Sears, Roebuck & Co. makes and sells Craftsman wet/dry vacuums, one of the most popular brands of shop tools. As anyone who has tried to deal with a really big mess knows, a conventional vacuum cleaner is not really built for cleaning anything but carpets; they are of little use in the garage or workshop. That is where the wet/dry vacuum, which can pick up liquids as well as solids, comes in.
The design is as straight forward as it is effective. When the air stream passes from the narrow suction wand to the wider area found in the central cavity, the air stream slows down, for the same reason that the air speeds up when flowing through a narrow attachment. This drop in speed causes drops of liquid and dirt particles to fall out of the air stream and into the central bucket. Given this design, the total horsepower of the motor that creates the vacuum and the capacity of the tank are of central importance.
Unfortunately, Sears may be misleadingly representing that its Craftsman Wet/Dry Vacuums are more powerful and have a greater capacity than advertised. An independent laboratory tested the Craftsman vacuum cleaners, and concluded that they are substantially lower in power and capacity than Sears advertises. As a result, consumers who purchased Craftsman wet/dry vacuums may have been deceptively sold weak machines. If you or someone you know purchased a Craftsman wet/dry vacuum, please call us to discuss your legal options.