Kärcher says its Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS is its most powerful vacuum cleaner yet, and is perfect for cleaning all around the car, garage and garden. Designed to take on jobs that are too tough for a regular vacuum cleaner, it's one of the best shop vacuums that can handle anything, from dust to rubble. It can also suck up wet spills, work as a pump to empty out liquid and blow dead leaves and other debris from your decking, patio or garage floor.
The Kärcher WD 6 PS also features a power point for plugging in your power tools. And if you’re using a tool that creates debris, simply connect the smaller suction hose available to its outlet to vacuum up the dust. The 1300w motor and stainless steel impact-resistant 7.9-gallon container make the WD 6 PS a tough vacuuming buddy that can move quickly and easily between wet and dry suction.
With plenty of spring cleaning jobs around the home and garden, we tested the Kärcher WD 6 PS over two weeks on a variety of wet and dry tasks and evaluated all its other features, from leaf blowing to powering up tools.
If the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS isn’t the perfect new vacuum for you, check out our best vacuum cleaners or our best wet/dry vacuum cleaners for every budget, tried and tested.
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: Price & availability
The Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS has an RRP of $349.99 and is available to buy direct from Kärcher or from resellers such as Amazon and Home Depot. At the time of writing it is available for just $299.99 on Amazon.
It's generally priced higher than many similar wet/dry vacuums but you do get a leaf blower and a power outlet thrown in, which makes it better value than some more reasonably priced models from Craftsman and Stanley.
For the price though, I would have liked to have seen an additional brush head or two, such as an upholstery brush, an extra fleece filter bag or a spare cartridge. These can be purchased separately from both Kärcher and Amazon.
Score: 3 out of 5
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: First impressions
The Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS comes pretty much ready to go straight out of the box. There is some plastic packaging that may or may not be recyclable depending on where you live. However, most of it is cardboard.
Inside the familiar black and yellow box you’ll find the base unit and container with a 26-ft power cord, the 11-ft suction hose, two stainless steel tubes for extending the suction hose, a switchable floor nozzle, a flat pleated filter and a fleece filter bag.
There is also a practical cable and accessory storage unit which can be secured to the lid of the base unit. This is super helpful for storing the stainless steel tube and floor nozzle when they’re not in use. A smaller hose for attaching power tools and a couple of extra attachments to help with narrow spaces are also included.
The filter is already installed, so all you have to do is attach the five caster wheels on the base of the unit, just by clicking them in. Then, insert the fleece bag (if you’re dry vacuuming) and attach it to the suction hose outlet on the inside of the container, pop the lid of the unit on and secure it by bringing down the handle on the side.
Next, choose your vacuuming food nozzle setting. Because it’s corded, there is no waiting for the battery to charge, which makes a nice change from many other wet/dry vacuums.
The Kärcher doesn’t mess around with fancy cleaning modes either. You get a straight-up yellow and black dial which you can adjust depending on how much power you want. Go left for blowing out air, and right for sucking up liquids and debris.
If you want to use the leaf-blowing function you will have to move the hose from the lower outlet to one higher up, positioned near the power outlet. If you want to suck up liquid, just make sure you remove the fleece bag inside and set the floor nozzle to ‘wet’, which is handily marked with water drops.
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: Design
The Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS uses the well-known black and yellow colorway that will be familiar to Kärcher users worldwide. However, it also features a rather fancy and robust 8-gallon stainless steel container, complete with a drain screw for easy emptying of liquids.
A protective yellow plastic base protects the steel container from unsightly scratches, while also providing support for the accessory storage unit. The lid of the unit, where the motor is, is also yellow with black detailing, such as the handle and power outlet.
All the features are easy to identify and use, including the filter case, which pops out like a cassette. The switches and dials feel robust and well-designed, and the storage accessory is great for tidying away attachments and tubes. The cable tidy could be a bit better designed—you have to wrap the hose up first and hang it off a hook in the lid—but it does the job.
It’s a pretty big vacuum, though - 16.5 x 15 x 27.3 inches to be exact. So the Kärcher WD 6 PS feels like it’s designed for someone with outside storage, such as a garage or a shed. The industrial design doesn’t feel suited to a domestic setting either. It’s clear Kärcher is targeting people who want to use this vacuum more outdoors than indoors.
Score: 3 out of 5
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: Key specs
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: Performance
I tested the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS over a couple of weeks in my home and garden, checking how well it tackled wet and dry spills inside and out and using its extra outdoor features. I looked at how well it tackled different types of liquid and debris on a hard floor, using thick sauces, sticky honey, milk, spilt cereal, oats, and flour. Outside, I used it to clean my patio of soil and other debris, such as dry leaves, and I used it to clean my garden shed for spring.
