Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer review

Looking for a home appliance that will clean up what gets spilled and sort out the stains that are already there? The Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer might just have grabbed your attention as the perfect solution for your home and car. 

I've tested a range of the best vacuum cleaners on carpet, hard floors, and upholstery, and challenged it with new spills and old stains to give you the lowdown on how efficiently it will get rid of them, how easy it is to use, and how much space it’ll take up in your cupboard. 

Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer

•  Maximum power: 18V 
•  Cable length: Not applicable 
•  Dimensions: H21.6 x W28.9 x D32.4cm 
•  Weight: 3.2kg 
•  Noise: not available 
•  Energy rating: no ratings for cordless models 
•  Capacity: 0.28 litres (dirty water); 0.16 litres (clean water and cleaning solution) 

Who will the Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer suit?

Those with young families and messy pets facing lots of spills and wanting a ready-to-go solution. 

What is the Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer like to use?

Simple to operate, this handy machine is easy to prepare for action and tackle spills with. 

Hard flooring, carpet and upholstery 

I challenged the Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer with both old stains and new spills in my testing. I inherited marks from an unknown source on a carpet in one of the bedrooms when I moved into my home, and with new carpets on the horizon now I had suspended my (unsuccessful) efforts to remove them. Using the SpotlessGo was the ideal opportunity to see if they could be removed after who knows how long in place.

The result? Yes, the Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer cleaned up these marks effectively and with little effort on my part.

It was also a winner on hard flooring, sucking up a tea spill in a trice and leaving white tiles white, and worked equally well with a spill on upholstery.

Attachments

The machine comes with a multipurpose attachment in the form of a brush that slots easily onto the wash tool on the hose and helps you work into carpet fibres. There’s also a pet attachment designed to pick up (yes, you’ve guessed it) hair and fur that was easy to swap into place. You also get a squeegee that’s handy for the shower screen. 

Power and stain and spill removal

I found the Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer to be an effective worker on all that it was challenged with once I got into the swing of using it. It came with a starter bottle of the brand’s Multi-Floor Solution. A measured quantity of this had to be added to the tank (which lifts easily out of the machine), along with water, and there are markers to indicate how much of each you need. The Multi-Floor Solution cleaner is antibacterial, and promises to remove up to 99% of bacteria.

Once you’re working on a spill or stain, the key to using the machine is knowing that the floor head sprays the cleaning solution forward when the trigger is squeezed, so I needed to position it a small distance away from what I was tackling. Once this is done, the flooring could be agitated with the appropriate attachment. Releasing the trigger and re-angling the head was necessary to suck up the solution and dry the floor. It took me a couple of tries to get the hang of all this, and it would have been handy to have this information in the instructions and skip the learning curve.

Once I was in the swing, I was impressed by how dry the machine left the floor, which obviously makes things safer than cleaning up with cloths and buckets then leaving the floor wet, and is a huge plus point for the machine.

The machine has a run time of 15 minutes when the battery’s charged, which was enough for me to tackle plenty of problems, and I don’t think would prove insufficient for most households because it’s a machine for immediate clean-ups rather than the whole house (as a vacuum is). Charging time for the battery (see more on this design below) is a swift one and half hours.

Container removal

The dirty water tank, like that for the cleaning solution, was fuss-free to remove from the machine. It’s transparent so you definitely get to experience the yuck factor even before you pour the filthy contents down the sink. 

Handy features

The Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer is part of the ONEPWR family along with cordless vacuum cleaners the Vax ONEPWR Blade 3, and Vax ONEPWR Blade 4, as well as the hard floor cleaner the Vax Glide. The lithium-ion ONEPWR battery can be shared between appliances so the battery from your Blade 3 or Blade 4 vac, for example, will work in this spot cleaner. Then again, you can buy an additional battery so there’s always a charged spare for your Vax appliances.

Lithium-ion batteries do come to an end of their lives, but the ONEPWR version can be replaced when this happens, which means your cleaner isn’t redundant for want of a functioning battery. This isn’t the case with all appliances, so it’s worth bearing mind when you’re purchasing a cordless.

Storing

With dimensions of H21.6 x W28.9 x D32.4cm, the Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer shouldn’t be a nuisance to find storage space for – after all it’s not much bulkier than a bucket and the shape makes it easier to accommodate than one of these. The hose coils neatly round it, too, so it didn’t get tangled with other items when I put it away. 

Manoeuvrability 

The Vax ONEPWR SpotlessGo Spot Washer wasn’t heavy and it was comfortable to move around the house with as well. Although I had teething troubles with positioning of the wash tool, it wasn’t hard to put in the right place nor to use once I had the knack. 

How does it rate online?

The ratings of reviewers on the Vax site give this spot cleaner an average 4.3 out of five rating. Ease of use and cleaning results receive the highest ratings, but value for money isn’t far behind. Users say it’s cleaned up spills and mud effectively. They also acclaimed its light weight and easy portability. Negatives from these reviewers included that it left some surfaces more wet than they’d like.

How does it rate against similar cleaners?

There aren’t a whole lot of similar cleaners – although users of these machines definitely see the value of a portable machine for homes with kids and pets. The price of this version puts it head to head with other designs, but it is more compact and lighter than others – factors that might well put it at the top of your list if storage space is short and weight crucial. 

About our review – and our reviewer

Sarah Warwick has specialised in homes and interiors for over 20 years. She was Executive Editor of Ideal Home magazine, and has written for nationals, magazines and websites including Real Homes, Homebuilding & Renovating, Grand Designs, Homes & Gardens, Houzz, The Guardian, House Beautiful and Country Homes & Interiors. 

She put the vacuums through their paces all round the house, on all sorts of dirt and debris, and a variety of flooring and surfaces.

@SMWarwick

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