It
sucks.
And
we mean that in the best possible way, mind. But hey, what is it
about the autumn and winter that means our homes are constantly
filled with crap? Walking mud in on your boots, fallen leaves gusting
through the front door, and the all the many bits and bobs that get
trodden about the house over Christmas – they all need cleaning up.
Fortunately our mates at Kärcher suggested that, since we'd been
wowed by one of their pressure washers, we should try out one of
their vacs. And so, we review the Kärcher WD3 P Wet and Dry Vacuum
Cleaner.
Look
at it's big yellow body! You're surely not going to miss that in the
house, and just like the pressure washer, it is plastic fantastic
throughout, set on wheels. Included in the box is the vacuum cleaner
itself, the hose, the main cleaning tube (which comes in two sections
and the head), a power tool adaptor, one of those narrow-ended heads
for getting into tight spaces, and also a change for the brushes in
the head.
The
only assembly required to get the thing up and running is to slot the
tubes together, attach the hose, and plug it in. Thankfully all these
parts have a home on the body of the vac itself, as there is a cord
tidy, slots for the tubes and adaptors, and the hose winds nicely
round and slots in under the carry handle (which we're not sure is
intentional, but it works!).
Because
it is largely plastic it is actually very light, with all the weight
being situated in the top part, which itself can be removed to empty
the dirt and clean the removable filter. It feels very robust and
sturdy, and looks like it could survive a few blows from being yanked
around into door frames and the fridge.
For
fans of specs (which we know you are) the Kärcher WD3 P Wet and Dry
Vacuum Cleaner has a suction strength of 200 air watts, meaning it is
quite powerful, especially considering it's not-huge size. Running it
over the living room carpet with the brush attachment on the head
felt like a very deep clean, and we were happy to see that, even
after a fairly lax run over the entire room, there was a decent
amount of dirt and dust caught in the body – and that was just a
day after being cleaned by a different device. The stiff bristles of
the brush head also do a great job of massaging the caret fibres, so
the whole floor looked cleaner and brighter.
Kärcher
are selling the WD3 P cleaner as a multi-job device, and it's no
surprise to see why. Those “wet and dry” credentials are pretty
important, as we've grown up being told never to... ahem, excuse us
here... 'hoover' up anything wet. The Kärcher WD3 P Wet and Dry
Vacuum Cleaner balks at such advice, and because things sucked up
naturally fall into the bottom of the body, it is safe to suck up
spillages and damp dirt. We're pretty sure you shouldn't use this to
pump the water out of a flooded basement, but for wetness around the
house, you're sorted.
You
might also have noticed the separate plug socket on the device
itself. This is for use in the workshop, where you can plug power
tools into the WD3 P Vacuum Cleaner, then attach the hose to the
sawdust outlet on the tool. That way, when you switch on the tool,
the vac automatically switches on, sucking up the debris with no
hassle at all. It's a great feature, and we can imagine carpenters or
tinkerers having one permanently located in their workshop just for
that use.
We,
however, have enjoyed using it in every room of Test Pit Towers –
and we're not sure we've ever admitted to enjoying using a vacuum
cleaner. Unless you're talking about weird teenage sex stuff. Wait,
move on quickly...
The
Kärcher WD3 P Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner is tough, light, strong,
and highly versatile. It's the only vacuum cleaner you'll need. Check
it out.
£116.99
Visit
www.kaercher.com/uk