Reasonably priced wet/ dry vac recommendations
Reasonably priced wet/ dry vac recommendations
Author
Discussion

macron

Original Poster:

11,838 posts

182 months

Sunday 16th March
quotequote all
Yes there are lots of threads on similar things, such as most recently,

Hoover recommendations

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Recommend me a vac for DIY use

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Vacuum cleaner wars

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

And others. Nothing I can find in a reasonable timeframe about wet as well as dry. What do you use, and is it good?

Corded please, not as heavy as the sun either, domestic use so nothing 15000w required.

From those threads a cheap Titan wet/ dry seems to go down well, like this

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb774vac-1300w-1...

Parkers, of all people, think a Karcher is good, as is a Draper,

https://www.parkers.co.uk/car-advice/car-care/best...

There is some interesting intel about general config in those threads, like this

paralla said:
grumbledoak said:
If you care about things being clean you will want a powered brush for carpet. Sebo upright for me.

Don't get the Henry thing. Your living room being as clean as my garage is a weird "flex".
If it doesn't have a powered (or turbo) brush bar it's not cleaning carpet or rugs effectively.

If it doesn't have at least a HEPA filter it's throwing the dust from the floor out into the air to settle again.

Henry's and Henry's relitaves all have good suction but there's more to good cleaning than just good suction. Miele C3 canister for main duties and Dyson V11 with the long pipe removed for handheld duties here. The Dyson is way too expensive but it's the best of a bad bunch. The tiny filter canister of the Miele HX2 cordles was a dealbraker for me.
It needs to be able to have a crack at stupid colour cars mats like these



Be light enough to be carried upstairs by old people , and to deal with hay/ straw/ fur from small domesticated animals.

Is it a Titan and happy days? Or something like the Karcher. I find the pressure washers I've had from them are ste, but that doesn't mean their indoor stuff is also poorly thought out.

trevalvole

1,513 posts

49 months

Sunday 16th March
quotequote all
For the stupid colour car mats, I've had success hand washing them in a large bowl/bath with a solution of APC or floor cleaner and then hanging them up to dry on a hot day.

Edited by trevalvole on Sunday 16th March 18:46

OMITN

2,724 posts

108 months

Sunday 16th March
quotequote all
For the car mats I would:

- Spray on strong all purpose cleaner onto the mats. Something like Bilt Hamber’s excellent Surfex HD
- Agitate with a brush or a drill brush.
- Jet wash thoroughly.
- Extract the water with a Vax Slotwash wet vac.

(To answer your question about wet/dry vacuums, I believe the Titan is pretty good. Personally we have dry vacuums and the Vax Spotwash for cleaning carpets.)

TVR Sagaris

1,093 posts

248 months

Sunday 16th March
quotequote all
I bought that Titan a few weeks ago Macron when I needed a wet vac in an emergency and it is fine but no better than that. I only used it in wet mode and it worked OK for my purposes but I was disappointed in its lack of power.

ETA more context. I doubt the cheap Titan would do much at all to those car mats; its pretty rudimentary and doesn't have a powered brush, just plastic attachments and the lack of power means using the floor wand doesn't achieve much. I needed it to urgently get rid of a flood in the flat above me which is obviously quite different because largely I was just hoovering puddles off a hard floor.

Edited by TVR Sagaris on Sunday 16th March 19:32

macron

Original Poster:

11,838 posts

182 months

Sunday 16th March
quotequote all
Useful feedback this far, thanks, TBF I haven't even had a nibble at the mats, I thought I'd best show them in their current state. Maybe there will be an "after" photo, even if just APC, which does seem a wonder product most of the time!!

JJ55

748 posts

131 months

Sunday 16th March
quotequote all
Apc is great but you’d get those mats clean using washing powder and a brush then jet washing. I had to do a light coloured rug like that and it came up well.

Jeremy-75qq8

1,402 posts

108 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
I have wet and dry vac on a boat. They get abused. Buy the cheapest one you can find. They do the same thing and eventually all fail. Then buy another

Craikeybaby

11,471 posts

241 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
I have a Karcher, it is fine for the light usage it gets here.

gmaz

4,914 posts

226 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
Parkside (Lidl) did one that had a power take-off, so if you're sanding etc the vacuum automatically switches on when you switch the sander on.

Then there is also a cheaper one. https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/parkside-wet-dry-vacuum-c...

OutInTheShed

11,527 posts

42 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
I have a cheap Titan one, it's not great.
The filter blocks really quickly if you use it for wet dirt.
I've cobbled together a big foam filter for it.

Huntsman

8,797 posts

266 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
I've got a Nilfisk, seems very robust.

_Jonesy_

34 posts

119 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
I've got a 1400w Titan and it's brilliant. Used and abused loads over the last 2 years and not had a single problem, both wet and dry use. Power takeoff is handy too for using with sander / saw etc.

Can't go wrong for the money IMO

Belle427

10,667 posts

249 months

Tuesday 18th March
quotequote all
I use both a Titan and a Bissell spot clean for the car stuff. I find the bissell isnt much use on larger areas hence the spot clean name but it is good for the car mats and carpets, a little awkward to use in tight places though.
As someone else suggested a good apc and one of those rotary brush attachments for a drill are great for car mats and stubborn stains on seats.

Shnozz

29,064 posts

287 months

Tuesday 18th March
quotequote all
Huntsman said:
I've got a Nilfisk, seems very robust.
Me too and been impressed. It’s basic but functional and stood up to some abuse over the years.

ThisInJapanese

11,175 posts

242 months

Tuesday 18th March
quotequote all
I bought a cheap one from here for general abuse and it's still going strong YMMV

https://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/subcat.as...

Tigerj

416 posts

112 months

Tuesday 18th March
quotequote all
For mats like that you might be better off with something like the vax spot wash.

Jeremy-75qq8

1,402 posts

108 months

Tuesday 18th March
quotequote all
Car mats are close to indestructible. I soak them and spray with a jet wash. I only use the bissell to get them close to dry.

Danm1les

941 posts

156 months

Tuesday 18th March
quotequote all
I had a BMW with a beige/cream interior and floor mats, I use to wash them in the washing machine every so often. Always came up a treat.

In the end I purchased a black mat set and swapped them over.

OMITN

2,724 posts

108 months

Thursday 20th March
quotequote all
For the car mats I would:

- Spray on strong all purpose cleaner onto the mats. Something like Bilt Hamber’s excellent Surfex HD
- Agitate with a brush or a drill brush.
- Jet wash thoroughly.
- Extract the water with a Vax Slotwash wet vac.

(To answer your question about wet/dry vacuums, I believe the Titan is pretty good. Personally we have dry vacuums and the Vax Spotwash for cleaning carpets.)