Testing the Kärcher FCV 4 hard floor and carpet cleaner
11.8.2025
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Stefanie Lechthaler
Kärcher’s hard floor cleaner proves to be strong in the fight against dirt on different surfaces. But could it be better? You’ll find out in this test report.
When I hear the word «Kärcher», hard floor cleaners aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. And yet, in addition to its iconic pressure washers, the German manufacturer also has a wide range of appliances for everyday household use. I was allowed to take a close look at and test out the current FCV 4 model in the series.
An ordinary hard floor cleaner? No, not just that
The FCV 4 is pulled by a roller that’s continuously moistened with water as it rolls across the floor. The damp dirt’s sucked up and catapulted into the collection container. Nothing unusual about that so far. Yet, Kärcher has designed the wet vacuum cleaner so that it can clean both hard floors and low-pile carpets without completely soaking them.
The four cleaning stages at a glance
I navigate between the four cleaning levels using the two arrow buttons on the handle. Almost everything you need the cleaner for is covered in these levels. The button for self-cleaning mode is located at the back end of the handle, but I’ll say more on this later.
Auto mode: in this mode, a sensor detects the surface and degree of soiling. The FCV 4 automatically regulates the water supply and the suction power.
Power mode: if you notice that the automatic setting isn’t enough for a pesky, dried-on stain, you can use this mode to manually increase the amount of water.
Stair mode: this mode prevents the device from switching off automatically as soon as you put it in the upright position. This means you can clean steps with the FCV 4 in the standing position.
Dry mode: in this mode, the roller’s only lightly moistened with water so that deep-pile carpets can be cleaned without getting wet. At the same time, you can effectively suck up large quantities of water.
First stop: the kitchen
I start the first cleaning attempt in the kitchen and fill the fresh water tank, which holds around 750 millilitres, with tap water. Then I put two caps of the supplied Kärcher all-purpose floor cleaner into the tank. According to the instructions for use, Kärcher explicitly recommends that you only use the company’s own cleaning and care product. But this isn’t particularly cheap.
With the fresh water tank inserted, I start the FCV 4. The roller rolls over the stone slabs with quite a pull, sucking up the settled dust and the bread crumbs lying around. The floor is moistened in no time at all and I’m pleasantly surprised. Things are looking promising with this Kärcher.
Mustard and porridge oats
Like in my last review, where I tested the Dyson WashG1 hard floor cleaner, I check whether the FCV 4 can tackle the thick floor tiles in my kitchen and get the dirt out from between the grooves. So I scatter some porridge oats and smear mustard on the floor – the usual everyday scenario in my household.
It feels like everything spilled disappears from the floor in a single wipe. The wet cleaner even reaches the oats in the grooves and the three mustard splodges vanish in the first attempt. Because it happens so quickly for me to comprehend, I spread another strip of mustard between two floor tiles and am again amazed at how the FCV 4 sweeps everything away except for a tiny spot.
It’s striking how quickly the roller has turned yellow. For a brief moment, I wonder if the mustard will be spread around the apartment as I continue cleaning. However, a peek inside reveals that at least a large amount has been sucked up.
Ketchup, soy sauce and a wheel that pulls it all together
I let a ketchup and soy sauce stain dry on the white tiles in my bathroom to see how well the FCV 4 copes with dried dirt. The wet vacuum cleaner has a little difficulty getting started with the soy stain, but then it gets going and cleans up most of it. Only a strip along the wall remains. Even when I turn the hard floor cleaner, the stain remains in a narrow area along the wall because the distance between the sides of the appliance is too big and the roller can’t reach the edge.
On the plus side, my assumption that dirt would be dragged across the floor wasn’t confirmed. In any case, I can’t see anything with the naked eye. What I do notice, however, is the ketchup trail the FCV 4’s wheels leave behind when I accidentally roll over it. The sauce sticks to it and is spread over the freshly cleaned floor.
Hair
Last but not least, I put the FCV 4 to the toughest test: hair. To do this, I spread everything that’s caught in my hairbrush on the tiles and wet them with water. And the hard floor cleaner also masters this task with flying colours.
After a few passes, the hair has either moved into the dirty water tank or wrapped around the roller. And despite the knot of hair, the roller keeps rolling.
