10 Best Car Detailing Vacuums 2020 [Buying Guide]

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Jennifer
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How to Choose the Best Car Detailing Vacuum

Getting your car detailed can be an expensive endeavor. When you put the pros and cons of getting your car detailed on paper, you start to ask yourself why you’re spending so much money Why wouldn’t you want to save some money, have a clean car, and be able to do it all over again whenever you wanted? We’ve compiled a list of all the best car detailing vacuums to make detailing your own car a no-brainer. With all the car vacuum reviews and research under our belt, we’re ready to show you our top 10 best choices for detailing your own car at home. Are you ready? There are a handful of features to consider before you purchase a car detailing vacuum. Some vacuums are perfect for cleaning any type of mess, while others are only good for dry messes like dirt and crumbs. Knowing how big the capacity of your vacuum is will help you determine what you can clean and for how long, too. Here are the top 6 features you need to know about before you buy your next car vacuum.

Cleaning Method: Some vacuums come with the option to clean up both wet and dry messes. Others only clean up dry messes like crumbs. Depending on what kinds of items you bring into your car, you may need both wet and dry methods.

Style: The two most common types of car vacuums are handheld and canister. Handheld vacuums can easily be carried in one hand out to your car. Canister vacuums come with a hose and a separate canister container to store away the messes you clean.

Pieces: Depending on how detailed you want to get with your cleaning, some vacuums come with additional attachments to help you clean hard to reach places. Other things such as additional filters and nozzles are other accessories you may receive.

Tank Capacity: The tank capacity of any vacuum determines how much dirt and dander you can clean up in one setting without having to empty it out and start again. If your car sees a lot of passengers, food, or pets, you may want a bigger tank capacity.

Power: Not all car vacuums have the same horsepower. The more horsepower your vacuum has the more suction you can expect when you’re cleaning your car. Although the more horsepower you get, the more power you will have, you may pay more for your vacuum.

Warranty: Like any appliance, a car detailing vacuum can be an investment. You wouldn’t want your investment to go to waste if your vacuum arrives at your door with malfunctions or missing pieces. Check the warranty to know what’s covered before purchasing!

Top 10 Products

We’ve given you everything you need to buy the best car vacuum for your needs, so it’s time to get to our list. Our top pick and budget pick represent our two favorite car detailing options. We also compiled a few more vacuums for those of you who have a few extra minutes and want more options before buying. There’s no need to waste any more time. Let’s get to the details!

Emerson Workshop Wet Dry Vac

Emerson’s Workshop Wet Dry Vac is our top pick because it gives you some of the best and highest rated features on our list. This 16-gallon tank vacuum gives you plenty of space for messes without having to stop and dump it out every 10 minutes. With 3.5 horsepower, this vacuum has prime suction to pick up any mess, wet or dry. It gets even better! This model comes with several attachments including two nozzles, three wands, and an additional filter. You can store these accessories on the rolling feet of the vacuum to keep them organized and out of the way. This vacuum also comes with a blowing port to allow you to blow messes out and away from areas inside and outside of your home much like a leaf blower. If you’re wanting the creme de la creme, the Emerson Workshop Wet Dry Vac is the best car detailing vacuum out there.

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Armor All Wet/Dry Vacuum

The Armor All Wet/Dry Vacuum gives you the best bang for your buck. This vacuum may be on the cheaper side of car detailing vacuums, but it has everything you need to clean up any liquid or solid mess. With your purchase, you not only receive the vacuum and its essentials, but you also are given a handful of accessories to make cleaning any mess easy. You’ll find a reusable cloth filter and foam sleeve, 3 nozzles including a 2-in-1 utility nozzle, and a crevice tool in every package. All of the accessories fit perfectly along the outside of the vacuum so you won’t have to worry about losing them in between details. An automatic shut off feature will turn the vacuum off to avoid overflow. A built-in noise diffuser also helps to keep the noise at bay when you’re outside cleaning the car. The Armor All Wet/Dry Vacuum gives you everything you need to detail your car at a great price!

