Shop Vac Wet/Dry Vacuum - 6 Gallon Capacity Vacuum Review

One of the early purchases my husband made when we bought our home was a Shop Vac.  We bought ours at Lowe's for under $75.00.  Just a brief description of the vacuum:  the Shop Vac Wet/Dry Vaccuum can hold up to 6 gallons of wet or dry materials.  It has a 3 HP motor that is powerful enough for small jobs like cleaning car floors to larger job like picking up the kitty litter that I dumped all over the garage floor when unloading the car.  The vacuum has several attachments including a squeege-style attachment for liquid vacuuming. 

What I like about it:  I love the caster wheels, which makes this easy to maneuver, even in tight spaces.  The suction is powerful, so it rarely leaves anything behind even after the first pass over.  While we've only gotten a year-and-a-half of use out of ours, my father has had his Shop Vac for over 15 years, so it's a great brand, and I fully expect to get my money's worth out of this handy vacuum.  Having the different nozzle attachments makes every job easy.  Removing the contents from the canister is also simple.  I had no difficulty lifting the machine to dispose of the trash inside, and since it's only a 6 gallon capacity, even dumping liquids is not a challenge.

What I don't like about it:  Every time I use the Shop Vac, my cats flee in fear.  This vacuum is really loud...and in my garage, it even makes me nervous, it's so noisy!  The only other complaint I have is really more my issue.  If I pull on the hose in a different direction that the vacuum is facing, because of the caster wheels, it spins quickly and sometimes bangs into my car doors or other things that are in the area.  I should probably just slow down a little, so I chalk that complaint up to operator error more than a Shop Vac problem.

All in all, I would never buy any other heavy duty wet/dry vacuum than the Shop Vac brand.  It's been such a handy appliance for major tasks that my household vacuum simply can't tackle.