Wet-Dry vacuum cleaner: recommendations?

[Another John]

I'm considering buying a wet/dry vacuum cleaner, mainly to spruce up the carpets once a year.

I'm looking at a VAX 6131 -- a friend had one of these, which I borrowed now and again a couple of years ago, and it did the job well; she herself was delighted with it.

Of the negative reviews on Amazon (I always look at them first), more than one says "they don't make them like they used to". implying there's been a loss of build quality.

Any comments, or any other recommendations?

BTW I've tried various cleaners over the years, from the dreadful "Rug Doctor" to the latest VAX upright carpet cleaner. None was as useful as the VAX 6131 that I used to borrow.

Another small point: I won't be using this as a dry cleaner - I have Dyson(s) for that job.

Thanks for any views John

[ss]

Yes I have heard the older vax models were better built, there are some available on ebay but of course will be 2nd hand.

[Chris Bartram]

Numatic George is pretty good.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not what I'd call a wet or dry vacuum. That is normally applied to one which can be used to pick up any type of water - like say to empty a drain.

What you seem to be looking for is a device to shampoo carpets.

[Clive George]

Ooh, and to tie to another thread, they're a proper UK supplier.

We bought a very cheap Screwfix titan for sucking up water - 35 quid, and the quality shows. But for the occasional use it gets put to (tidying up after floods) it does well.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Wouldn't it be better to hire as needed? Big lump to have lying around unused apart from twice a year.

[Bob Eager]

+1

[John Rumm]

I tend to find a rug doctor runs rings round a vax or any of the other "lets just suck some wet stuff through the pile and back up the hose" style of cleaners. (unless new models have got dramatically better that is)

[Tim Watts]

+1. Heavy buggers but you only use it once a year (or 4 times a year if you have babies :)

And you can store it in the shop...

[Another John]

Granted - but I'm figuring that (at the price advertised on Amazon) it will be cheaper in the long run, and it will come in useful for me, and for my friends, more often). Also: we have space under the stairs -- this was definitely a consideration, Dave!

Thanks to Chris and to Bob for the Numatic George recommendation: I'll have a look.

J.

[Another John]

Thanks John, I did hire one of these a few years ago: I couldn't stand the incredible noise, the terrible manoeuvrability, the difficulty of getting into corners, and the weight! Apart from that, it didn't seem to do a better job than the VAX that I'd borrowed -- though I do appreciate your summing-up of such more lightweight machines, above :-)

J.

[Brian Gaff]

Well certainly my not that old normal vax seems to be built out of crap plastic that crumbles and falls to bits, but it has also lost suck, even if you just testthe suck directly with the filters removed, so I fancy there is a problem in the compressor. Brian

[John Rumm]

Heavy and difficult to move certainly - but for a deeply soiled carpet the powered agitation and brushing makes all the difference IME. Once you have the technique of simply pulling it backwards toward you, its relatively little effort. The VAX models I have used in comparison, can only wash using the hand tools (even on the upright), which means lots of manual scrubbing to get the same job done.

I seem to have acquired loads (bought one, got given three!) over the years. I keep one as a portable dust extractor (sometimes with a cyclone pre-filter[1]), and another is permanently left in "wet" configuration so that I can grab it for dealing with floods etc.

[1] (the vax in that picture turned its toes up eventually and lost an armature winding)

[Another John]

All I can say is: wadda guy!! DIY Legend!

J.