It’s important to note that the Kärcher WD 6 PS is not an indoor vacuum cleaner. While you can use it inside your home to tackle spills, you won’t want to get it out daily. It’s more of a shop vacuum than any other wet/dry vacuum cleaner I’ve tested.
First, let's see how well it gets on with dry spills. Using flour and oats, I noted that the Kärcher WD 6 PS wasted no time in sucking up fine and larger particles, leaving not a trace behind.
It didn’t fare so well with sticky sauces, mearing ketchup and honey all over the floor. However, it’s a great wet vacuum cleaner on spilt cereal with milk and water. While it won’t mop your floors, it’ll quickly eliminate any runny liquids.
Next, I tried it outside the home, which is where the Kärcher WD 6 PS really belongs. It was fantastic at sucking up soapy water after a patio scrub, vacuuming spilt soil from a flower pot and removing small debris from the ground, such as grass clippings and even screws from the floor of the garden shed!
The small nozzle attachments help you reach tight spaces and crevices—I was able to remove a year's worth of cobwebs and leaves from a wooden bed. I also used the suction hose without any attachment to nudge free and then suck up moss that had been growing between my patio slabs.
The leaf blower function does an excellent job of blowing up dead leaves from gutters and flower beds. You’ll probably find you use this function a lot. Leaves tend to block the Kärcher's hose, which is a shame, as I was hoping I could just vacuum them away. A wider hose and nozzle attachment would make all the difference here.
I also managed to tip it over a couple of times by pulling on the suction hose too hard. This may be because it's tall and skinny, putting the center of gravity at a disadvantage.
What I also really liked about the WD 6 PS is the ability to attach a power tool, not only using the electricity from the Kärcher to power it but instantaneously vacuuming up fine debris. Sanding down an old planter before painting it was a breeze as all the flakes of paint were sucked away—nothing to sweep up or worry about inhaling.
The other point to mention about the Kärcher is the noise level. It’s pretty loud at around 75 decibels. That’s around the same as listening to music, so you’ll need to raise your voice quite a lot if you’re having a conversation, and your neighbors may not appreciate it!
Emptying and cleaning the WD 6 PS is easy, whether it’s wet or dry debris. If you’re vacuuming liquids, you can empty the container by tipping it up or loosening the drain valve at the front. For dry debris, you can use the extra-tough fleece liner bag or just let the debris flow into the container, then dispose of it into your trash or compost heap.
Score: 4 out of 5
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: Care & maintenance
In addition to emptying the cleaning container after vacuuming up dry and wet debris, Kärcher recommends vacuuming the filter regularly. They've made it super easy with their integrated filter cleaning system. All you have to do is place the handle of the suction hose in the parking position on the device head. Then, press the filter cleaning button three times with the device switched on, waiting four seconds between each press.
You can also remove the filter and clean it under running water, but you'll need to let it dry completely before re-inserting it.
Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS: User reviews
On the Kärcher website, users have awarded the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS 4.9 out of 5 stars, while users of this same wet/dry vacuum cleaner on Amazon have scored it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Most users are very happy with their purchase, with many remarking on its powerful performance and sturdiness. "This is by far the best shop vac I have ever owned," says one happy customer, while another remarks, "I thought my regular vacuum was good enough and didn’t realize how much I needed this wet/dry vac until I started using it all around the house and even outside."
However, as we noted in our testing, some users say it has the potential to fall over if you tug it too hard, while others say it's a little big, which can cause problems with storage.
Should you buy the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
How does the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS compare?
If you want a sturdy wet/dry vac that can be stored more easily in your home, and cope with outdoor tasks, the NaceCare GVE 370 George Wet/Dry Vacuum gets a thumbs-up from us as an all-in-one solution for vacuuming, upholstery, and carpet cleaning — it can even unblock sinks and valet your car!
If you just want a compact and affordable option, the Black+Decker Dustbuster QuickClean Cordless Wet/Dry Handheld Vacuum could be ideal. It's fantastic at powering through dry and wet messes in the home and car. Plus, it's small enough to store away when not in use. However, the 10-minute battery runtime could disappoint some users.
The Roborock Dyad Pro Combo is perfect if you're looking for a wet/dry vacuum for indoor use only. With its incredible 17000Pa suction power and 20N consistent force, it removes wet and dry messes from your floors and cleans itself up afterwards.
How I tested the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS
Over two weeks, I evaluated the Kärcher Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 PS, using it in my kitchen and garden to vacuum debris and spills inside and outside. I tested how well it coped with sludgy messes and sauces, thin liquids, and dry debris, such as dried leaves, oats and flour. I also tested the extra features, including the power outlet, additional power tool hose, and the leaf blowing feature and used a decibel meter to record volume output.
