Cleaning the garage is something that most people do once or twice a year. Everything, including the garage floor, has become filthy and dusty by this point. A good garage vacuum will make cleaning and maintenance easier throughout the year.
These vacuums range from handheld battery-powered vacuums to larger, more expensive wet/dry vacuums that take up a lot more storage space. A wall-mounted car vacuum may be the most convenient solution in between.
This type of garage vacuum cleaner takes up little space in your garage and is more powerful than smaller handheld battery-powered models. You will be able to reach any corner of your area thanks to the long hose and extension wands. You can even use it to clean your car without having to drive it into your small garage.
A garage vacuum can be used to clean other areas of the house as well. Some even convert into leaf blowers and other dirt and debris blowers.
We chose ten garage vacuums to test and review, taking into account the most important features such as the vacuum’s power, capacity, hose length, and weight.
Table of Contents
What Is a Garage Vacuum Cleaner?
A typical garage cleaner is a wall-mounted vacuum that saves floor space while providing excellent cleaning performance. They remain attached to the wall during and after use, and their long hose ensures that no nook, cranny, or cobweb escapes your reach. No garage mess will ever be too difficult to tackle if you choose the right vacuum.
Dry vacs or wet dry shop vacs are the best garage vacs. And every vacuum technician will tell you that shop vacs are the most powerful floor cleaners ever created. Wet dry vacs typically have two chambers, one for wet messes and one for dry messes.
What Is the Best Garage Vacuum Cleaner?
A wet/dry vacuum cleaner, also known as a shop vac, is typically the best vacuum cleaner for a garage. It can be bagged or bagless, and its dirt bag or bin should not be overflowing. If it’s a wall-mounted model designed for garage use, portability may not be an important factor. Some can be quite heavy, making movement more difficult. Choose a portable option if necessary. Stay within the $100-$500 price range and you’ll be fine. Jump right into the buying guide below the reviews for more information on how to choose a suitable vacuum for your garage.
What To Look At When Choosing Garage Vacuum For your Garage
Cost
Vacuums can be pricey, right? And it could be something that is preventing you from considering a new one that makes vacuuming easier. Let’s take a look at vacuums for every price range.
Bulk
Most of the time, lugging around the bulk of a shop vac makes vacuuming the garage more trouble than it’s worth. However, there are models of all shapes and sizes available to make vacuuming less of a chore.
Power
Your house vacuum may lack the suction power required to clean the debris that accumulates in a garage. So, let’s look at vacuums with different power levels to suit your needs.
Features
Even vacuum cleaners have advanced in technology in recent years. Portable wall-mount vacuums, smart vacuums controlled by your phone, and wearable wet/dry vacuums are among the new features available to make your vacuuming experience less of a chore.
Ridgid Stor-N-Go WD5500
The small shop vac that won our test is quick and powerful. Its clog-resistant, large-diameter hose is supple and easy to work with, even in cold weather. The same can be said for its power cord. Nothing else came close in our tests for sucking up a gallon of water: 2.2 seconds, which was twice as fast as any other machine. Finally, it has the best accessory kit of any of the vacs we tested, including a well-designed wall-mounting bracket, making it ideal for positioning near a workbench. Its only flaw is that it’s a little top-heavy, which becomes less of an issue as the tank fills with debris.
Armor All AA255
The test’s quietest vacuum is at home, sucking up debris and other messes in the car (though you should still wear hearing protection). It has plenty of power for light-duty cleaning and a handy Velcro cord band. We also like its unusually shaped (and oddly named) accessory, the Deluxe Car Nozzle. Calling it “deluxe” may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s actually well suited to the low-nap carpet used in cars, as well as ribbed floor mats. Our only complaint is that the power cord, while adequate in length, is stiff—especially in cold weather. Our recommendation is to keep the machine in the house, where a little extra warmth will help maintain it.
Hotor Car Vacuum Cleaner
The Dustbuster-style Hotor car vacuum is an efficient model. The Hotor is one of the lightest options available, weighing only 2.44 pounds, making it easier to maneuver in a car’s interior or clean for extended periods of time. The long power cord (16.4 feet) also reduces your worries during a car wash.
One thing to keep in mind about the Hotor is that the description on the Sears website mentions that the vacuum has difficulty picking up debris such as pet hair. If you frequently transport a pet in your vehicle, you should think about getting a different car vacuum.
Shark Rocket Corded Bagless Stick Vacuum
If the Hotor car vacuum isn’t quite your style and you have a little more money to spend, the Shark Rocket Corded Bagless Stick Vacuum is a great alternative. It comes with a 25-foot power cord and, like the Dyson model further down this list, has enough suction power to be used as a house vacuum cleaner.
The Shark Rocket attachments make cleaning nooks in cars simple. A precision duster, a pet multi-tool, and a crevice tool can reach almost anywhere in a vehicle, including under the front seats.
