It’s hard to find a powerful vacuum designed to clean vehicles as well as the home, without taking a chunk out of your wallet. The ArmorAll AA255 Utility Wet & Dry Vacuum proves that you don’t need to spend big bucks to achieve this feat. While it’s not an extremely compact handheld vac, it’s still portable enough to easily carry around.
In this review, I’ll be going through all the good and bad points about this vacuum and how it compares with other car vacs within the same price range. Read on to find out more.
Benefits Highlights
Blower Function – Aside from the strong suction power, it’s also capable of blowing, which comes in handy for removing dirt from narrow cracks and crevices.
Wet & Dry Vac – It has the ability to clean up liquids as well as dry dirt and debris, which makes it especially useful for spills in cars and around the home.
Big Storage Tank – With a 2.5 gallon storage tank, you won’t find yourself having to empty the rubbish after every vacuuming session.Auto Shutoff – When the capacity of the storage tank reaches its limit, the vacuum automatically turns off to prevent overflow.Excellent Value – For all that you get with the ArmorAll AA255, you’ll be hard pressed to find another car vac that provides so much for so little.User Reviews
Being a consecutive number one bestseller in Amazon’s Wet/Dry Vacs category, there isn’t a shortage of customer feedback for the ArmorAll AA255. We have researched over 100 positive and negative user reviews on Amazon to provide you with the positive and negative points of their experiences with this hand vac.
Suction Power
The 2 horsepower motor of the ArmorAll AA255 Utility provides a considerable amount of suction power and probably the strongest you’ll find for a hand and shop vac within its price range, though it will not replace a more expensive commercial shop vac (which isn’t the aim).
The whole point is to do an efficient job in sucking up dirt, debris and liquids, which is why there’s a relatively big 2.5 gallon storage tank (though the area to hold liquids is a bit limited). While it’s effective in picking up lighter pieces of dirt, it’s really not designed to pick up heavier items such as metal screws.
A really useful feature is the blower function, which is particularly useful for removing dirt from areas that are just too difficult for the suction power to reach, such as narrow crevices.
Many users (especially pet owners) are glad to discover that the suction and blower are not as loud and disturbing when compared to many other handheld vacuums. This can be attributed to the built-in air and noise diffuser.
The vacuum is powered by an AC outlet which is why it’s so consistently powerful and reliable. The only downsides are that it’s obviously not as portable as what a cordless model could provide, the power cable should’ve been longer than 10 ft. and also, a power adapter for the cigarette lighter could’ve been supplied.
Design & Attachments
Although it’s not as small as other handheld vacuums, it’s still portable enough to easily carry around the home and into vehicles. Plus every added element results in a positive experience, notably the:
- 2.5 gallon tank which eliminates the need to empty its contents after every long vacuum session.
- 6 ft. stretch hose that makes it easier to maneuver around a small area without having to carry the main unit. Fortunately, the hose is has a standard 1-1/4” diameter which makes it suitable for attachments from other vacuums to fit.
- Large and sturdy handle which you to easily carry the unit around and also to wrap the 10 ft. cord around it.
There have been some complaints about the hose not staying firmly in place when using the blow function, and some users have given a viable solution of applying gorilla tape inside the rim of the blower connection. Though this is an effective solution, it’s still a design flaw that should’ve been rectified.
Accessories / Attachments
There are 5 different tools included for different purposes, and when you’re cleaning your car, they’re all going to come in handy.
- Wide Scoop – Great for getting long and narrow crevices such as in between car seats.
- Crevice Tool – Also great for reaching small and tight areas.
- Wide/Narrow Brush – Designed for dusting down and cleaning surfaces.
- Blower Tool – Concentrates airflow to one particular area to remove dirt.
At the upper backend of the vacuum, there are three slots to store the included attachments on-board. However, there are 5 attachments so one will have to be attached to the hose and the other has to be stored in the included pouch. This isn’t a big deal, but it would’ve made more sense to have four slots instead of three.
Testimonials
The ArmorAll AA255 Utility has an overall positive review rating on Amazon.
Specifications
ArmorAll AA255
| |
|---|---|
Average User Rating
| |
Cord Length
|
10 ft.
|
Cordless
|  |
Car Charger
| |
Suitable For Wet/Dry
| |
Blower
| |
Filter Type
|
Standard
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Washable Filter
| |
Bagless
| |
Accessories
Attachments |
+ 6 ft. Hose
+ Crevice Tool
+ Wide Brush
+ Narrow Brush
+ Wide Scoop
+ Blow Tool
|
Dimensions
(inches) |
10 x 14.2 x 14.2
|
Weight
|
8 lbs
|
Warranty
|
2 Years Limited
|
Our Conclusion
Despite having a few flaws which would’ve made the ArmorAll AA255 Utility Wet Dry Vac perfect, it still has enough plus points to make it superior to other shop/car vacuums within its price range.
It’s consistently powerful thanks to its 2HP motor, it’s got a good storage capacity relative to its portability and it has a useful range of attachments included to make full use of the vacuums wet/dry suction and blower capabilities.
At such a low price point, we think that it’s pound-for-pound the best portable car vacuum around at the moment. For a similarly priced and highly rated car vac, you may also want to check out the Carrand 94005AS.
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