5 Lesser-Known Milwaukee Tools That Can Come In Handy Around Your Home And Yard

There are so many handy Milwaukee tools that can help make yard and home chores so much easier. For instance, rather than using shears to painstakingly sculpt your hedges, you can just use the M18 Hedge Trimmer, which will make fast work of the task. Or, if you want to hang a picture in your living room, rather than knocking on the wall and trying to find the stud, you can just use the Sub-Scanner Detection Tool to nix the frustration. But while these are some obvious helpers, Milwaukee also has some lesser-known tools that can come in handy around your yard and home. 

For instance, the Milwaukee Hatchet Pruning Saw is a compact version of a chain saw, making it easier (and less intimidating) to take down tree limbs, cut through wood, or take down any other minor obstacles at home. Or, if you like to save money by tinkering with your own car for minor breakdowns, then the M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless LED Underhood Light can help you illuminate everything perfectly. Here is a closer look at some of the brand's lesser-known offerings that could make a fantastic and unexpected addition to your collection. 

If you don't have much experience with power tools, using a large chainsaw can feel impossibly intimidating. The weight, force, and difficulty of maneuvering it can discourage most novice homeowners from picking one up. After all, there are a lot of rules when it comes to safely using a chainsaw. However, the Milwaukee Hatchet Pruning Saw bridges that gap and can give you a lot of the same functionality for under $200. It's cordless and battery-operated, making it less cumbersome to tote around. Plus, because of its compact size, it won't vibrate as much, making your arms less fatigued.

It's also a mere five pounds, making it easy to hold and — more importantly — maneuver. For instance, if you have to lift or hold a chainsaw at an angle, its weight can make your muscles burn. This version takes that issue out of the equation. It also has enough power to cut through 3 inches of hardwood and can deliver a little over 120 cuts before you have to recharge it. While it might not be as strong as a regular chainsaw, the brand says it can cut five times faster than a regular handsaw, giving you an option somewhere in the middle of those two tools.

Whether you have a mess to clean up after a quick DIY project or just need to give your rugs and carpets a deeper clean, the M12 Air-Tip Utility Nozzle can help. It's a brush attachment, but it has a heavy-duty roll inside, designed to agitate rug and carpet fibers as you drag it across their surface. This helps loosen any embedded debris or dust, giving you a deeper clean. While you might not be performing a renovation directly over your carpeting without covering it with some protective tarps, dust can easily travel all over the room, leaving its debris where you least suspect it. This makes it a handy tool to own. 

In addition to a roller brush, it also has a LED light attached, helping you better see any debris that you might otherwise miss. You can pop it on your wet/dry vacuum if you're handling a project mess, or add it on your own home vacuum nozzle if you want to deep clean something like your stairs or living room carpeting. And, at $59 from Home Depot, it's an affordable investment, especially when it comes to improving your deep cleaning routine.

That's not the only Milwaukee vacuum on our list. The M18 Fuel 3-in-1 Backpack Vacuum is an innovative tool that will help make cleanup easier around the house or garage. It's cordless, so all you have to do is strap it onto your back and get to cleaning. However, that doesn't mean it's weaker than its corded counterparts. The brand notes that it has double the suction of competing wet/dry vacuums, making it a powerful addition to your tool collection.

It's also three times quieter than competing vacuums, making it more pleasant to handle, and since it's on your back, you don't have to stoop low to get the hose out of the way or drag a heavy canister behind you. It can handle removing everything from wood and metal scraps to drywall dust, making it great for all sorts of projects. However, thanks to its compact size, it might be helpful to get even if you already have a wet/dry vac, mainly because it'll be less cumbersome to use on those quick afternoon projects that you want to complete and clean up quickly. 

Another under-the-radar but super handy tool is the Milwaukee Stick Transfer Pump. It can handle any and all of your pumping needs — from cleaning up your basement after a flood to pumping backyard trenches or sump pump pits in basements. However, it's also helpful to transfer some unexpected things, like water from small pools and hot tubs. It has a lot of versatility, making it pretty handy to have in rotation. And, at $167, it won't break the bank.

As for features, it has a 36-inch pole that helps you get into deeper areas you wouldn't normally be able to reach, like sump pump pits. It can be hooked up to any of your standard garden hoses, and since it is battery operated, you only need to press a button with one hand to pump it, making it easier to operate. In fact, the brand notes you can pump up to 9 gallons per minute, making fast work of a difficult job. 

If you spend a good deal of time DIYing improvements on your car, then the M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless LED Underhood Light will come in handy. Costing $178, it will make looking at your engine or undercarriage much easier, helping to ensure the task is a little less frustrating. The gadget is a long tube lamp attached to a metal bar that connects on either side of your hood or underneath your car. The bar itself can also expand between 47 and 78 inches, allowing you to use it on various different vehicles. It delivers 1350 lumens evenly across the entire section, ensuring everything is lit, making it easier to see what needs to be fixed and where you need to go.

The light is also movable — it's not permanently attached to the bar. That means you can remove it from the bar and hang it elsewhere, or manipulate it on the bar itself by rotating it. Plus, since it's battery operated, you don't have to be limited to clipping it in an area closest to an outlet. You can just pop it on anywhere you need it to. And, with 8 hours of light before you need to recharge, it can help you get through multiple fixes.