kind of floor cleaner that combines mopping and suction for a thorough clean on hard floors. In this article, I'll dig more into exactly what a wet-dry vacuum is, what it can and can't clean up, and who would benefit from having one.
If you decide this is the appliance for you, head to TechRadar's roundup of the best wet-dry vacuums for our top-rated picks.
What is a wet and dry vacuum used for?
Wet-and-dry hard floor cleaners are designed for cleaning up liquid spills and mopping floors. They use a fast-spinning cylindrical mop, a combination of water and floor cleaning solution, and two water tanks – one for clean water, the other for the dirty stuff – to quite literally mop a floor.
However, unlike your average mop and bucket, which always leaves a lot of water behind, a wet-and-dry hard floor cleaner is equipped with powerful suction, just like a vacuum cleaner, so it sucks up any excess water leaving only a thin film of dampness in its wake.
This water and suction combination allows it to not only mop up a few stains or some grubby areas, but also collect the remnants of a large liquid-and-debris spill, like a bowl of cereal or porridge, a pot of fruit yogurt or cream, a glass of wine, an entire saucepan of bolognese sauce you accidentally dropped while serving, even a puddle of vomit.
Can you use a wet-and-dry vacuum on carpet?
Some manufacturers will tell you that their wet-and-dry cleaner can also be used as a vacuum cleaner in dry mode, but I still personally wouldn’t consider any of them as a replacement for a bona fide stick vac.
Wet-and-dry vacuums are primarily designed for use on hard floor, with the suction-only mode to clear dust and hair from a hard floor before going into mop mode.
If you're looking for something to pull the dust from your carpets, really you need a traditional vacuum (here's TechRadar's pick of the best cordless vacuums you can buy). You could use a wet-dry vacuum in suction-only mode on a carpet, while the roller is dry, but the pickup is likely to be poor compared to a regular manual vacuum.
Who should buy a wet-and-dry vacuum?
If you have pets or young kids who are prone to spilling, dropping or otherwise creating messes on your hard floors, a wet-and-dry vacuum can be a major effort-saver.
The other major criterion for wet-and-dry mop ownership is that you either need a lot of hard flooring, or more hard flooring than carpet or rugs. This is because a wet-and-dry hard floor cleaner is ostensibly designed for hard floors, not carpets or rugs.
Are wet-and-dry vacuums good for pet owners?
Yes – cleaning up after pets is one of the main reasons to invest in a modern mopping system like this. The alternative is a squeegee, a pile of paper towels and some rubber gloves, unless you want slimy vomit spread over the floor – or worse – all over your hands. I've been down that road a number of times and nothing's better at cleaning up most viscous dog and cat mess than a cordless wet-and-dry vac like this. Yes, emptying the contents down the toilet is deeply unpleasant but I'll take that any day over trying to pick up a load of dripping slop with my hands.
What are the alternatives?
If you have hard floors but a not especially messy household with few liquid spills, you might be better suited to a hybrid robot vacuum. Most of today's best robot vacuums can mop as well as vacuuming.
You wouldn't necessarily task them with the kind of challenging spills you'd tackle with a wet-and-dry vacuum, but they can be great at freshening up hard floors (here's more on what to expect from a mopping robot vacuum). The other benefit of a hybrid robot vacuum and mop is that it'll clean without you having to to lift a finger, and they can run while you're out of the house, or asleep.
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