How to Choose a Wet-Dry Vacuum

Do you know what you need to look for in a wet-dry vacuum? If you’re shopping for one, it can be a little frustrating because there are so many different options and capabilities these machines can have. You need to know what’s available to determine what you need, and once you know what you need, you can choose the best option from what’s available.

What do you need it to do?

Where do you expect to be using it? Just on spills around the house? Or do you plan on cleaning wood shavings from an outdoor carpentry project? Or maybe you want to use it in an attic where there are no plugs, or in a vehicle that you take on camping trips.

Wet/dry vacuums can be optionally cordless. Some models are rechargeable, which means you can take them somewhere without electricity or handy wall plugs. If you don’t need this feature, you can probably save money by skipping it. But if you do, it’s important to have.

Size

What size works for you? This depends on two things: where you’re going to be using it (small spaces?) and how much room you have to store it. Take measurements so you know for sure the wet/dry vacuum you choose will fit where you need it to fit. Also look through ads for phrases like “for getting into small places” if that’s what you need.

Suction pressure rating

A hand-size vacuum can be awesome in terms of size and portability, but they don’t always have the power you need for some jobs. Sometimes you have to make a tradeoff between power and size. Online reviews are a good way to get a real idea of how much suction a given wet/dry vacuum has, but the suction pressure rating should be included in the advertisements, and should be accurate.

Tank size

Unless you’ve worked with another vacuum on precisely the same types of jobs you’re going to be doing with the one you buy, it can be hard to guess how big a tank you need. Of course, small tanks just need to be emptied more often, which is inconvenient, but probably not a deal-breaker feature.

Attachments

Some wet/dry vacuums can be attached to appliances such as sanders so they pick up the debris from carpentry and tool work as you work. Determine whether this feature is useful to you before choosing your vacuum.

Quality

Another important question is: how durable is the vacuum? That’s hard to know, but again, try online reviews. If you’re not seeing a lot of complaints that it broke down in a few months or something, then it’s probably at least as durable as the industry average.

Related posts: