2022’s Best Wet/dry and Upright Vacuum Cleaners

A vacuum cleaner with an upright design is a lot easier to use; simply plug it in, lean it back, and start pushing. We rate all vacuum cleaners based on their ease of use and who would benefit most from each one.

How do we rank and review each wet and dry vacuum cleaner? What should be considered? We look at primary factors such as performance, price, and size, while also looking at their inner functions such as suction performance, width, ease of use, while always keeping user needs in mind. The rating of the vacuum cleaners is primarily based on their ease of use and who would benefit from each one, but the primary and inner functionality are considered major parts of the equation here.

This is a list of the best upright vacuum cleaners and wet/dry vacuum cleaners for 2022.
We all can agree that it’s imperative to have a vacuum cleaner that cleans quickly and efficiently, providing all of the tools we need to get into every corner. In spite of the fact that needs differ between people and households, we have listed the best plug-in vacuum cleaners for you to choose from.

You can find a great chart of the best cordless vacuum cleaners if you want a battery-powered alternative to these plug-in vacuum cleaners. The humble plug-in cleaner still holds its own against cordless and whole-home cleaners, even as cordless products become more powerful. Also, they never run out of power, so you can clean as long as you want, and they have higher suction levels by default.

A vacuum cleaner can be classified as a cylinder or an upright. A cylinder vacuum cleaner has you dragging the main body while you hold the hose in place. Although they are more cumbersome to store, they are usually only held by the floor head and hose, so they are lighter to carry around.

The vacuum cleaners we review additionally include wet/dry vacuums, which are usually cylinder vacuums that vacuum dirty air into a bag. They can have filters added that make them capable of vacuuming wet mess, too. These vacuum cleaners are designed for jobs that require a lot of special attention, such as DIY projects.

The vacuum cleaner’s suction power is very important. Airwatts (AW), which measure suction power and airflow (the better the suction, the better the vacuum). Be wary of reviews and specs that mention suction power alone, as it does not tell the whole story.

Many cleaners now use rotating floor brushes to agitate dirt, so their overall suction power is less, and therefore they use less suction power. Generally, plug-in cleaners with powered floor heads should generate 200AW or more, and those without standard floor heads should generate 300AW.

Unlike dry vacuum cleaners, wet and dry vacuum cleaners can take up water and debris from DIY tasks. Look for them to reach around 400AW.

In addition to raw power, we also test how well each vacuum performs in real-world situations. Using a single pass, we test the ability of the floor head to clean to the edges of the rooms, and how well it picks up dirt on carpets and hard floors. This is because the best vacuum cleaners should be able to clean any mess rapidly, without the need for multiple sweeps.

Keeping with our emphasis on form, the list is compiled of plug-in vacuum cleaners at all different prices to suit every level of budget. Each review clearly gives product performance, as well as any flaws that they may have.

NZ860UKT Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum

Pros

• Cleaning that can be customized
• An effective strategy
• A fresh smell fills your home with anti-odour pods

Cons

• I find emptying bins to be fiddly

The link to purchase the Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap and Anti-Odor Upright Vacuum NZ860UKT from Amazon can be found here

Review

There are several neat new features in the Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap and Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum NZ860UKT, more than just a simple upgrade to last year’s model. As a first step, we have DuoClean floor heads for both carpets and hard floors.

In testing, both the carpet brush and soft brush roll came out clean with this new model, which has Shark’s Anti Hair Wrap technology.

The Shark Anti-Odour pod is an optional addition that releases a sweet smell as you vacuum. We like the fresh scent it leaves behind, making our house feel just as clean as when we bought the vacuum.

Upright Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti-Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Vacuum has 268 watts of power. Unlike the Henry, the NZ860UKT doesn’t need as much power because its floor head agitates dirt. Despite the fact that it aced every test on carpets, hard floors, and pet hair, it requires shaking to get everything out.