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Shop-Vac 5989300 Wet Dry Vacuum

Shop-Vac is a well-known vacuum brand that prides itself on powerful suction and cleaning techniques. You have the choice of both a vacuum port and a blowing port to clean up messes or blow them out of your home. The stainless steel tank is the ideal material for cleaning up wet messes as it won’t rust or deteriorate over time. You’ll find accessory storage on the outside of the Shop-Vac to store any nozzles or cleaning brushes. This vacuum comes with 4 wheels to attach to the bottom so you can wheel it around with you as you detail every nook and cranny of your car. With your Shop-Vac purchase, you’ll receive 3 extension wands, a 10 inch wet and dry nozzle, crevice tool, and a few other accessories to ensure you can clean any dark place in your car with ease. If you’re looking for the best car vacuum that also works well for messes in your home, the Shop-Vac 5989300 Wet Dry Vacuum is a great choice!

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Metropolitan Vac 'n' Blo Vacuum

If you want to get into every nook and cranny in your car, the Metropolitan Vac ’n’ Blo Vacuum is the best car vacuum cleaner for you! This particular model comes with a 6-foot flexible hose and two 20-inch extensions to clean those hard to reach places. The vacuum itself is made entirely out of steel to prevent rust. Although this vacuum only works on dry messes, the other features this vacuum has makes up for its inability to clean wet stains or spills. Not only does this vacuum work for car detailing, but you can also use it to blow away dust on your keyboard, inflate your air mattress, and blow your leaves away from your yard, too. Metropolitan vacuum owners claim that these vacuums have twice the power of a standard Shop-Vac. If you want a car detailing vacuum that’s the perfect tool for almost any chore in your home, the Metropolitan Vac ‘n’ Blo Vacuum makes for a fantastic addition to your household appliances.

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ThisWorx Car Vacuum

ThisWorx designed their car vacuum to give you a professional detail in a handheld vacuum that you can store just about anywhere! With a 106 Watt motor, you’ll always have powerful suction that leaves no crumb or dust bunny behind. You’ll have 16 feet of cord to make it easier for you to reach around every corner of your car, too. Every ThisWorx Car Vacuum comes with a stowaway bag, elastic nose, a cleaning brush, a HEPA filter, and a car charging plug! The built-in trash compartment shuts off automatically to prevent overflowing trash and mess falling back into your clean car. You’ll also be able to tell if the vacuum needs emptying because the compartment is clear enough for you to see for yourself when it’s time to unload the mess. If you’re a parent or an Uber driver, you’ll find that this vacuum comes in handy as it fits perfectly in your car to give you an easy and convenient clean every time you see a mess.

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Carrand AutoSpa Vacuum

The Carrand AutoSpa Vacuum is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a handheld vacuum that holds in a lot of messes. This compact vacuum comes with 3 tools including a crevice tool, dash brush tool, and an upholstery tool. You can store these tools on the vacuum itself to avoid losing them in between cleans. This vacuum is bagless, but you’ll still be able to empty out all the dirt and grime easily with the basket inside. You can use the basket inside over and over again, so you won’t ever have to replace it throughout the life of the product. Where the hose connects to the vacuum, you’ll see how easily it rotates to give you the most length from the hose to reach dark crevices you can’t clean easily. With specifically designed brushes to give you an intense clean in every part of the vehicle, you can expect only the best from the Carrand AutoSpa Vacuum!

