Vax SpotWash Home Cordless Review
A convenient and quick way to tackle smaller stains.
Verdict
A big upgrade on the company’s previous cordless spot washer, the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless has bigger tanks, a bigger battery and more power. It cleans stains well (although tough ones require a couple of goes to remove) and is simple to use and clean up. If you want the convenience of a battery-operated product then this is a great choice.
Pros
- No cables
- Cleans as well as plug-in model
- ‘Clean’ and ‘dirty’ tools
Cons
- A fair bit more expensive than plug-in version
Key Features
- TypeThis is a cordless spot washer, designed for removing smaller stains from carpets and upholstery.
Introduction
While most spot washers are corded to provide maximum power, the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless is a battery-operated cleaner built for convenience.
Though there’s always a thought that battery-powered appliances lack the power needed for a thorough clean, there is a Boost function that makes this washer more powerful when required. If you’re after flexibility, then this could be the washer for you.
Design and features
- Compatible with ONEPWR batteries
- Lots of tools in the box
- Simple to use
An update of the original Vax ONEPWR Spotless Go, the new model is still compatible with the same range of batteries. Vax provides a 4Ah battery in the box (the largest available), which is double the size of the 2Ah battery of the previous product.
Of course, if you have other ONEPWR products, such as the ONEPWR Blade 5, then you can use the batteries from these to extend runtime.
It’s fair to say that the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless is a completely new product compared to the Spotless Go. The older model had just a 250ml water and detergent tank, so was only built to cover a small area.
Here, you get the 1.1-litre water tank, marked with fill levels for water and detergent for small and large areas. That’s the same as on the Vax SpotWash Home Duo.
There’s also a 700ml dirty water tank, which lifts out for easy emptying and cleaning at the end of a session.
Vax provides the same set of tools here as with the Home Duo product: there’s a large handheld tool with a soft brush for carpet and stiff bristles for hard floors; a crevice tool for getting into hard-to-reach areas; and a secondary smaller messy clean-up hand tool with just a brush, for dirty jobs.
The latter is useful if you’ve got pets, as you can clean up dirty messes with a separate tool without the risk of transferring anything to your soft furnishings.
Once charged, the battery slots into the cleaner, with a clear case snapping shut over it. To see how much battery charge is remaining, you can flip open the lid and press the button on top: the more LEDs that are lit up, the more charge is remaining.
Using the spot washer is simple. Hit the power button to turn it on, and use it as you would any spot washer; it’s the Plus button that switches on boost mode, which Vax says increases power to that of a corded spot washer.
As with other spot washers, the 1.25m hose has a spray trigger for releasing detergent. Soak an area with spray, and then you can use the brush to agitate dirt, finally drawing it back to suck up the liquid and stains.
Performance
- Cleans most stains well
- Deeper stains may need multiple passes
I started off with my dried mud stain, spraying the area and then sucking up the mess. With the clear cover of the hand tool, I could see dirt being immediately removed. After the first attempt, a lot of the stain had gone, but there was still clear traces of it left behind.
I found that I had to spray the area three times, and make multiple passes each time until no more water was being sucked up. As such, the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless managed to clean the area, but it too longer than with the Vax SpotWash Max.
At the end of the clean, I measured the carpet’s humidity at 33%; switching to Boost mode, I managed to get humidity down to 28%: that’s damp to the touch, but it wouldn’t take the carpet long to dry.
I moved on to the tough red wine stain. This needed more work to get out. While the first spray and suction pass removed a lot of the mess, I needed to cover the area twice more. This still left some mess behind,
I needed three two-sprays and multiple passes over the area to remove the stain, and opted for the Boost mode towards the end to help lift the mess and give me a clean carpet. I found that the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless left the carpet at 28% humidity, after boost mode.
Although loud, at 75.4dB, the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless is only really as loud as a cordless vacuum cleaner on its maximum power setting, which is not too bad, although I wouldn’t use this when quiet is required.
Battery life is rated at 25-minutes on the standard mode, although this drops to 18-minutes on Boost mode, which isn’t bad considering the extra power it gives.
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Should you buy it?
You want the convenience of cordless cleaning
Whether it’s to pick up a spill quickly or for easier cleaning in a car, this cordless spot washer is powerful and easy to move around.
You need the most powerful option out there
Buy a corded spot washer and you can get the same features and a higher level of cleaning power for less.
Final Thoughts
A big upgrade on the original cordless spot washer, the Vax SpotWash Home Cordless gives you everything that the SpotWash Home Duo has to offer, only in a more convenient package. It takes a few swipes to clean the toughest stains, but that’s alright if you only need to cover a relatively small area.
The bigger choice comes down to how much you’re willing to spend. The standard Home Duo product costs just £169.99, so you’re paying considerably more for the convenience of a battery. If you prefer portability over price then this is a quality cleaner. If you need to cover a larger area, then check out our guide to the best carpet cleaners.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every carpet cleaner we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested with real-world dirt in real-world situations for fair comparisons with other carpet cleaners
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FAQs
Yes you can. Vax provides a 4Ah battery with this cleaner, but you can use any other ONEPWR batteries from other tools.
The idea is that you use the main brush for standard jobs and the messy tool for dirtier jobs, such as pet mess, so that you don’t cross contaminate.
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