The link to purchase the NZ860UKT Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum from Best Buy can be found here

With Lift-Away, you can lift the central cylinder of this vacuum cleaner out of the way. As a result, you’re able to easily get the floor head and wand under sofas and the like, as well as get into hard-to-reach places in your home or even your car.

We rated this vacuum cleaner number one overall, and it comes in at an affordable price too.

Shark Bagless Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner CZ500UKT

Pros

• An effective method
• Controls positioned cleverly
• The construction quality is excellent
• Easy under-furniture cleaning thanks to Flexology

Cons

• Keeping them organized is a bit of a challenge

The link to purchase the Shark Bagless Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner CZ500UKT  from Amazon can be found here

Review

Its upright and cordless vacuum cleaners are best known, but Shark released its first cylinder vacuum cleaner with the CZ500UKT Bagless Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner. The shark cylinder cleaner is the same model that we know and love, but in a different shape. It has excellent cleaning on all surfaces and a brilliant design, making it one of our favorite models.

We found that Shark’s four caster wheels made it easy to slide around while moving the cleaner, which makes moving the cleaner much easier.

One of the drawbacks with cylinder cleaners is bending down to operate the controls on the main unit. We certainly saved our backs by switching to power and mode with just a flick of a thumb. Here, we could do all of that from the handle.

Among the tools included in the box are a motorized pet tool, a crevice tool, and a brush, so detail cleaning is easy. Essentially, the main cleaning head is the DuoClean, equipped with a roller for hard floors, a brush for carpets, and a brush that prevents hair from wrapping around it.

A clip holds the wand and floor head in place so you can carry them around.

A cordless vacuum cleaner in regular mode delivers 92AW, a standard vacuum cleaner delivers 227AW, and an extreme vacuum cleaner delivers 285AW at 100% suction power.

Our test dirt on carpet was handled beautifully by the Eco mode, with the floor head agitating the dirt brilliantly. One sweep through left a clean path. All other areas, including hard floors and pet hair, were handled by Standard. The cleaner fell slightly behind Shark’s best uprights on the edge test and needed the crevice tool to finish, but that was our only minor complaint.

Shark’s uprights are great if you want the features Shark’s cylinder vacuum cleaners have.

Stihl SE 33

Pros

• Exceptional
• Capacity for large quantities
• Sucks and blows
• All spills performed exceptionally well

The link to purchase the Stihl SE 33 from Amazon can be found here

Cons

• Some surfaces make it difficult to push

Review

Apart from using a powerful wet and dry vacuum cleaner, like the Stihl SE 33, you should also use a standard vacuum cleaner to handle the dirt and mess you create during DIY. A cylinder vacuum cleaner looks much like any other, but you can fit a filter to suck up wet mess as well, as well as suction dirt into a paper bag, making it easier to empty. With its huge power but great value, this is the best wet and dry vacuum we’ve ever reviewed.

As opposed to standard vacuum cleaners, wet and dry vacuum cleaners can exceed the power limits set by the manufacturer: the SE 33 draws 1400W, while a standard vacuum cleaner draws less than 750W. We measured 406AW of raw power, which is twice as much as most other models in this category.

Due to its powerful suction, we needed a great deal of force to push the floor head on some surfaces, such as carpet, but it’s so powerful that it’s difficult to push it on some surfaces. As expected, this vacuum cleaner performed perfectly on carpet, edges, pet hair, and hard floors. We even spread wet Weetabix all over the floor, which the SE 33 handled well.

With the accessories, the SE 33 quickly sucks up DIY mess and even larger debris, so it doesn’t need so much power. It is designed for these types of jobs that cause more mess than general house dirt.

Since it’s hard to push this cleaner on everyday surfaces, it’s not a good everyday cleaner; rather, it’s best suited for DIY debris, such as sawdust and plaster messes. Any household can benefit from this vacuum cleaner, as a DIY vacuum or workshop vacuum, which can handle dirty jobs a regular vacuum cannot.

