shop vac best practices
- Thread starter MSLI
- Start date
Help Support Flooring Forum - DIY & Professional:
I use vacuum bags. Gotta be careful to not rip a full bag while removing it but other than that it just gets tossed in the dumpster when I’m done. The filter gets banged out on a tree or fence post somewhere out of the way.
Working at an apartment complex you almost always have eyes on you, so I’ll soak up a rag, cover up the filter, then bag it for a hose cleaning back home.
Hey C.J. Do you run bags and filter separately or at the same time.
I shake my filter into a bag (done outside), then dump my vac debris into that bag before taking it to the shop's dumpster with the other scraps.
Put the filter inside of a garbage bag so that what you shake out stays in the bag, then bang it repeatedly on the driveway, all the while loudly yelling: Bad kitty, Bad kitty!
I do use a bag and a filter at the same time. Using a bag keeps the filter from clogging so you maintain suction, especially if you’re sucking up sheet rock dust or some other fine powdery junk. The other nice thing is when you dump the bag it keeps all the crud inside as long as you don’t rip it.
I used to do the garbage bag thing when I didn’t want to leave a mess at the customers house. I already had my garbage can set up with a bag in it anyway. If there’s a dumpster somewhere, such as an apartment complex, I’ll just reach inside the dumpster and bang it out.
I used to do the garbage bag thing when I didn’t want to leave a mess at the customers house. I already had my garbage can set up with a bag in it anyway. If there’s a dumpster somewhere, such as an apartment complex, I’ll just reach inside the dumpster and bang it out.
I usually bang out my filters on the side of some asshole I don't like vehicle. Then I write in the dust "with love, from Tom". 
All seriousness I leave the lid of the dumpster down and just stick my arm in with the filter and bang it on the inside.
Side question, how many times have you sucked up water/liquid and forgot to empty it and take out the filter??? Did that a couple weeks ago when doing a flood test in a custom tile shower pan...... Dummy
All seriousness I leave the lid of the dumpster down and just stick my arm in with the filter and bang it on the inside.
Side question, how many times have you sucked up water/liquid and forgot to empty it and take out the filter??? Did that a couple weeks ago when doing a flood test in a custom tile shower pan...... Dummy
I honestly could count on one hand how many times I've wet vac'd anything, and I'm talking since '87.
I'm gonna pony up for a new Craftsman 16 gallon with the detachable power head which is also a blower. They seem to last 4/5 years and I abuse the hell out of them. They run $159ish.
I'm gonna pony up for a new Craftsman 16 gallon with the detachable power head which is also a blower. They seem to last 4/5 years and I abuse the hell out of them. They run $159ish.
I’ll give that another try, but it’s a tight fit having both.
Call me stupid, anal, whatever, but the whole idea of using shop vac. And filters Is containment and shaking the filters or dumping the contents into a dumpster is imho no longer contained and undermines the whole process
….. Then again, they say the solution to pollution is delusion ? 
We are sucking up some nasty
stuff, why not figure out a different way to minimize exposure to people and pets along the way. Safety Mike signing off
There's no more in the vac's & bags that we don't breathe in on a daily basis, no?
I use the sweeping compound when it's available on commercial sites but particles still are airborne. I think we all go home and blow our schnoz to find a bunch of mystery mucous.
I use the sweeping compound when it's available on commercial sites but particles still are airborne. I think we all go home and blow our schnoz to find a bunch of mystery mucous.
I’ll give that another try, but it’s a tight fit having both.
Call me stupid, anal, whatever, but the whole idea of using shop vac. And filters Is containment and shaking the filters or dumping the contents into a dumpster is imho no longer contained and undermines the whole process
We are sucking up some nasty
Safety Mike signing off
I do stand upwind of where the filter is being banged out. Does that count.
I used to do all that bag stuff but I don’t anymore. Why? Did I get tired of buying garbage bags. Maybe I’m not working around high falutin customers anymore. Maybe my current situation doesn’t call for all that much shop vac safety at the present moment. I’m also not loading that crap up in my van at the end of the day either so I don’t have to worry about that. Besides, if you saw how much dust there is blowing around in the desert you wouldn’t worry so much about tapping out a filter anymore.
Next year could be different but this year is a no garbage bag year.
Since we’re talking about shop vacs, don’t you hate it when someone sucks up a bunch of crap and fills up your shop vac with a brand new bag in it. Doesn’t anybody use a dust pan or something to scoop up the big piles of crap so you’re only vacuuming up smaller piles of crap?
@MSLI I was thinking of you today. I emptied the bag on my shop vac this morning. Very little dust if any. Just a slight puff when you remove the bag itself from the shop vac port. Figured I’d blow out the filter while I was at it. Again, very little dust. The vacuum bag works good so the filter doesn’t plug up with shit.
I’m outta bags for my vac but I ended up using it to clean out behind a bunch of stuff today. Lots of sawdust and crap that builds up behind stuff. Had to tamp out the filter cus I was losing suction. What a mess and I even tapped it out deep inside a garbage can. Dust was still floating around a good 5 minutes later. I’m not ready to go back to trash bags yet but I definitely need some more shop vac bags.
I’m outta bags for my vac but I ended up using it to clean out behind a bunch of stuff today. Lots of sawdust and crap that builds up behind stuff. Had to tamp out the filter cus I was losing suction. What a mess and I even tapped it out deep inside a garbage can. Dust was still floating around a good 5 minutes later. I’m not ready to go back to trash bags yet but I definitely need some more shop vac bags.
My sub. Just did that,
but like they say, don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s all small stuff…….I’m trying Ringo I’m trying really hard to be the Shepard 
O-Boy ! That could be a Situation
I need more bags myself, only 19.00 bucks for 2
at the local Ace …. 25.00 for the filter …..small stuff small stuff 
Say what you will about Amazon but I’ve found a 5 pack of vacuum bags for $20 and they work just as well as the 2 for $20 I would get at HD. Filters last a lot longer when you’re using bags. Think I’m gonna try a couple filters off of Amazon. They’re maybe $5 or $10 cheaper than HD so no major savings there but the convince makes it worth it.
Had to empty my small shop vac that I have hooked up to my miter saw. It needs attention every couple months or so. Gonna buy some vacuum bags tomorrow cus it was a bit messy cleaning the filter today. Prolly due to get a couple new filters too.
I've seen contractors that have filters worse than that....
...but if I'm making dust, I'll be cleaning it out more than once per day. That said, I'd be sucking up sanding dist not wood chips.
...but if I'm making dust, I'll be cleaning it out more than once per day. That said, I'd be sucking up sanding dist not wood chips.
Sanding dust is where the vacuum bags make a huge difference.
Chuck Coffer
Member
I always use vac bags. The things are pretty much worthless without it. They're expensive, but a shop vac isn't worth much without them. The filter clogs immediately. I use mine for undercutting fireplaces and also for catching my edger. That crap filter is simply not up to that task.
Does anybody use a Dust Deputy with their shop vac?
