REVIEW: Karcher Window Vac

It sucks. In a really good way.

If you are a bit odd, (for the sake of argument we shall assume that you are) and have in the past looked at a window and uttered the phrase "that window needs a good vacuuming", you're in luck.

That is because a gadget has finally been invented to satisfy the wants of the really anal amongst us, for whom 'fairly clean' is just never enough. Further more the piece of tech in question comes in a hand-held form and with a variety of accessories; so right up our alley then. It's the Karcher Window Vac.

We never knew this, but apparently it isn't only our floors we should be vacuuming - the windows need a good going over as well. So say the cleaning experts at Karcher, and they should know; they produce a big range of heavy-duty cleaning gadgets.

The Window Vac is just that: a vacuum cleaner designed to be used on glass. The outcome, as we were reliably informed when first we heard of the vac, is to produce smear-free, drip-free and obviously clean windows. Just pawing at your glass with a damp cloth is soooooo 2012. Catch up, eh? We were intrigued as to how adding a vacuum cleaner to the traditional window cleaning routine would improve the end results, so we got busy on The Test Pit's quite frankly filthy panes.

The Karcher Window Vac is about the same size and shape as a dust buster vacuum cleaner, and essentially that's all it is, albeit with a funky suction head. The step-by-step instructions on the side of the box pictorially demonstrated what you have to do. We followed these steps to the letter.

First you spray the window using the included pump-spray bottle. The end of the bottle features a fluffy addition with which you scrub down the glass and get it all soapy. This little thing is a great gadget in its own right, allowing you to spray and scrub in the same action.

Once ready the Karcher comes into play. Push the button and it starts a-sucking. It's pretty quiet when activated, far quieter than the aforementioned dust buster. You rub down the glass using the attached rubber blade while the vacuum sucks up all the water and detritus. This eliminates any drips and smears, which we must admit it did very well.

Seriously, we're no window cleaning experts, but there is no denying that the test window looked pretty darn clean after a going over with the Karcher. All the actual cleaning work is achieved via the spray bottle (and good old elbow grease), but it is the Window Vac that deals with the issue of smears; the bane of the window cleaning professional.

So it genuinely does work. We found it took a couple of goes to get the feel for the thing, i.e. knowing how much pressure to apply to the blade to suck up the liquid correctly, how to turn and get into corners. Thankfully the Window Vac comes with two sizes of blade head, meaning smaller panes of glass and tricky corners can easily be gotten into.

Once finished simply detach the waste water bottle and drain, and you're set to go again. The vac is charged via the included adaptor and after the initial power-up we've not yet had to recharge, even after doing the whole of the house. That bodes pretty well for those considering getting one of these for large houses and offices.

So although the Karcher Window Vac is a well-made and useful piece of kit, it is the included accessories that really makes it great.
We're just happy that at last windows have their own gadget.

£79.99

Visit www.karcher.co.uk