Kärcher WV 6 Premium Window Vac

Product Information

A window vac is suctioning up all the dirty water or liquid from a spill into a tank connected to its body. The last thing you want to deal with is an overflowing mess of dirty water in the middle of cleaning your windows. Clean all your home windows, shower screens, mirrors, kitchen or bathroom tiles to perfection. In fact, any wet flat surface can get squeaky clean using a window vac’s powerful suction and squeegee system, even those accidental spills.

Spurred on by the success on my bathroom tiles, I turned my attention to the shower screen – which was in a pretty dire state. Although we have a squeegee sitting on the tiles for use after each shower, we seldom use it – which results in a buildup of limescale on the shower screen. Like the other products, this window vac has a two-year warranty that can be lengthened if you buy directly from Karcher. Mind, Kärcher isn’t the only window vac manufacturer out there – you can see a few more brands in our guide to the Best Window Vacs– but since Kärcher invented the window vac and its range has been so favourably reviewed by other users, that’s the brand I thought I’d concentrate on. The Vac comes with a 280mm suction nozzle designed to let you get right into the corners and edges of every window. A smaller nozzle is also available as an accessory, ensuring every cleaning task is covered.Let’s be real– window washing is a chore, and it’s not always easy to get that perfect finish, without smudges or streaks. It’s no wonder so many people save themselves the hassle and choose to hire a window cleaner. Exchangeable suction heads– This is a wonderful perk if you plan on using your window vac for multiple jobs within your home. While the big windows in your front room will need a large squeegee to cut down on cleaning time, a larger squeegee can be a hindrance when trying to clean your car windows. Having a large and small suction head to change out depending on your job, makes for a much more versatile and convenient window vac. Cleaning extras: Many window vacs come with cleaning bottles, microfibre pads and even their own branded cleaning spray. While useful, these extras are unlikely to perform any better than the stuff you already have in your cleaning cupboard. Interchangeable suction heads: Most window vacs come with a 280mm suction head as standard, but many include an additional smaller head for fiddly jobs such as leaded windows and front door panels. Pivoting suction heads can also help to get into awkward spots. Like the other models, the design is lightweight and compact. It’s also rated for use with every smooth surface, able to clean to the bottom of a window. The LED battery indicator lets you know when it’s time to charge.

Weight and capacity: A kilo may not feel like much at first, but after half an hour of holding the unit at arm’s length it will start to hurt – especially when it fills up with 300ml or so of dirty water. The bigger the tank, the more cleaning you can do without having to stop and empty it, but the heavier it will get. So, tank size is less important than leak-proofing and easy emptying. What extra features and accessories are worth having?In addition, the dirty water tank is 50 per cent larger than that of the other models. The dirty water tank functions like the dustbin on a traditional vacuum. The larger it is, the more surface you can clean before needing to dump it. Streaky windshields are a big problem when soapy water isn’t given a chance to dry. This window vac makes cleaning your windshield easy, especially since the battery lasts for 100 minutes per charge. I have to say I was impressed by the results. Surprisingly, I didn't have to repeatably go over the area with the spray bottle, and the squeegee blade wiped away all of the diluted concentrated cleaning liquid to reveal a shiny surface – with no water marks to be seen.

This Karcher product has a full two year Karcher Domestic use warranty. The warranty covers the machine for faulty or defective parts during the two year warranty period. This does not cover wear and tear and any consumable parts such as blades, motors, accessories or the result of commercial or industrial use that will result in the warranty being void and invalid. The battery arrives with just six minutes of power, so I first needed to set the appliance to charge. This took no longer than a few hours, and I could watch the battery indicator count up, minute-by-minute. Once it reached 100 minutes, we were ready to clean up to 300m² on one single charge. The lithium-ion battery has a charge that can last 25 minutes. Testers have been able to clean 70 square metres with a single charge. While this isn’t the whopping 300 metres of the WV 5, it is suitable for small bathrooms, small apartments, and the average vehicle. Suction power is excellent and you get oodles of extras in the box, including a smaller head and microfibre attachment. However, what pushes the Bosch behind the Karcher and Vileda in our list is its failure, reported by some users, to clean quite as well to the very edges of your windows.Look for models with LED indicator lights so you can keep an eye on your battery life and not end up with a dead vac in the middle of cleaning your windows. This can really slow you down as many window vac models have long charge times, which we’ll cover in the next section. Battery Charge Time