A wet dry vac is an ultra-versatile cleaning tool that combines the best of upright vacs and mops. Today, we’re looking at three of the best wet dry vacuums—the Bissell CrossWave 1785A, the Karcher FC 5, and the Hoover FloorMate FH40160PC. Let’s see which of them comes out on top!
Bissell CrossWave 1785A
The Bissell is arguably the most unique of the bunch due to its multi-surface cleaning ability. The dual-action microfiber brush roll works well at both cleaning bare floors as well as low-pile carpeting. Best of all, the Bissell can vacuum and wash simultaneously, giving you the ability to kill two birds with a single wet dry vac.
Switching between bare and carpet cleaning mode can be done by pushing a button conveniently located on the handle. With the control pad literally in the palm of your hand, transitioning between bare floors and carpets has never been easier or quicker.
The sizable tank holds onto as much as 0.4 liters of clean and dirty water combined to give you longer-lasting cleaning sessions with each tankful of water. The tank detaches effortlessly from the unit to make refilling and cleaning quick and simple.
What’s not quick and simple is cleaning out the microfiber brush roll. There’s no self-cleaning feature so you’ll have to roll your sleeves up, scrub, and wring the brush manually. However, isn’t unique to the Bissell—none of these models have a self-cleaning brush.
Overall, the Bissell is an excellent wet dry vacuum cleaner that works fantastically at cleaning all types of surfaces, including carpets! The only regret you’ll have is not picking up one or two full-size bottles of Bissell’s Multi-Surface Formula.
Karcher KC 5
Next, we have the Karcher KC 5—arguably the least-impressive looking of the bunch. However, don’t let its simple design fool you; what it’s lacking in aesthetics, it more than makes up for in cleaning performance.
The Karcher has an innovative self-drive motor that moves the floorhead forward automatically with pushing involved. At less than eight pounds (dry weight), users won’t have problems maneuvering the tool anyway, but the self-driving motor does make things a lot easier.
Similar to the Bissell, the Karcher has two microfiber brushrolls that make quick and easy work out of scrubbing sticky stains off of smooth floors. The brushes come off easily from the vacuum head and need to be cleaned after every cycle to remove sand and grit.
The floorhead attaches to the body with a flexible hinge that allows you to clean effortlessly underneath and around furniture. Also, without any bezels on the sides of the floorhead, you don’t need to worry about pushing dirt into corners and edges—the wide brush roll makes contact with edges to pick absolutely everything off of your floors.
In many ways, the Karcher is very similar to the Bissell, but its self-driving motor and maneuverability make this an excellent option for those with aching lower backs.
Hoover FloorMate FH40160PC
Last but definitely not least is the Hoover FloorMate, the wet dry upright that we consider to be the most stylish of the three. Since its rocking the Hoover name, you can expect to do a lot of amazing things with this vacuum at home.
The first thing worth noting is that the Hoover excels at cleaning smooth floors with its unique brush roll system. The difference between this and the others is that the Hoover’s dual brushrolls spin in opposite directions to produce an all-around deeper clean on all types of bare floors. This, however, means that there’s no self-driving feature the counter-rotating brushes can end up turning the floorhead to either the left or right unintentionally.
Like the Karcher, the Hoover has a dual-tank design that holds clean and dirty water in separate tanks. This means never accidentally reusing dirty water to clean your floors. They are located on either side of the unit and detach easily for easy refills and rinsing.
And to get rid of those extra-stubborn stains, the Hoover comes with a convenient Boost Control button on the handle that shoots out extra soap solution for enhanced cleaning performance. For high-traffic areas with smooth floors, this button will serve you well.
Bissell vs. Karcher vs. Hoover: Which Should I Get?
Deciding on a definitive winner between the Bissell, Karcher, and Hoover is a lot more difficult than we expected. They all perform exceptionally well, but the Bissell’s versatility (bare AND carpeted cleaning abilities) sets it apart from the rest.
As for the Karcher, we consider this to be the most basic of the three, but its self-driving system is truly a thing of beauty. As for the Hoover, this is the go-to tool for ultra-deep carpet cleaning.
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