Shark Anti Hair Wrap Upright Vacuum Cleaner XL with Powered Lift-Away & TruePet PZ1000UKT

Pros

• Effortless
• Controls that are clever
• Surfaces are thoroughly cleaned
• There are many benefits to using Lift-Away mode

Cons

Anorexic

Review

Powered Lift-Away and TruePet make the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Upright Vacuum Cleaner XL the best vacuum on the market. Our floor head is wider than usual, and the bin holds 1.6 litres, so we could clean longer without emptying it. The powerful cleaning power and wide floor head make this our favorite upright vacuum for large homes because they allow us to cover a lot of space in a short time.

With Shark’s DuoClean technology, the floor head has both soft rollers for hard floors and brush rolls for carpets. It’s a smart design since carpets don’t need to be changed, and the Anti Hair Wrap means that hair will never clog the vacuum head.

The link to purchase the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Upright Vacuum Cleaner XL with Powered Lift-Away and TruePet PZ1000UKT on Amazon can be found here

It is easier to do more in a single go with a wide floor head. The PZ1000UKT cleaned all parts of the carpet mess in a clean, thorough manner and, because of the wide head, fewer sweeps were required to clean it. When you multiply that around a house, the wide head captures more dirt on a shorter sweep, which means you can clean faster. It picked up pet hair and hard floors perfectly, right to the edges of rooms.

In addition, this vacuum cleaner has 270AW power on hard floors (as well as 254AW on carpets when the brush roll spins faster to agitate dirt), which is more powerful than most cordless cleaners in their short-lived boost modes. It also features a Deep Pile mode that lowers suction to 159AW and reduces roller speed, which prevents clogging and tangling.

The main wand has all of the power and mode selection controls, so you don’t have to bend down to use them. Lift-Away models come with their main cylinders removed, which allows the wand and hose to reach the detail tools, including an excellent crevice tool and an anti-tangle pet brush, which both worked well on our sofas.

Although this large vacuum cleaner may be a good choice if you have plenty of storage space and a big house, those of us living in smaller homes or apartments may be better off with a smaller cleaner.

Bissell SmartClean Pet

Pros

• Exceptional
• Power is automatically adjusted
• A great way to pick up dirt
• BIN LARGE

Cons

• It’s big
• Motorized minitools are not available

The link to purchase the Bissell SmartClean Pet from Amazon can be found here

Review

In terms of size and capacity, the Bissell SmartClean Pet is an impressive cylinder vacuum cleaner, weighing 9.98kg. This means that you can clean a large area quickly, making it one of our top choices for big homes.

You don’t have to worry about the weight if you’re moving it around because the large wheels make it much easier. When we reviewed this cylinder cleaner, we found it was as easy to move as any. It has a 3m hose and is quite flexible: we were able to clean our stairs with the cleaner at the bottom. The only time we lifted the vacuum cleaner was when we went upstairs physically.

The link to purchase the Bissell SmartClean Pet from Walmart can be found here

This brush provides effective, tangle-free cleaning on carpets and hard floors alike. It’s an anti-tangle brush designed to prevent hair from wrapping around it. And it’s effective: we didn’t have to remove any hair from the roller.

We only had to empty this vacuum cleaner’s 3-litre bin every couple of weeks or so because of its size.

In maximum mode (which is the required amount of power and exceeds many cordless cleaners on turbo mode), suction was measured at 227AW. In minimum mode, we measured 185AW, which is a more sedate power setting for thicker carpets. It has an Auto mode, too: we found that it adapts perfectly to the surface it is on.

This cleaner performed exceptionally well in real-world tests, cleaning edges perfectly, sweeping carpets and hardwood floors clean, and removing pet hair effectively.

When the vacuum is upright, there is another clip on its underside for storage when it is folded. A little disappointing is the lack of clips for the brush and crevice tool. Particularly for a vacuum cleaner designed to clean carpets and upholstery, the lack of a mini motorised upholstery tool is disappointing.

If you’re not concerned about its size and weight, you’ll find the power and cleaning ability of this cylinder vacuum cleaner excellent.

