Your best option for a patio vacuum depends on your patio. For dry, enclosed spaces, you might get by with your indoor vacuum. But if you’re dealing with outdoor debris such as fallen leaves — and worse yet, wet fallen leaves — it’s time to upgrade your options. Convertible blower vacuums, shop vacs and other wet/dry vacuum cleaners are better suited to these outdoor tasks.
A regular vacuum and a wet/dry vacuum are different machines designed for different purposes. With a wet/dry vacuum, the motor and electrical parts are kept separate from the airflow. These are generally canister-style vacuums without motorized brush heads. They also don’t typically offer HEPA filtration. Your regular indoor vacuum would be overwhelmed by the demands of vacuuming outside, while your wet/dry shop vac would be inefficient and difficult to use indoors.
Some wet/dry shop vacuums offer a feature where they can be used as blowers. These don’t have as much power as dedicated leaf blowers, but they work well for light shop duty and dry leaves and grass clippings.
Conversely, many leaf blowers are reversible for use as vacuums or even vacuum mulchers. Filtration is minimal for these devices — often limited to the bag that catches debris — so they can disperse dust into the air. They can be handy for picking up larger items such as leaves and twigs. It’s also nice to have the blower as an option instead of the vacuum.
For a hardscape patio that isn’t overwhelmed by leaves and sizable organic matter, a shop vac or wet/dry vacuum is a valid option. For larger jobs with larger pieces of debris, consider one of the convertible blower vacuums listed farther down.
Vacmaster 4-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum
This Vacmaster offers quiet operation and powerful suction along with an array of accessory attachments and a HEPA material exhaust filter. The 18-foot cord has automatic rewind, and the intake hose gives seven feet of reach from the canister (not counting the three extension wands).
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Stanley 10-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum
The 10-gallon capacity Stanley wet/dry vacuum includes a blower feature to give you a head start in clearing fallen leaves from a patio. The floor attachments and extension nozzles will then help you finish the job, while a crevice attachment can get at any dirt and debris trapped in the cushions of your patio furniture.
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Craftsman 16-Gallon Wet/Dry Heavy-Duty Vacuum
A blower port on this large-capacity Craftsman shop vac can help make quick work of leaves and debris in small outdoor spaces. A fastener makes it easy to change out the filter between wet and dry jobs. There’s also an extra-large drain for quickly unloading any liquids you’ve had to clean up from flooded patio areas.
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Vacmaster 12-Gallon Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum with Detachable Blower
The Vacmaster easily converts from a simple shop vacuum to a handheld blower that delivers 210 mph wind — great for clearing off whatever is cluttering your patio. Features include a 7-foot hose, extension wands, blower adapter and diffuser, utility and car nozzles, a crevice tool and dry and wet filters.
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DeWalt 9-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum
This corded DeWalt wet/dry vacuum steps up with a 9-gallon capacity and a blower port, making it much more feature-rich and powerful if slightly less convenient than the cordless option. A washable cartridge filter, a convenient drain port and an accessory caddy make it an excellent choice for shop and outdoor use.
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Armor All 2.5-Gallon Wet/Dry Utility Shop Vacuum
This Armor All shop vacuum comes with an array of accessories that help clean up a garage workspace or a car. A blower function is also included. It would work best for the cleanup of dirt and dust from patio furniture for outdoor use, but none of the included attachments are convenient for cleaning the ground without having to bend over.
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Leaf blowers are great options for quickly clearing dirt, dust and larger organic matter from your patio. Leaf blowers that convert to vacuums offer you two ways to go about clearing your space. Different power options for these devices included corded electric, rechargeable batteries and gas:
Sun Joe 3-in-1 Corded Electric Blower/Mulcher/Vacuum
The Sun Joe 3-in-1 easily converts from a blower to a vacuum and/or mulcher for easy cleanup of leaves and debris in the patio and yard. It offers six adjustable wind speeds reaching up to 240 mph.
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WORX Trivac 2.0 Corded 3-in-1 Blower/Mulcher/Vacuum
The WORX 3-in-1 converts from blower to vacuum and mulcher with just a turn of the dial. The easy-release bag makes it easy to unhook, dump your fresh mulch and start again.
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Greenworks Variable Speed Cordless Leaf Blower/Vacuum
Free yourself from the cord with the battery-operated Greenworks blower and vacuum. A variable speed dial gives six-speed selections. The battery lasts for 21 minutes at full speed, which should be more than enough to clear a patio.
Sold by Amazon
Husqvarna 2-Cycle Gas Leaf Blower/Vacuum
A gas leaf blower is louder than either corded or battery-powered models, and the exhaust fumes aren’t the best for running near a patio. Also, emissions regulations may prevent delivery to some locations. Still, this is a durable piece of equipment that will appeal to some, especially if you have large areas to cover.
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Brett Dvoretz is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
