Narwal S20 Pro review: This wet-dry vac is the best investment I've made in my cleaning routine

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I was introduced to wet-dry vacuums a year after moving from an apartment into my house, where cleaning my very dusty historic home with a broom and a mop took a lot of time and energy. Since, I've tested nearly 20 of the best wet-dry vacuums on my hardwood and laminate floors, and now I call myself a proud convert. Among them all, the Narwal S20 Pro Vacuum Mop stands out.

To be entirely honest, I'm a big fan of the Tineco brand of wet-dry vacuums. However, I think the Narwal S20 Pro is the first wet-dry vacuum that can give the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro a run for its money.

Wet-dry products aren't new for Narwal, as the brand was one of the first brands to offer a combo wet and dry robot mop — in fact, the Narwal Freo x Ultra wet-dry robot vacuum and mop combo is worth your attention if you're looking for something automatic.

The S20 Pro is the brand's second-generation upright wet-dry vacuum. It has five different cleaning modes, one of which is a smart dirt-detecting mode that increases the suction and mopping capabilities of the vacuum when it detects dirty floors. With phenomenal edge cleaning capabilities and a reasonable price tag, it's no wonder that the Narwal S20 Pro has become one of my favorite wet-dry vacuums.

Sure, you could consider the best vacuums and best mops on the market, but read on to see why this wet-dry vacuum is a far better investment for a cleaner home.

Setup and design

The Narwal S20 Pro arrives assembled out of the box. I only needed to add the handle — which clicks into the main body of the vacuum — and charge the vacuum before its first use. Once charged, I discovered that the clean water tank was located at the back of the vacuum head. This is a unique design element, as most clean water tanks are located on the front.

I added detergent from the provided detergent bottle to the top of the vacuum head. To add the detergent, I had to remove the brush roll cover and then lift the detergent lid. Once the detergent and clean water were added, I was ready to use the Narwal S20 Pro.

Our review of the Narwal S20 vacuum

I've been using the Narwal S20 Pro to keep 1,600 square feet of historic hardwood and laminate floors clean. In addition to running some specific tests on both floor types, I've been using it once a week to clean my floors. Keep reading to see how the Narwal S20 Pro works.

Overall Ease of Use

At 9.41 pounds, the Narwal S20 Pro is lightweight, and also has a self-propel system and a vacuum head that easily swivels about. The handle is comfortable and outfitted with a small LED screen, a power button, and a button to switch modes. There are five modes: Smart, Suction, Turbo, Quiet, and Max.

Smart mode detects when floors are dirty and adjusts the suction and mopping capabilities, while Quiet mode results in a low noise-cleaning experience and a longer battery life. Suction mode can be used to remove a build-up of water on the floor, while Turbo and Max modes are to be employed on stubborn stains.

In Smart mode, the LCD screen turns yellow when dirt is detected and then blue when the floor is clean. The only mode that you can't switch to with the mode button is Max mode. There is a small trigger underneath the handle, and it is through continuously holding the trigger that the Max mode can be used.

The Narwal S20 Pro's handle can be leaned 180 degrees or all the way to the ground. With a 180-degree handle, I can reach further under furniture. In this position, the vacuum increases the suction and mopping capabilities automatically as it senses that you're cleaning in a typically dustier place (like under your bed).

Voice prompts also sound when issues occur, such as the roller brush not being in place or the dirty water tank being full. When placed in the upright position, the wet-dry vacuum will pause. The Narwal S20 Pro is not outfitted with LED lights, which is a drawback.

Cleaning Performance

Overall, the Narwal S20 Pro does a good job cleaning dust, dirt, debris, and hair from hard floors. I was very impressed by the edge cleaning. Although most wet-dry vacuums say they have close-edge cleaning, the Narwal S20 Pro actually does. When I cleaned a wall with the edge of the vacuum, there was no dry space between the vacuum and the wall. I've never seen that before. Also, it cleans up to a quarter-inch from the front edge of the vacuum head. Most wet-dry vacuums I've tested have a half-inch front edge cleaning.

I covered my floors with a variety of materials — coffee, flour, cereal, barbecue sauce, dried ketchup, soda, and syrup — to see how well the wet-dry vacuum cleans. The Narwal S20 Pro cleaned up all the materials in a single pass, at least when vacuuming in a forward motion. Unfortunately, when vacuuming in reverse, the Narwal S20 Pro doesn't do a good job. Coffee and cereal would get caught behind the wheels. It did a little better with cleaning substances in reverse, but still, I had to clean the substances in a forward motion to ensure I cleaned the floor thoroughly. Poor reverse cleaning is the biggest drawback of this vacuum.

When on Smart mode, the dirty water tank needed to be emptied at 21 minutes, which was the exact moment I finished cleaning my house. The clean water tank lasted until 34 minutes.

Battery Life

According to the brand, the Narwal S20 Pro's battery can last up to 60 minutes. However, this is only the case if you use the wet-dry vacuum in Quiet mode. When I tested the Narwal S20 Pro in Quiet mode, it lasted 58 minutes.