Miele Boost CX1

Pros

• Intuitive
• Controls with well-defined markings
• Tools are well chosen and useful

The link to purchase the Miele Boost CX1 from Amazon can be found here

Cons

• Some surfaces can be difficult to push

Review

The Miele Boost CX1 is different from other cylinder vacuums because it’s compact and easy to store.

The first advantage is the compact size and weight of this cylinder (280 x 400 x 400). Also, all the tools (dusting brush, crevice tool and upholstery brush) are on board, and the floor head is clipped. Overall, we found this to be the neatest and most compact cylinder we’ve ever seen.

You may need to use an extra power socket to clean your house when using such a cleaner due to its shorter hose and power cable than rivals.

Our favorite thing about this vacuum cleaner is the power settings. The settings are clearly labelled based on what each mode is designed to do, whether it is for curtains and upholstery, rugs, carpets or hard floors.

The Link to purchase the Miele Boost CX1 from Best Buy can be found here

In addition, the cleaner has a lot of power. It records an 89AW on the lowest setting, and a huge 422AW on the highest.

As we tested in real-world settings, the carpet was cleaned immediately and the cleaner reached right to the edges of the room. Hard floor pickup was flawless. It struggled to remove pet hair with only suction; a cleaner with a motorised brush would be more effective. There is a Miele Cat & Dog version that has a motorized brush that makes it ideal for these tasks.

A compact and powerful cylinder cleaner is a great option if you live in a more modest home.

Hoover Telios Extra TX50PET

Pros

Easily maneuverable and lightweight

An effective method

Surfaces are cleaned well

Storage is easy

Cons

• Floor heads are too numerous
• There is difficulty pushing the Carpet Optimax head

Review

This Hoover Telios Extra TX50PET cylinder vacuum cleaner offers great value with decent performance.

The link to purchase the Hoover Telios Extra TX50PET from Amazon can be found here

We seldom had to lift the vacuum, since it has wheels and weighs only 5kg.

There is space in the front of the flat for the crevice tool, dusting brush and furniture nozzle. When the front flat is opened, the Telios Extra TX50PET is easy to store. Besides a clip for the floor head, it has a hose that can be stored upright.

As mentioned above, Hoover includes three main floor heads in the box, but we only used the 2-in-1 head; the parquet head was a waste of time, and the Carpet Optimax head was nearly impossible to push on carpet.

There are 207 watts of suction power on maximum power and 117 watts on minimum power, which is a little behind most powerful cleaners. Still, the power levels are higher than those of cordless cleaners in standard mode, and you won’t have to worry about battery life.

Despite the vacuum’s high performance, it cleaned right up to the skirting board, took care of large debris on hard floors without leaving behind any mess, and easily removed cat hair from furniture.

Hoover H-Upright 300

Pros

• This is an excellent deal
• Easily transportable
• Controls that are clever

Cons

• There is a great deal of fiddly work involved with the wand
• Plug-ins are not very powerful

The link to purchase the Hoover-H Upright 300 from Amazon can be found here

Review

Although you may need to make a few sweeps to be sure you cover everything, the Hoover H-Upright 300 is extremely light and well priced.

It is just a matter of tipped back the head and moving it around to use the vacuum. As the floor head rotates, we were able to quickly snake around chair legs. A large number like this.Under lower furniture, such as sofas, the vacuum cleaner cannot fit the 5-liter bin. A crevice tool and dusting brush are included for detail cleaning and reaching under furniture. Designed for ease of storage, both clip on the vacuum cleaner’s back.Easily reach regular cleaning tasks with the 1m power cable that wraps around the rear storage clips.

You can flip open the bottom of the cleaner to empty dirt a lot easier after you’ve finished cleaning. One filter in the cleaner and one here must be cleaned with water regularly in order for the suction to function properly.

With 185.9 AirWatts of suction, the Hoover H-Upright 300 performs slower than many other plug-in cleaners, which are typically around 200AW or higher. However, it remains more powerful than most cordless models on maximum power.

