Ultenic AC1 Cordless Wet & Dry Vacuum Review

at a glance

expert evaluation

Strong Points

• cordless
• self cleaning and drying
• self driven
• effective

Cons

• heavy
• you still need a second vacuum cleaner
• useless instruction manual
• Inexpensive cleaning solution

our verdict

The Ultenic AC1 is a great combination vacuum and mop packed with useful features and great value. If you have a lot of hard flooring in your home, it’s worth the investment.

Price at time of review

$359

Today’s Best Price: Ultenic AC1

$379.00

Ultenic’s AC1 is a self-powered, cordless wet and dry vacuum cleaner with long battery life, separate clean and dirty water tanks, powerful suction and end-to-end cleaning .

It also has some impressive tech features like an LCD display, app compatibility and voice assistant. Plus, it automatically cleans and dries the roller brush when docked and charged.

But how do you use it? Read on to find out.

design and appearance

• replaceable battery
• 45 minutes run time
• Clean and dirty large water tank

The AC1 is shaped like an upright vacuum cleaner, but with a compact, modern look. It has a glossy white plastic body with orange accents and a smoked clear water tank, gray cleaning head and gray charging base. It feels solidly built.

Inside the box you’ll find the vacuum cleaner, a charging base with a built-in UV light for cleaning the rollers, a separate battery charging slot, a removable battery, spare rollers, a washable HEPA filter, and a cleaning brush (with dirty water). to clean the inside of the tank) and a bottle of cleaning fluid.

If you expect to use it for more than 45 minutes at a time, you can consider investing in a second battery. It’s much more affordable than a spare battery for your cordless vacuum, setting you back $59.99/£39.99 (Ultenic in the US, Amazon in the UK).

Ultenic says you should only use the cleaning solution provided, but if you use up the 500ml bottle provided and add a capful for each full water tank, you’ll be fine with what’s on sale. I’m not sure what options you have because I couldn’t find anywhere.

In any case, I have a mix of tile, vinyl, and wood flooring and am careful with the products I use on wood, so I used just water to test the AC1.The results were impressive. .

One of the best things about AC1 is that it’s an absolute hassle to use. Learning how to use it can seem like a lot of work, so if you tend to avoid high-tech, labor-saving devices, this product is for you. Other than the differences between the four cleaning modes, there is absolutely nothing to learn.

Ease of use from the moment you take it out of the box. All you have to do is attach the handle, rollers and tank and charge.

It needs to stand upright on its compact charging base when not in use, so it needs a dedicated 30cm x 33cm place to store it next to an outlet. It does not need to be plugged in all the time as it will be fully charged within 4 hours, but it does need to be plugged in to run the self-cleaning and drying program after use.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Once fully charged, it is ready to use. Fill up the clean water tank and you’re done. The water tank can be easily removed and reinstalled with a satisfying click. The tanks are also surprisingly large, with a capacity of 1 liter each.

The dirty water tank also has a filter to separate debris and hair from the dirty water, making it a little less messy.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

performance

• 4 cleaning modes
• voice assistant
• self-propelled drive

Once the vacuum is charged, it’s ready to use. Controls are easy. There’s a power switch by the thumb and his second button behind it that lets you switch between four cleaning modes. There is also a switch that turns on the self-cleaning cycle when docked.

Smart mode detects dirt with a sensor and selects the appropriate amount of suction and water level. Max mode uses (as the name suggests) maximum water volume and maximum suction power to handle tough and stubborn dirt. Then there is the suction or water absorption mode where the appliance sucks up excess water.

There is also a “disinfection mode” where the AC1 asks you to wait a while for the disinfectant to be made. But that’s literally not the case, as no sanitizer is ever added to the machine. From what I can understand, this mode adds air bubbles to the tank to make the detergent more effective.

The instruction manual is basic and poorly translated, so it doesn’t help in this regard.

As soon as you lift the vacuum from the dock and switch it on, you’ll realize it’s a voice assistant. Say “turn it on” and from then on, you’ll get a convenient voice prompt every time. This is most useful for switching cleaning modes, as the current mode is not always obvious from the symbols on the screen.

When you dock again, you will be prompted to start the self-cleaning and drying mode. The cleaning part of this is noisy, but it only lasts for a minute.

By the way, if you are not good at voice assistants, you can mute them.

Another thing you’ll notice as soon as you turn it on is that AC1 is auto-driven. It means moving forward on its own. Primarily, it’s fairly heavy at 5kg/11lbs, which makes it easier to use. have to pull.

It’s fine for most people, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it for the elderly or people with limited mobility in hopes of making cleaning easier.

The LCD screen displays remaining battery power, cleaning mode, various indicators, and error messages. The battery life indicator is useful, but you’ll probably have to go back to the manual to interpret some of the remaining symbols.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Ultenic says the AC1 will run for up to 45 minutes in smart mode and 25 minutes in maximum mode. My apartment isn’t big enough to test it, but these numbers are consistent with the battery life needed to clean the bijou pads.

Its uptime is comparable to top-of-the-line cordless vacuum cleaners such as Dyson. It doesn’t match the Dyson V15’s 60-minute run time in Eco mode, but it’s well ahead of his 10-minute run time on the Max.

I’ve cleaned wood, vinyl and tile floors with the AC1 and it’s not only effective, it’s fast. You can quickly finish your daily cleaning, and it is also very useful for spills. Still, I have to say that if I do spill food or something, I pick up most of it before it even comes out of the vacuum.

Ultenic’s own product photo shows them hovering over a large, messy serving of spaghetti. Yes you can, but you will have to empty the dirty water tank and clean the vacuum afterwards.

Another thing to note is that the AC1 does not replace your regular vacuum cleaner. First, it doesn’t work on carpet, and it’s too heavy to climb stairs.

Also, it cannot be used for upholstery. It cleans well on hard floors, but cannot be used completely flat. I mean, you can clean under the coffee table, but you can’t clean under the sofa unless you’re prepared. Shift each time.

During our testing period, we found the Ultenic to be easy to keep clean and maintain. Still, I emptied the dirty water tank after each use and removed the rollers regularly (which are easy – just a few clicks away), rinsed and dried properly. works well, but it does not completely dry the rollers.

And if you’re using it to vacuum up piles of spaghetti, I think you need to put a lot more work into maintenance.

connection function

AC1 has limited connectivity, but is easy to use. Download the free Ultenic app for Apple or Android and connect via Wi-Fi. In my case it was quick and easy to connect, but it made little sense.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The app lets you check the status of clean and dirty water tanks, roller brushes, and battery level. All information is available on the screen. You can also access weekly cleaning reports. This tells you how many minutes you spent cleaning the floor.

Pricing and Availability

Considering its feature set, this is a very affordable wet and dry cleaner. Available from Amazon for $379 (US) / £329 (UK).

The Tineco Floor One S3 has similar features that are great. The Tineco Floor One S3 is slightly more expensive, has less battery life, a smaller water tank, and no debris filter in the dirty water tank.

Meanwhile, Dyson’s flagship V15 Detect is $749.99/$629.99, almost double the price, and the Shark Stratos is $465/$349. While you can’t compare them directly, it does point to the fact that you can get a lot of money with AC1.

verdict

If you have a lot of hard flooring such as wood, tile, vinyl, laminate, lino, AC1 is worth the investment. Effective and easy to use. Still, you should keep that limitation in mind. Heavy and watery, you don’t want to climb the stairs to use it in the master bathroom. It should also be kept away from carpets.

For other wet and dry vacuum buying options, check out our budget-friendly Wessex wet and dry vacuum and Tineco Floor One S3 reviews.