When testing the wet-dry vacuum on the Smart Mode, which adjusts the suction and mopping capabilities depending on how dirty the surface is, the Narwal S20 Pro battery lasted 39 minutes. A low battery indicator came on at 37 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised that in Turbo mode, the Narwal S20 Pro lasted 36 minutes. Typically, you don't see high-powered cleaning modes lasting more than 20 minutes, so this is a win in my book.

The battery takes about three hours to fully recharge, which is standard for most wet-dry vacuums.

Maintenance and Cleaning

The Narwal S20 Pro is equipped with an impressive self-cleaning and self-drying system, which makes it one of the easiest wet-dry vacuums on the market to clean and maintain. After placing the vacuum on the base, I emptied the dirty water tank. Narwal has designed the tank so that debris is separated from the dirty water by a built-in cage. The debris will be wet, so you'll have to use the cleaning brush provided to dump it into the trash can.

From there, I pushed the self-cleaning button. Users can choose between having the self-cleaning and self-drying systems run one after another or as separate functions. For instance, if you want to do a second round of self-drying, you can do that and forgo the self-cleaning system in that instance.

Self-cleaning lasts 3-5 minutes, while self-drying takes at least 30 minutes. The self-cleaning time is determined by the dirt level. When the self-cleaning system is employed, it disinfects the roller brush with high-temperature water. The Narwal S20 Pro adjusts the drying time depending on the brush roll's humidity. It also air dries the pipe and filter with hot air. Once the self-cleaning and self-drying system was complete, I removed the dirty water tank and emptied it. Debris is separated from the dirty water making it easier to dispose of the debris with the cleaning brush provided. (The debris was wet, so it does take some effort to remove it from the tank.)

I removed the vacuum head and brush roll when the self-cleaning and self-drying systems were finished. I couldn't believe the brush roll was actually dry, which is not the case for most wet-dry vacuum self-drying systems. There was also no dust or debris under the vacuum head, which is something I usually discover with other wet-dry vacuums.

The only other maintenance required of users is to replace the filter when necessary.

Filtration

The wet-dry vacuum is outfitted with a filter located at the top of the dirty water tank. When cleaning the wet-dry vacuum, the filter needs to be removed and cleaned with water. It should be completely dry before being placed back on the dirty water tank. An additional filter is provided so that whenever you need to exchange it, you have one on hand.

Cons to consider

There are two notable cons of the Narwal S20 Pro. For one, it lacks LED lighting. I'm not sure why Narwal forwent this feature, but it would be helpful in cleaning in low lit areas. The other con? The Narwal S20 Pro does not vacuum or mop well in reverse.

Although the Narwal S20 Pro picked up all the different materials and substances on the ground in one pass during the testing period, I have to note that when I say "one pass," I mean when vacuuming in a forward direction. When I pulled the Narwal S20 Pro backward or vacuumed in reverse over different materials, it did a very poor job of suctioning and mopping. Coffee, cereal, and flour got stuck behind the wheels. I also noticed other debris, like leaves and dried mud, not getting picked up by the Narwal S20 Pro when vacuuming in reverse, which resulted in more effort and cleaning time on my behalf.

What are your alternatives?

The Tineco Floor One S7 Pro and Tineco Floor One S5 are probably the biggest competitors to the Narwal S20 Pro. The Tineco wet-dry vacuums might have slightly less impressive edge cleaning, but they have a similar number of cleaning modes (including a dirt detect mode), LCD screens, and voice commands. They excel far better in reverse cleaning than the Narwal S20 Pro. I wish the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro's self-cleaning and self-drying system was more like the Narwal S20 Pro, however, I will say that I prefer the dirt detect indicator on the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro and Tineco Floor One S5 than the Narwal S20 Pro's.

Where the Narwal S20 Pro can clean hard floors only, the Ecowell Lulu Quick Clean P05 can clean hard floors and rugs. It might not have an LCD screen, but the Ecowell Lulu Quick Clean P05 does a great job with edge and reverse cleaning no matter the floor type. Not to mention, it's nearly half the cost of the Narwal S20 Pro and has a self-drying system.

Not all wet-dry vacuums can lie flat in the way the Narwal S20 Pro can. In fact, it's the only wet-dry vacuum that I know of that increases the suction and mop features automatically when in this position. That said, the Dyson WashG1 can also lie flat. At times, the design of the Dyson WashG1 gets in the way of reaching under some furniture pieces. Where it excels in comparison to the Narwal S20 Pro is its reverse cleaning capability — probably the best I've ever seen among wet-dry vacuums.

The bottom line

The Narwal S20 Pro has five different cleaning modes, including a smart dirt detect mode, and incredible edge cleaning capabilities. While it can pick up any materials or substances with a single pass when vacuuming forward, reverse cleaning is a bit lacking. At least the price is competitive with other feature-heavy models, and the self-cleaning and self-drying system is unmatched.