I am satisfied with the performance. Setting the floor head to carpet mode, we swept the H-Upright 300 once over a teaspoon of flour on the carpet. It was still easy to push the cleaner on short-pile carpet after closing the vent and switching to hard floor mode. We were soon able to clean up all the mess after this improved results. The hair test I conducted on my pet showed quality results. We combed cat hair into the carpet with the H-Upright 300 and it picked it all up.

It was harder for the H-Upright 300 to handle my carpet tile test, in which flour was sprinkled right up to the skirting board. On hard floors, the H-Upright 300 left traces of dust behind. Using the H-Upright 300 at a variety of angles and sweeping it a few more times soon collected the bulk of the mess, with only the crevice tool needed for the small particles that remained at the edges.

A single sweep was all that was required to clean up a teaspoonful of rice on hard floors, without dropping a single grain.

A plug-in vacuum cleaner would normally be loud in use, but not distressingly so at 74.3dB.

Karcher WD6 P Premium

Pros

• It is super-strong
• System for drainage that is clever
• Cleaning of filters with smart technology

Cons

• An enormous amount
• Instruments that are useful

Review

It sucks up dust and larger debris from any surface instantly, thanks to its big, powerful size. With a smart filter cleaner, you don’t have to change the filter after wet spills. It’s perfect for dealing with filth and mess like plaster dust from DIY projects and sawdust. If you frequently do household chores, the Karcher WD6 P Premium may well be a good choice.

The link to purchase the Karcher WD6 P Premium from Amazon can be found here

A great all-round vacuum cleaner, it has phenomenal power, a power tool outlet, and is able to handle wet and dry mess. It’s quite large, however, and a bit flimsy to store. Consequently, it is ideal for those who have a garage or shed where they can store it when it isn’t in use.

It comes with a crevice tool, floor head (with a switch for raising the brushes for normal vacuuming, to remove water), a tool attachment, and a mini detail hose. Using a tool adapter, you can use the vacuum cleaner to pull dirt away from a power tool while using it.

It is possible to get a lot more power with wet and dry vacuum cleaners, since they don’t have the same power restrictions as normal vacuums. We measured the Karcher WD6 P Premium at a huge 472AW, the highest amount we have ever recorded for any vacuum cleaner. It is capable of sucking up water, debris, and even a great deal of dust and dirt than a regular vacuum.

Karcher’s WD6 P Premium is capable of taking care of both wet and dry mess and has an astounding amount of power to tackle any mess it encounters. A vacuum cleaner will quickly clean an area if you try to suck up sawdust with it. In addition, it cleans up spills in seconds, regardless of whether they are wet or larger debris. Integrated filter cleaning keeps the machine running smoothly as you use it. It’s also easy to empty, and easy to maintain. A cleaner job will be hard to find if you have dirt jobs to deal with regularly.

Numatic Henry HVR160

Pros

• Exceptional
• Surfaces of all types are thoroughly cleaned
• Mobility is easy
• Packs that are large

The link to purchase the Numatic Henry HVR160 from Amazon can be found here

Cons

• On some surfaces, it can be challenging to push
• The storage of these items is a little untidy

Review

With its large capacity, high suction power, and reasonable price, Numatic Henry HVR160 goes beyond appearances. It also has a reputation for lasting forever, as it has a reputation for being an extremely long-lasting cylinder cleaner.

Since it is easy to wheel around, it won’t need to be picked up often. The vacuum cleaner weighs 7.5kg, but it is quite chunky, weighing 7.5kg. With a total reach of 12.4m from a power socket, the hose length is 2.4m, and the power cable is 10m. In most homes, you will be able to clean the whole floor with a single plug.

Replacement bags cost from £4.49 for three of the Henry’s bags, which make it a very good value. The Henry can hold 6 litres and has a very large capacity.

There are a variety of accessories included in the box, including a floor head that can switch between carpeting and hard floors, as well as a crevice tool, dusting brush, upholstery brush, and extension tube.

