Lidl's 40 euro wet and dry vacuum that also blows air

Lidl's vacuum that sucks up water, blows air and lasts six years for 40 euros

Forty euros. Six years of hard use. And it vacuums dust, liquids and blows air. The Parkside workshop vacuum that Lidl sells periodically has earned a rare place in the DIY imagination: the cheap gadget that doesn't break. The recipe is no mystery, and that's precisely why it bothers those who pay 130 euros for a machine with the same function.

The key is in how you use it. With a bag, without a bag, with a dirt-cheap cyclone separator bought on AliExpress or with an eight-euro round filter that fits most workshop vacuums. Those who have tinkered with the setup say that with the cyclone the filter barely gets dirty and that the suction power, far from dropping, improves. The trick is simple: separate the coarse dirt before it reaches the motor.

Cleaning car upholstery without buying a 130-euro machine

The next level came when people realized the same device works for cleaning seats, carpets and sofas. The technique: spray the fabric with water and a cleaning solution, then run the vacuum over it to suck up the mix of water and dirt. The result, according to those who have tried it on a semi-new car, is murky water coming out of the tank. The difference with dedicated injection-extraction machines is the transparent nozzle that lets you watch the process; here you have to open the tank to check.

For that you need an upholstery nozzle, which doesn't come included. The hose diameter isn't standardized, so each user measures theirs before buying on Asian marketplaces or in DIY stores. Some nozzles from well-known brands cost almost as much as the whole vacuum.

Blowing, sucking up water and the metal tank mistake

The device has two air ports: one sucks, the other blows. That detail, ignored for months by more than one owner, explains scares like the one suffered by someone who emptied the tank and saw the water shoot out instead of being sucked in.

Vacuuming liquids has limits. There's no safety float: if the water reaches the motor, the machine is done for. It's good for picking up a puddle or emptying a bucket, not for bailing out a bathtub. And watch out for the metal tank version: it rusts, because it's not stainless, and some people have had to repair it with putty.

The drawbacks that actually matter

Loud and bulky. No automatic start synced to a plugged-in power tool, the antiestéticature that lets the vacuum start when you switch on the saw. Compared to a compact household vacuum, the comparison is unflattering. Compared to the price tag, there's no contest.

The reasonable doubt is durability. Some people have had an equivalent model from another brand for ten years, while others warn that the paper filter degrades with washing. The most common answer: with a cyclone, the filter barely does any work. The prediction, with reservations: as long as Lidl keeps selling it for 40 euros, the queue will keep forming.