Cleanliness is next to godliness. When you are clean, you feel clean. Life goes a little smoother when dirt has been banished and everything in order. Car interiors and workshop floors are places where this is especially true. Everyone’s car seems a little nicer, richer, and smoother after a deep clean. The garage and workshop feel like better places to be and work after they’ve been cleaned up.
The best tool for clearing dirty car interiors and dusty shop floors is a wall-mounted vacuum cleaner. In this article, we’re going to show you the best of the best.
Vacuums come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. We’re not going to review all of them – or even all the types. If you’re ready to step up from the mobile shop vac, the handheld battery-powered vacuum, or the converted home vacuum, then we’ve got the right products for you.
Top 4 Best Garage Vacuum Wall Mounted
OUR TOP PICK
Imagine having a vacuum with a fifty-foot hose and enough power to finish up the dirtiest jobs with ease. Now, take that vacuum, paint it in an attractive gray powder coat (or one of the other six color options), and then mount it on your garage wall. That’s the VacuMaid GV50PRO.
The VacuMaid comes with a 5.7” Ametek Lamb motor. The Lamb motor cranks out an impressive amount of power and provides plenty of suction for every job in the shop. It also boasts of an extra 75% longer running life than its competitors.
Along with those motor, the long hose and attachments are superb. Buyers receive a 12” floor brush, crevice tool, dusting brush, upholstery tool, telescopic wand, and a curved handle.
The dust and debris are filtered through a HEPA-style bag. Air quality in your shop shouldn’t suffer for cleanliness! The bags hold up to seven gallons each.
We’ve only found one drawback to this vacuum. The internal hose diameter is a little small. This may lead to difficult clogs under heavy use. Clogs are especially prevalent when sucking up sawdust or splinters.
All in all, this is a solid vacuum. It’s built well, has plenty of power, and the accessories are made to a high standard.
EDITORS CHOICE
Vacuums aren’t necessarily very attractive. They are made to serve a purpose – suck up stuff. The Bissell Garage Pro stands out from the crowd for its good looks. Its sleek, black exterior has a semi-translucent canister. This looks good and helps keep track of the amount of dirt, dust, and grime you have banished from your car or garage.
One of the best features of this unit is its triple mode capability. The Bissell can pick up dry dirt and debris when you’re cleaning the car. It can change modes and suck up wet spills from the shop floor. With the touch of a button, it can switch modes again and be used to blow leaves or other small debris out of the shop. This versatility separates it from its competition in the race to be the most convenient solution for your cleaning jobs.
The vacuum comes with several different tools for managing every job you must complete. There is a wide floor brush, a multi-function carpet head, several dusters, a squeegee attachment, and a crevice tool. All of these connect the 32’ hose to bring the power clean to the dirty scene.
One disadvantage of this vacuum is its smaller canister size. The four-gallon tank will probably suit most home uses. It may be too small for commercial or industrial setups.
BEST VALUE
The Vacmaster 5 Gallon Wall-Mounted Vacuum is a tidy little package. It is made to mount to your wall but still be easy to detach and move around. The mounting bracket will work on a single wall stud. When portable cleaning power is called for, simply lift the Vacmaster off its bracket and carry it wherever it is needed.
The Vacmaster comes with a 5 HP motor. This should provide plenty of suction for most household cleaning jobs. Some users set this up as a dust extractor for their woodworking shops. The amount of power on tap should be enough for this purpose.
The Vacmaster is also a wet/dry vac and has a blower function. This versatility makes it ideal for use around the home. Its portability will enable users to move it to the scene of the grime.
Vacmaster has put great thought into enhancing portable use. To this end, they have included on-board storage for all the accessories. The cord also wraps around the back of the unit for simple transportation.
As a wall-mounted vacuum, the Vacmaster has one issue: its hose is very short. The standard unit comes with a 21’ hose. This is less than half the length of some of its competitors. However, with portability in mind, the power cable is another 20’ long. The combined reach of 41’ places this vacuum in the middle of the pack for reach.
RUNNER UP
The Hoover name is a trusted brand in the world of vacuums. Their wall-mounted garage vacuum, the Hoover GUV ProGrade L2310, is a welcome entry in our list of the top four units you can buy.
The L2310 has a 10 Amp, 120-watt motor. This quiet unit still provides enough suction to get the dirt our of your car’s carpets and the dust off your tools.
The build quality of the Hoover GUV is excellent. The body is fashioned from heavy-duty steel. The canister clips are strong and should survive in any working environment. The 30’ hose is made in crush-proof construction so it should stand up to being stepped on or driven over occasionally.
Hoover has designed a self-cleaning filter for this unit. You’ll never have to worry about buying a new filter again. The five-gallon canister is better than average.
