I’ve waited some time to do this review as I wanted to give the MV3 enough time and usage before really making up my mind about it and sharing my opinions. Prior to purchasing this product, I couldn’t find too many reviews on it, other than one-liners “did a good job in the garage” “nice job on the carpets” type of review. We weren’t interested in light-cleaning, we were interested in the real DIY chaotic mess type of cleaning and also its longevity as a product. So it’s been a few months; (four to be exact) I’ve given this product a great deal of usage and I thought it was about time I wrote this review!
First things first, this post is not sponsored in any way and I did indeed buy the Karcher MV3 (which you can find here) with my very own hard earned cash – so you can trust this as a very honest review 🙂
OK so, What’s special about the Karcher vacuum range?
They are vacuum cleaners specifically designed for tough cleaning usage. That means cleaning up rubble, sludge, paper, water… all things you cannot hoover up with a standard home vacuum cleaner, which makes these perfect for DIY usage!
Why MV3?
I deliberated for a long long time about which model to buy. There are three in total, the MV2, MV3 and MV4. The difference between the three isn’t huge; they vary in power and tank size mainly. However what the MV3 has (and the other two don’t) is the option to ‘blow’ as well as ‘suck’. The MV3 also has the addition of a plug socket.
Cost?
£120 (Purchased in 2015). A mid-range price tag for a vacuum cleaner in my opinion, so I thought this was reasonable. We purchased ours from John Lewis, but you can also find it here.
Overview:
Washable Filter
Large tank (17Litre Capacity)
Built in Plug for use with Power Tools
Attach hose to the back for ‘blowing’ action instead of suck
Wheels for easy movability
Slots for easy storage of attachments
Can be used with or without a bag
PROs
- It has really good suction power. Like crazy suction! It puts every other vacuum cleaner to shame. I guarantee its power will impress you!
- The hose is particularly wide for vacuuming up large pieces of rubble/objects.
- It can vacuum up water. Water! And lots of it, too! Great for spillages!
- It can also vacuum up sludge, although I’ll admit, I haven’t tried this yet.
- There is the option of using a bag within the tank for finer dust vacuuming.
- Using power tools in conjunction with the vacuum is brilliant! The vacuum automatically turns itself on as soon as you switch on the tool, and then it automatically turns off as soon as you switch the tool off. No need for messing around with turning the vacuum on and off.
- The vacuum cleaner is on wheels and very easy to move around. Also very lightweight.
- The blowing action is great for outdoor use or even blowing out dust from those hard to reach places.
- The tank is easy to clean as there’s no electrical element to it, (all electrics are in the top) so you can literally get the water hose onto it.
- It comes different few attachments for carpet/hard-floor cleaning.
- It takes the hassle out of DIY-cleaning – No more sweeping!
CONs
- If you want to vacuum up finer dust you need to use a bag inside the vacuum. These are pretty pricey at £10 for a pack of 5.
- If you do not use a bag for finer dust, the filter can get easily blocked. Very easily blocked. Once blocked it dramatically drops in suction power.
- Whilst the hose is wide for picking up large pieces, I often feel that it’s not wide enough and rubble can get stuck inside the hose.
- The cable is far too short in my opinion. In a medium room in our house, the vacuum cannot reach the edge of the room so we have to use it with an extension lead, which is a bit annoying.
- The filter needs washing very regularly if heavily used with DIY dusty materials.
- The bags are made from paper, and removing them without it getting caught and tearing is somewhat a struggle! (Or maybe I’m just clue-less).
Overall?
The machine may not be 100% perfect, but it isn’t far off either! It took me a while to get-to-grips with it, particularly in understanding what’s best to vacuum up with the use of a bag and what can be vacuumed up bag-less. I have to admit, when the filter gets blocked it can be seriously frustrating, especially if you’re mid-way through hoovering. For us, I think it may be worth buying a replacement filter just for use as a back-up. Despite this, it is a good machine. The suction is incredible, we no longer have to spend time picking up those bits of chiselled wood, old nails we’ve removed, or any form of rubble/hardcore, which used to be a total time-consuming pain in the butt! And needless to say, there is just no competition between the level of cleanliness between hoovering and sweeping! I’m also glad we went for this particular model as the option to use it in conjunction with power tools without the hassle is so worth the extra cash! This vacuum has been a brilliant addition to our life, and you will find it with us on every DIY project!
Score?
A very respectable 8/10 and I would definitely recommend this machine to anyone looking for specifically a DIY vacuum cleaner. Whilst the filter is prone to blocking, let’s face it – this is a tad finicky of me, what more can you expect from a machine that has just hoovered up a shed load of dusty material for you? It’s just fab!
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