To ask if a window vac is worth it?

[biddybird]

Or is it just one of those gadgets that will sit in the cupboard after the first use?

I'm thinking of treating myself as I have bad condensation on the windows at the moment, and the tiled walls in my bathroom are very grubby!

Or am I just being a lazy so-and-so?

If you have a good one, what brand/model is it?

We have a karcher (?) one and in all honesty, it’s fantastic!

We've just bought one for MIL. Haven't seen it as was sent to her and we can't see her at the moment. She loves it and it's made a real difference apparently.

It’s one of my most favourite items

Karcher certainly. I should use it more often.

My sister had one and I thought it was a bit of a waste then dh ordered one...I'm obsessed with it

I’ve had my karcher for about 6 years and use it every week. I don’t know how I’d clean the shower glass without it. I also do the downstairs windows with it.
In our old house we had a ceramic hob and I used it to clean that.

We luuurve our Karcher window vac for our single glazed windows and DH and I vie with each other to get to do it first. Particularly satisfying slurpy sucky sound on a cold frosty morning or after drying lots of laundry. Best gadget in the house.

It does help speed things up when cleaning the windows, but it gets the most use removing condensation.

I've got a karcher WV2 and it cleans well although I could probably achieve the same result with a squeegee and a wet cloth. The biggest difference for me is that it that it's easier and less mundane to clean with the window vac. I'm planning to buy the extension pole so I can stop using a ladder to reach high windows too.

Karcher here too. Use it at least once a week. It’s brilliant

We nearly bought one of these but bought a dehumidifier instead and no longer have issues with condensation on the windows. So no help with the actual question, but another possible solution to your problem. (Although the dehumidifier doesn’t clean the shower screen, tiles or the hob).

We use ours all the time. Tend to get condensation in the morning too (old house) so we use it to suck that up. Our air humidity has gone right down through using it. I also use it to clean the bathroom tiles- very quick but ice and shiny after.

Used it twice. Been In the cupboard ever since,

What are people using the karcher for weekly? I can't imagine using it more than once every few (six?!) months to do the windows!!

You could split the cost with family / friends and share it?

Another massive "yes" to Karcher, one of my best cleaning purchases.

I have a Karcher and use it multiple times a day! It’s great. We get a lot of condensation especially in the mornings and after cooking.

I'd never heard of these, been looking at a steam mop with attachments to use in a similar way, does anyone know if they work for that?

~~derails thread to talk about steam mops~~

I love the slurping too, but wish I could have one for mirrors/shower and another for dirty windows/bathroom floor after teen DD's had a shower, which gets dirty.

Also HOW do people stop the water container smelling rank?? Ours seems to do it even with emptying it each time I use it.

I had another make from Aldi which just wouldn't recharge once the battery needed it, and many reviewers appear to have had same problem. Beware those, altho they're a lot cheaper and the blade is more efficient imo.

We have had 2 karchers, the first one broke so replaced it and then the 2nd one broke too. I decided to shake things up and try the Bosch one instead and it's brilliant, quieter than the karcher, not quite as big, which makes it easier to get to the bottom of the window & I prefer the blade on it. It is more like the blade you get on a windscreen wiper, I find it doesn't drag on the glass anywhere near as much. I do prefer the karcher spray to the Bosch one, it seems to spray better.

I use mine for shower glass door, windows, glass doors, mirrors, table glass and it's also brilliant for cleaning the high gloss kitchen cupboard doors too! Would be lost without it.

Thanks all! This is brilliant input. Looks like I am going to have to get one then.

I didn't think of cleaning the kitchen surfaces with it. Added bonus!

@19lottie82

We have a karcher (?) one and in all honesty, it’s fantastic!

Same.

Use it for condensation on windows in winter and to vac the bathroom mirror/tiles, window and shower screen after baths/showers

Yes get one! Windows, tiles, shower screens, kitchen surfaces. I didn’t want one for years and my mum raves about hers, then I bought one was was annoyed at myself for not getting it sooner.

I don't use mine for cleaning the windows as I'm very lazy and life's too short but it's absolutely great for clearing the condensation in the morning.

@luckymagnoliatree

We have had 2 karchers, the first one broke so replaced it and then the 2nd one broke too. I decided to shake things up and try the Bosch one instead and it's brilliant, quieter than the karcher, not quite as big, which makes it easier to get to the bottom of the window & I prefer the blade on it. It is more like the blade you get on a windscreen wiper, I find it doesn't drag on the glass anywhere near as much. I do prefer the karcher spray to the Bosch one, it seems to spray better.

I use mine for shower glass door, windows, glass doors, mirrors, table glass and it's also brilliant for cleaning the high gloss kitchen cupboard doors too! Would be lost without it.

This! After a couple of Karchers failing (the circuit board isn't well enough protected and eventually gets water damaged) I've got the Bosch one and it's brilliant. We live in a very old house and this time of year there's always condensation in the bedrooms - the window vac sorts it out in seconds and leaves the windows clean and streak-free.

Another rec for Karcher.
I have an old one which is good and a new one which is quieter and better.
If you have different sized panes in your windows and doors, it's worth getting the short and long blades.

I have an old car and this time of year it gets a lot of condensation inside the windscreen, the Karcher removes it very well.
Otherwise, it's used for windows, mirrors, tiles and liquid spilt on the floor.

Never had a problem with the container smelling, if I did I'd vac up 50% vinegar 50% water, or very dilute bleach (percentages for different uses are on the bottle) and leave it to stand for a couple of hours, empty, repeat with clean water then empty and take it to bits and leave all the components to dry.

I love ours too, used twice a day for shower screen and bathroom tiles and to remove condensation from single glazed windows. I also clean it occasionally by sucking up some diluted bleach in water and leaving it to stand then repeating with fresh and leaving to dry.

I have a karcher and chose the cheaper one with an easily removable water bottle and wider blade. My mum's is a more expensive version and appears to be more difficult to use.