One of the most astounding home cleaning tools you could own is a wet vac, a.k.a., a wet/dry vac. These unconventional devices do a lot more than just suction up dust and pebbles. If you have pets, children, or spouses that always seem to drag mud onto your floors, a wet vac can be your best friend.
What Is a Wet Vac?
A wet vac is a powerful vacuum cleaner that draws in both dry debris and liquid spills from all types of floor surfaces. Due to its versatility, it’s the go-to vacuum cleaner for auto garages, construction sites, and households. Wet vacs are heavy-duty appliances that do quick work out of floor-cleaning tasks. Depending on the model, you can remove stains like spilled wine and milk to wet cement.
In terms of looks, you’ll find more similarities between a wet vac and a canister vacuum than you would with a traditional upright. As such, a wet vac sports a beefier motor, larger storage capacity, and a wide range of cleaning tools to help you remove wet and dry messes from all nooks and crannies.
The inner portion of the wet vac is protected by waterproof lining, which protects the delicate electrical components from making contact with wet debris. With regular maintenance and sufficient rest periods per cleaning session, you can expect your wet vac to work for around five years.
How Does a Wet Vac Work?
Wet vacs are generally used in the same way as canister vacuum cleaners, though using a cleaning tool isn’t necessary if you want to remove larger bits of wet, moist, or dry debris off of floors.
How a wet vac works is pretty straightforward. It has a two-bucket system instead of a collection bag that automatically separates liquid and solid waste. Airflow decreases inside of the canister, which allows the liquid and dry dirt to drop into their respective buckets. An internal impeller fan releases air from inside the canister unit after passing it through a filter system.
What Can I Do with a Wet Vac?
Remove Wet Messes from Carpets and Smooth Floors
The main benefit of a wet vac over traditional vacuum cleaners is that they can loosen and remove wet debris and stains from floors. If someone tracks mud onto your carpet, you can use a wet vac to remove most of the stain before using a carpet shampooer to do the rest.
Vacuum Drapes
Basically, anything a canister vacuum can do, a wet vac can do. This includes vacuuming drapes, getting rid of ceiling cobwebs, vacuum upholstery and carpeted steps, and the list goes on.
Unclog Sinks
Here’s one of the more unique uses of a wet vac. If your sink, bathtub, or hot tub is clogged, your wet can come to the rescue. Wet vacs typically come with a blower feature, which shoots air out of an outlet port. Simply switch the hose from the vacuum to blow position, place the hose in the drain, and turn on the wet vac.
Clean Fireplaces
While it’s not recommended, you can use a wet vac to vacuum wooden fireplaces in a pinch. Immediately after doing this, make sure you wash, wring, and dry the filter to remove as much ash as possible.
