Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: a smooth operator for shiny surfaces

Why the hell would you want a vacuuming window cleaner when you can complete the task with a roll of Blitz and some Windolene? That’s exactly what I thought – until I tried the product that stars in this Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review. 

Kärcher made the original window vac, and it has now made, in my opinion, the best window vacuum cleaner money can buy. It's German engineered, and mein gott, the results it gives are amazing, leaving glass spotless and with zero streaks. Auf wiedersehn, paper towels

Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: price and availability

The Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium costs around £120 in the UK, $120 in the USA and AU$199 in Australia. You can buy it direct from Kärcher, which usually has the best prices, or via Amazon, when it's in stock.

Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: design

I recently acquired this top-of-the-range Kärcher window vac comprising a handheld battery-powered vacuum unit and a separate squeezy bottle with microfibre cloth attached. 

Kärcher produces a number window cleaning products but naturally I was most interested in its top-of-the-range model, partly because it was the most expensive (around £120) and therefore best equipped, and partly because I wasn’t paying for it. That said, there are five other models in the range, starting at £40, and I presume they all perform almost as well as the WV 6 Premium.

The Kärcher WV 6 Premium package comprises a lightweight vacuum unit replete with 150ml dirty water container, two suction squeegee heads (one 28cm in width, the other 17cm), a squirty bottle for the cleaning solution, a 20ml sachet of window cleaning concentrate and a small plastic scraper for bird poo and other obstreperous substances. The solution bottle is also equipped with an integrated holder for the two supplied microfibre cloths. 

Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: features

This particular model comes with two different sized squeegee vacuum heads and both are made from soft, slippery silicone for maximum flexibility. This suppleness proves especially useful when the head reaches the bottom of the glass where it meets the window frame – it quite literally sucks up all evidence of solution right to the very edge without leaving any streaks.  At just 800g, the main vacuum unit is surprisingly light in the hand and it was this facet that impressed me almost as much as the exemplary performance.

The WV 6’s battery last longer than other models in the range – up to 100 minutes – though it does take about 160 minutes to fully charge. Like Kärcher’s excellent cordless lawnmowers, this product is also equipped with an impressive battery monitoring system that gives the user a minute-by-minute countdown of remaining juice available.

Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: how it works

Like most window cleaning methods, the Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium requires a two-fold process: squirt the solution from a foot away and use the attached microfibre mop to spread it around. Then reach for the vacuum unit, press the button and slowly draw it downwards or across the glass.

Although this gadget comes with a small sachet of Kärcher-branded concentrate window cleaning solution which is very good, it can also be used with Mr Muscle or any other window cleaning brand. Some users have even used a few drops of washing-up liquid and a mugful of warm water. 

The two vacuum heads are ideal for patio doors, windows, shower glass, car windscreens, polished granite worktops, glass induction hobs, fridges, indeed pretty much any smooth glass-like surface you can find. 

Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: performance

I initially gave this a go, half expecting it to be useless. How wrong I was.

This window vac works exceptionally on even the filthiest windows. It’s also ideal for removing condensation and dealing with muck on practically any shiny surface in the house. I was personally blown away by how easy and effortless it was to use – the main suction unit weighs just 800 grams and feels surprisingly light in the hand  – and I love the fact that the cloth section is affixed via velcro to the solution bottle so I can simply squirt and scrub in one go and not get solution all over my hands.

I also love the way this thing sucks up all the solution without leaving any streaks. It’s quite a Eureka moment when you see gleaming glass appear in the wake of the silicone squeegee. Kärcher says that the Window Vac WV 6 is ‘up to three faster than with conventional methods’, but they’re wrong. It’s four times faster.

Kärcher Window Vac WV 6 Premium review: verdict

If you find window cleaning a chore or you simply have more glazing and other smooth surfaces than you can normally handle, I wholeheartedly recommend this practical time saver. It’s really easy to use and effortless by comparison to other glass-cleaning methods but, more importantly, it’s just so damn quick at getting the job done. And done well.