Parquet floor, carpet, stairs and under the furniture
Parquet: with the moderate amount of water in automatic mode, the FCV 4 is suitable for parquet floors. I didn’t notice any problems in the test. The floor is quickly dry and clean. The only thing I wasn’t happy about is that the Kärcher cleaning agent also has to be used for parquet flooring.
Carpet: my personal favourite is the carpet cleaning function. It only works on low-pile carpeting, but it’s pretty impressive. Although it’s recommended you use dry mode here, the hard floor cleaner recognises that it has to reduce the amount of water as soon as I drive over the edge of the carpet in auto mode. And despite the powerful roller, the FCV 4 doesn’t suck in the protruding carpet fringes.
Stairs: I switch to stair mode so that I can use the hard floor cleaner in the upright position. It wipes the stairs without stopping and, apart from the narrow strip along the wall mentioned above, leaves only a fine film of water on the steps. The downside is that sometimes it goes too fast for me and I uncontrollably bang into the steps.
Hidden dust in difficult places: the Kärcher copes relatively well with dirt along the wall. It’s worse when I want to use the appliance to clean hard-to-reach places, such as under the bed or the bathroom cabinet. I can’t reach these spaces because the water tank is too high.
Weak battery
According to Kärcher, the battery should last 45 minutes or for 200 square metres. Right from the start, the battery felt like it was draining every minute in auto mode. If I choose power mode from time to time, it’s nowhere near enough to clean my 70-square-metre apartment on a single charge. Even in self-cleaning mode, when the appliance is in its charging station, it uses quite a lot of battery. This isn’t ideal for a large household. Charging would then take even longer. According to the manufacturer, the FCV 4 needs around 240 minutes to recharge the battery.
The FCV 4 is on the heavier side
What’s annoying is that I notice the weight of the cleaner the longer I use it. Although it weighs just 4.1 kilos, my arm gets tired – probably because the roller has so much traction and I often have to push against it. This is probably also the reason why the hard floor device isn’t particularly easy to manoeuvre. Compared to the Dyson Wash G1, which literally floats across the floor, the FCV 4 is more cumbersome.
Device cleaning
Whether wet or dry dirt: whatever’s catapulted from the roller towards the collection container ends up in the dirt tank via an opening. But it’s precisely this opening that makes it difficult to clean all areas of the container. Kärcher supplies a brush for this purpose.
I tip the contents into the toilet and rinse it out a few more times until the tank is empty. I can also remove the filter and rinse it under the tap. The instructions state that individual parts should be air-dried after cleaning.
I throw the roller in the washing machine and wash it at 60 degrees. The device itself takes care of the rest. To do this, I have to place it in the charging station, from which it protrudes a little too far for my taste, empty the dirty water tank and press the power button.
When is the FCV 4 worthwhile?
Anyone who values quick and thorough everyday cleaning will be satisfied with the FCV 4. The components can be cleaned quickly and the integrated self-cleaning mode saves work during appliance maintenance. However, the short battery life can be limiting for larger areas.
In a nutshell
Good all-rounder with minor flaws
With its four modes, the FCV 4 proves to be a solid wet cleaner for hard floors and low-pile carpets. It copes well with everyday dirt such as crumbs, hair or spilled sauces, even on higher floorboards, but is weaker in terms of battery life, accessing narrow spaces and should only be used with the manufacturer’s own cleaning agent. Plus, you can feel the weight of the device in your arms as time progresses and the device is difficult to manoeuvre. Overall, the FCV 4 is a reliable hard floor cleaner for smaller households with room for improvement in terms of ergonomics and battery life.
Pro
- Cleans well on various floors
- Suitable for low-pile carpets
- 4 modes for different cleaning purposes
- Completely removes hair
- Works on stairs in upright position
Contra
- Short battery life
- Slow charging
- Cumbersome
- Could be more agile
- Can only be used with Kärcher cleaning agent
Header image: Stefanie Lechthaler
Painting the walls just before handing over the flat? Making your own kimchi? Soldering a broken raclette oven? There's nothing you can't do yourself. Well, perhaps sometimes, but I'll definitely give it a try.
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