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Stanley Wet/Dry Vacuum

The Stanley Wet/Dry Vacuum comes with both plenty of space and power to clean up even the dirtiest of messes. The vacuum comes with two nozzles to make cleaning your home, garage, and car easy. When you’re ready to start cleaning, just clip in the locks on both sides to seal off the trash compartment. This model holds up to 52 inches of liquid mess making it the perfect vacuum for mud and rain. You can plug this vacuum in anywhere that’s convenient as it comes with a 6-foot cord to give you the length you need to clean both sides of the car. You can pick it up and carry it anywhere with its compact design, and still have the horsepower of a standard detailing vacuum. Every Stanley Wet/Dry Vacuum comes with a reusable dry filter and foam filter to keep your vacuum running no matter what messes you tackle.

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Shop-Vac 2030100 Wet Dry Vacuum

The Shop-Vac 2030100 Wet Dry Vacuum is a lot like the Shop-Vac 5989300 Wet Dry Vacuum we mentioned earlier in our list. Although this vacuum is quite a bit smaller, you can expect an equivalent amount of horsepower to accommodate its size. You can easily stow this Shop-Vac away in any space and even mount it if you have room in your garage. Just like the other Shop-Vac model this vacuum has both suction and blowing ports. The 4-foot hose and 6-foot cord make it easy to clean in all the dark crevices in you could never reach before. You can carry this vacuum easily and collapse the handle when you need to put it away. If you’re looking for a more compact version of the Shop-Vac 5989300, this Shop-Vac is the best option for you. This vacuum comes with all the features you need to make car detailing easy in a compact Shop-Vac!

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Vacmaster Wet/Dry Vacuum

The Vacmaster Wet/Dry Vacuum is truly the master of value car-detailing vacuums. If you’re looking to clean big messes on a small budget, the Vacmaster handles both wet and dry stains and spills. This vacuum comes with a crevice tool, cleaning brush, reusable foam sleeve, and a cloth filter to keep the mess in. Easily store away these accessories on the vacuum itself so you won’t ever lose a thing. The Vacmaster also comes with an Auto Shutoff to prevent overflow so you’ll never have to worry about a secondary mess. You can also use both the vacuum and blowing settings to clear the mess away from hard to reach places and clean it up afterward. You can even buy these vacuums in several different packages to have a vacuum in every space you need one. With a Vacmaster, you have the ability to clean big messes in your vehicle on a tiny budget, and what’s better than that?

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LeadCon Car Vacuum

The last car detailing vacuum on our list is the LeadCon Car Vacuum. Inside this vacuum, you’ll find a copper motor with a turbocharging system for both power and suction. The motor was designed to pick up even the smallest of messes like pet dander, cigarette ashes, leaves, and crumbs. This vacuum also comes with a HEPA filter to keep the allergens from entering back into the air. The filter is reusable and should be cleaned to keep your vacuum going for years to come. LeadCon developed this vacuum for cars specifically because it plugs directly into your cigarette charger. With every LeadCon vacuum, you receive a hose extension, a crevice tool, and a cleaning brush to make cleaning any mess easy. This vacuum also comes with a 14-foot cord for those who have larger vehicles like trucks or SUVs. The best thing about this vacuum is that it weighs in at 800 grams which is super lightweight compared to other handheld car vacuums.

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About the Author

Kimberly Graf

Expert Researcher and Writer

Kimberly Graf is a researcher and writer for GeekWrapped.com. She covers kitchen, cooking, and home products.

Best Car Detailing Vacuums

Top 10 Buying Guide

Our Recommendations

Emerson Workshop Wet Dry Vac

Armor All Wet/Dry Vacuum

How to Choose the Best Car Detailing Vacuum

Top 10 Products

Emerson Workshop Wet Dry Vac

Armor All Wet/Dry Vacuum

Shop-Vac 5989300 Wet Dry Vacuum

Metropolitan Vac 'n' Blo Vacuum

ThisWorx Car Vacuum

Carrand AutoSpa Vacuum

Stanley Wet/Dry Vacuum

Shop-Vac 2030100 Wet Dry Vacuum

Vacmaster Wet/Dry Vacuum

LeadCon Car Vacuum

About the Author

TOP PICK

Emerson Workshop Wet Dry Vac