Last Updated On December 28th, 2020
Finding a vacuum which is as at home in the garden as it is doing the housework can be a chore in itself. Add reliability and a lack of storage space into the mix, and choosing the right vacuum quickly becomes a daunting task. German cleaning specialists Kärcher think they’ve got the answer. We’re putting that claim to the test in this Karcher WD2 product review.
Karcher WD2 Review
Too often, when a product claims to be perfect for a number of applications, it can end up being a disappointment in one way or another. Obviously, if you’re spending your money on a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, you want it to be as good at cleaning up liquids as it is with solids.
The new Karcher WD2 is a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, so the idea is that it can handle anything you throw at it, be that in the car, garage, garden or home. It could be the perfect product to buy if you’re a bit of a petrol head or a DIY enthusiast. Here’s a quick rundown of the features that we will be scrutinizing:
- Design
- Waste Disposal
- Cleaning Tools
Now, let’s take a look in a little bit more detail.
Features & Benefits
With its 1kW motor, the Karcher WD2 wet and dry vacuum cleaner is well able to deal with either. Switching between the two modes is as simple as flicking a switch on the head attachment too. The cartridge filter is designed for both applications, so there’s no need to change anything internally.
However, as you probably know, not every substance is unambiguously a solid or a liquid. In fact, if you’re dealing with a mess that’s a little bit more on the sludgy or chunky side you might find that it’s better to switch between the two modes, first going over the mess in the vacuum’s dry powerful suction mode and then dealing with any remaining liquids.
1. Design: Good Things Come in Small Packages
a. Suction Hose
The designer team behind the new Karcher WD2 wet and dry vacuum cleaner obviously had tight spaces and awkward jobs in mind. Indeed, the Karcher WD2’s body is a fair amount smaller than most other vacuum cleaners. Despite this, the suction hose is an impressive 1.9m in length, which is ideal if you need to reach high shelves in the garage or for wider range.
For storage, the suction hose also wraps neatly around the body. There’s plenty of space on-board to store all your accessories in a neat single package too. This is vital if storage space is hard to come by in your home or shop.
b. Weight
Obviously, we all want our vacuum cleaners to make our life easier rather than harder. Happily, the Kärcher wet and dry vacuum cleaner weighs in at under 5kg, so carrying it around in one hand is pretty much effortless. One snag though is that this weight seems to be mainly at the top of the cleaner’s body unlike other vacuum cleaners.
This isn’t the end of the world, but while researching this Kärcher WD2 review, some users did report a slight problem with it tipping over. A light touch is recommended. You’ll also want to be careful using this new product on the stairs.
c. Material
The weight savings come from the device’s moulded plastic body. This feels perfectly sturdy, but a slight drawback is that it doesn’t seem to insulate noise particularly well with its powerful suction, which makes this vacuum slightly noisier than other vacuum cleaners.
2. Waste Disposal: Push & Pull Locking System
If you’re reading this Karcher WD2 vacuum cleaner review, there’s a good chance you need to clean up substances that you don’t necessarily want touching your skin. Indeed, many liquids in the garden and the garage can be fairly irritant or even flammable.
So you’ll also want to eliminate the risk of spilling the contents of your wet and dry vacuum cleaner all over yourself while you empty it. The folks at Karcher seem to have thought about this, too. Their push & pull locking system makes opening up the device to empty the contents and cleaning the cartridge filter particularly easy, with no need for any jerking or twisting.
One thing to keep in mind though is that this product uses paper bags to collect solids, but these aren’t strictly necessary when dealing only with liquids. As such, when you’re only dealing with liquids you may be better off going bagless and pouring the contents into the appropriate container for disposal.
3. Cleaning Accessories
a. Crevice Tool
Of course, there are also times when you need to clean up smaller messes. In particular, if you take any pride in your car, I’m sure you can think of any number of hard to reach spots that just attract dust and debris. I’m talking about under the pedals, floor, or inside the door pockets. This is even worse if you’ve got kids or pets.
This wet and dry vacuum cleaner comes with a dedicated crevice tool for exactly these scenarios. When combined with the 1.9m hose we’ve already mentioned, there’s essentially no space too small or inaccessible for you to reach.
In fact, this more or less eliminates the need for handheld or cordless vacuum cleaners, which is a real tick in the Kärcher WD2’s favour.
It should be noted at this point however, that the crevice tool and the main cleaning head are really the only accessories which are shipped as standard. While this is slightly disappointing, the upshot is that Kärcher is such a ubiquitous brand that you won’t have any trouble sourcing additional tools for their vacuum cleaners if you need to buy one.
Conclusion
Choosing a hoover among multitude of vacuum cleaners that is practical enough for daily chores, but still capable of handling messes in the garden or garage, is a real challenge. Researching and writing this WD2 review served as an affirmation that it’s not impossible though.
Squeezing a 1kW motor into such a small package, this wet and dry vacuum cleaner comes with a powerful suction to deal with any dirt, while still being compact enough to fit into a tight cubby hole.
Add to that the fact that switching between the wet and dry configurations only requires flicking a switch on the head and we think we’re on to a winner.