With a power rating of 408AW, the Henry vacuum cleaner is one of the strongest vacuum cleaners we’ve tested. The Henry does this because it doesn’t have any motorised tools to agitate dirt, so it relies solely on suction power to take dirt off carpets and hard floors. However, all that power means the floor head is hard to push across some surfaces, sucking up lighter rugs in the process.

With just a teaspoon of flour, we could sweep a single path through the mess. After a single sweep forward and backward, the carpet was completely clean. The Henry cleaned everything perfectly to the edge of the carpet tiles, even when we sprinkled flour right up to the skirting boards in the tricky edge test. As a result of the lack of a motorized brush, the cleaner also picked up pet hair, although it was a bit difficult to do so. It also excelled at cleaning hard floors.

This bagged vacuum cleaner offers plenty of power and is well priced if you want a reliable bagged vacuum. Despite its relatively low price and excellent cleaning capabilities, the past Henry vacuum cleaners have been known to last a long time, making it a great vacuum for any home, although if you have pets, get one with a brush roll.

Vacmaster Respira

Pros

• Exceptional
• Tools that can be used for two purposes at once
• I highly recommend this product

Cons

• Somewhat cheap

The link to purchase the Vacmaster Respira from Amazon can be found here

Review

Vacmaster’s Respira aims to simplify vacuum cleaners while still offering plenty of power, despite its back-to-basics approach.

The link to purchase the Vacmaster Respira from Walmart can be found here

With its upright shape, it’s perfect for more general cleaning jobs, and depending on the model you choose, it comes with or without pet tools. It is still a versatile cleaner even if you do not have the pet model. For instance, the 3-in-1 crevice tool is a very useful tool for removing upholstery.

The two-litre bin is removable from the vacuum cleaner’s body, and it can be opened by pressing a button to release the collected dirt into a bin. The vacuum cleaner’s body separates from it. Before using the Respira, I recommend opening and closing the door manually a few times since it was stiff at first.

It’s easy to clean the bin because there is a removable and washable secondary filter beneath the lid.

Vacmaster Respira has only one suction mode, although the floor roller speed can be switched from Hard Floor to Carpet using a button on the side. The vacuum cleaner looks a little cheap, but that’s not a big deal. It has an air vent you can open to reduce suction pressure if there is too much suction, as I found on short-pile carpet.

It has a lot of power, which is why it is hard to move. As measured at 229AW, it is within reach of a Shark NZ850UKT. Our test mess was cleaned solidly with that power, although a trace of dirt was left near the floor head edge. The dog hair removal was spot on, removing all the dirt and pet hair.

Vacmaster goes the extra mile by including a head that doesn’t catch hair around the roller. We love that, especially on such an affordable vacuum cleaner, since it saves the tedious job of cutting away tangled hair.

Although the Vacmaster Respira was easy to maneuver, I often had difficulty getting the floor head underneath furniture because of the bin. If you choose a rival cleaner, such as the Shark NZ850UKT, you can remove the main cylinder and just move the wand and floor head.

In Conclusion

It doesn’t matter what your opinion is about vacuuming: we can all agree that it’s imperative to have a vacuum cleaner that cleans quickly and efficiently, providing all of the tools we need to get into every corner. In spite of the fact that needs differ between people and households, listed above is the best plug-in vacuum cleaners for you to choose from.

Commonly Asked Q/A’s

• What are generally considered The Best Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaners of 2022? (according to reviewed.com)
  -Best Overall. VacMaster VBV1210.
  -Ridgid HD06001.
  -Ridgid HD1200.
  -Ridgid HD09001.
  -Shop-Vac 5989300.
• How do I choose a wet and dry vacuum cleaner? What should be considered? Suction performance, Width, Ease of use, Your needs, Price, Size, Overall Performance.
• What are the biggest benefits of a wet dry vacuum cleaner? The biggest benefits of a wet dry vacuum cleaner are time savings and versatility. It doesn’t require both vacuuming and mopping (which present issues of their own done separately) Just tap on the handle of a wet dry vacuum and you are able to switch functions. It is a major time saver because of its versatility and durability.