All these things come together to complete a robust and reliable vacuum for consumers. Still, there is a simple design flaw limiting this unit’s performance. Inside the canister, the incoming (dirty) air is directed over the filter immediately. This can lead to diminished performance, especially in the case of woodworkers or others looking to suck up large quantities of fine dust. A simple fix is to install your own pipe elbow to redirect the air flow towards the bottom of the canister.
Best Garage Vacuum Wall Mounted Buying Guide
We’ve given you four great choices for the best wall-mounted vacuum cleaner. Now let us help you through the decision. We’ll have a quick look at some of the key features you might want to consider as you make your decision.
Size
One of the advantages of using a wall-mounted vacuum is the way these stay out of your way. The cords don’t drag across the floor. The hoses all coil up somewhere near them, neatly saving space. However, size is still a consideration. The Hoover L2310 is a much bigger unit than the Vacmaster 5 Gallon. Here are these vacuums in order from largest to smallest:
- Hoover L2310
- Bissell Garage Pro
- Vacumaid GV50Pro
- Vacmaster 5
Smaller workshops might need to use a smaller unit to avoid taking up too much wall space. On the other hand, larger spaces should be measured so the hose isn’t too short to reach the far corner.
Motor
Motors are a confusing topic because different manufacturers advertise their motor sizes differently. Vacumaid, for example, advertises the physical size of their motor – it is 5.7” in size. Vacmaster advertises the amount of horsepower available while Hoover points to the amps its motor consumes.
In short, larger motors will tend to generate more suction. The manufacturers do not allow for easy comparison. All four of these units possess strong motors and should be more than capable of doing your dirty work.
Bag or bagless
There are two aspects to this part of a vacuum’s design. The first point is simple. Vacuums which use bags need replacement bags. Changing the bag can be a hassle. It’s even worse if the bag needs to be changed before the spares arrive in the mail. On the plus side, the mess is all contained in the bag. Changing the canister brings the potential of dust making its way back into your space from the canister.
The second consideration is how the bag design works with the filter. In a bagless (canister) vacuum, the air passes through the main filter and can clog it up very quickly. The bag can prevent this. The result is more suction for a longer period. Vacuums with bags can maintain maximum power for longer if all the seals are correct.
Attachments
There are very few surprises in the attachment area. All these vacuums come with a similar array of fittings and tools. There are floor brushes, dusting heads, wet suction tools, and the strangely-named crevice tool. If your application has specific needs, then you must buy accordingly. For example, the Vacmaster 5 doesn’t have a long extending handle. If this will be useful, then you should order it separately or choose a different product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking through product reviews online, some customers have similar questions. We will try to answer some common queries here.
How do you store the vacuum cleaner in the garage?
These are all wall-mounted units so they will attach to a wall. A secure attachment needs to be made due to their weight and vibration. Some useful tips include mounting the unit high and making tools and hose hangers underneath. Equally, these units can be attached to the wall under a bench or table. Just be sure there is clearance for removing the canister in order to empty out the dirt.
How to install a central vacuum in the garage?
The process is very simple. Here are some simple steps:
- Decide on a central location. Think about where and how you will use the vacuum. If it is a shop vac, then placing it in the middle of the longest wall will probably cover the whole area. Some people might choose to locate their vacuums near the door for outside work.
- Plan for power. These units often have long hoses but short cords. Try to form a plan for how you will plug the unit into the wall.
- Make a solid connection. These vacuums come with wall brackets. These are easy to install. However, they should be screwed into a wooden stud or a brick anchor. This will keep the vacuum secure.
These simple steps should get you sorted out in no time.
How do you protect a vacuum cleaner from dust in the garage?
Ironically, dust is the enemy of the vacuum. At least, dust is the enemy of the vacuum’s motor. Dust in the motor will cause extra wear and the motor may seize up or burn out. In order to prevent this, keep the exterior of the vacuum reasonably clean. The filter should be changed before it becomes fully clogged. Doing this will prevent any dirt from being pulled all the way through the filter into the motor.
How do you clean a garage vacuum?
The process is simple:
- Remove the canister. Empty it into a trash can. Then, wipe it out with a cloth or rag. Some vacuums can tolerate a little water in the canister so you can spray it out if some dirt lingers.
- Clean the filter. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for this step. Some filters can be washed underwater while others are replacement only.
- Replace the filter, canister, and then wipe down the outside.
Easy!
Which wall-mounted vacuum cleaner is the best for your garage?
Three of these are quite similar while one is the odd one out. The three truly wall-mounted vacuums are the Vacumaid, Bissell, and Hoover units. The Vacmaster 5 does mount on the wall but is also built for maximum portability. So, if you need the portability of the Vacmaster, it’s an obvious choice.
