Shop Vac Filter Hack - Make it Last!

A SIMPLE way of how to clean a shop vac filter.
Build this inexpensive (like dirt cheap) simple Shop Vac Filter Cleaner!
How to clean your shop vac filter easily and save money in the process!

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----Equipment I used to make this video---

Camera: Nikon D5200
Lens: Nikon AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Editing software: Filmora9
Interested in trying Filmora?

[SpicySteve-tzso]

Stumbled on this video. Tried it, was absolutely stunned at how well this worked. No more compressor blowing out and cleaning the filter! Subscribed for life because of your ingenuity!

[Andyloveswood]

I never thought that people would buy a new filter every time one gets covered with dust. And this is a pretty complicated solution to a problem I didn't know existed! I step outside, and use some air from the compressor--cleans the filter in about 30 seconds.

[dposcuro]

I used a 18v milwaukee portable vac for detailing heavy equipment. Whenever the filter got clogged with mud, silt and dust, I just went outside and dropped it on the ground a couple times. Works.

[mnsterbruiser]

I put a $2 beanie hat over mine, prefilter keeps the heavy crud out of the main filter.

[scso]

I busted out laughing when you turned it on in the box! I knew immediately what happened! Thanks for the laugh!!!!

[robertpatton]

I still use the same filter my shopvac came with in 2000. I just smash it against the inside of my trash can....OUTSIDE!

[kingjamesbiblecovertocover]

How much does a new filter weigh? Compare the weight of the cleaned filter with the weight of a new filter to see how "clean" the old filter really is.

[michaelburke]

I hit it with the leaf blower. Have had the same hepa filter over 20 years.

[evilcanofdrpepper]

You could also make your filters last longer between uses by modifying the inside of the input to throw the stuff sucked in sideways instead of directly at the filter. this would make the air spin in the bin and again use centrifugal force to spin the particles out of the air and onto the base. Just hot glue a 90 degree bend of PVC pipe on the inside pointed sideways and slightly down maybe 5 degrees below horizontal. I would go with a size a bit larger than the hose tube.

[angrychef]

I usually take the filter outside and use a air nozzle off of my compressor, resulting in a lot of particles on my grass and a large dust cloud that travels into the neighbors yard. Even though I don’t like them, I think that you are on to something. I believe that the solution is to drill a hole for the bolt in the lid of a 5 gallon bucket and spin the filter inside the sealed container. Wait a few minutes for the dust to settle and you are good

[WillNGo]

Here's my years of experience. 1. Always use a vacuum bag inside the shopvac. Tape it on with duct tape if you have to. (I've had your model of HD shopvac and I've taped it on many times) 2. Use a cyclone or pre-thing on a 5 gallon bucket to remove most of the heavy stuff. 3. The biggest health risk to you, and your family is the superfine dust you think of as that nice woody shop smell (Because you go in the house with this dust on you, the risk leaves the shop with you. Farmer's wives have a higher incidence of cancer then do their husbands who were spraying the carcinogenic pesticide all day in the field) The super fine particles of dust is in the fine dust on the filter, but it's also the pulverized invisible dust being blown out of the shopvac.
( There's a Chinese documentary that was so good the Communist government banned it within a week about PM2.5 micron dust. The stuff you cough up and snorrrrk! out of your nose is really not a long term health problem. Your body knows how to cough it up. It's the PM2.5 and smaller stuff that gets deep into your lungs that your normal lung functions can't remove. This is the stuff that gives you COPD and emphysema 30 years from now.
To deal with this superfine stuff: 1. I always use a respirator even when my vacuum connect to my sander works well 2. You can run an extra hose from your shop vac outside the work space. (The new HDepot vacs don't have an exhaust attachment). I used to do this in my photography darkroom - clearly I would know if this worked or not and 3. Be more careful cleaning out that filter.
To clean the filters I just vacuum them trusting that the bag alone will stop most of it, or I vacuum them using a second shopvac. I also do this with all the filters in my house. I do like your spinning method. I'd still suggest vacuuming the pleats. (If you do this through a piece of gauze you'll be able to see if this step is necessary.)
And general shop dust collection. I've got some $300 and $400 HEPA air filter units in my house. The one I like best they don't make any more, the $400 one smells like the motor is burning. What has always worked is a HEPA Furnace filter wired to the back of my big floor fan. (The wire holds it when the fan isn't on, the fan alone is enough to keep it in place). For your shop make a hanging unit with a cube of 4-5 HEPA furnace filters duct taped together and a box fan on the 6th side of the cube. (I've run two filters with a box fan for a couple of years without burning out the fan so 4-5 filters? Should last forever. Hung from the ceiling is probably the most effective for your health.
One thing we do: we remove our respirators when the dust is gone. That superfine crap is still floating around. (When I used to use cleaning products like windex and an regular vacuum cleaner inside the darkroom - the dust problem was permanent.) Something else I do to clean up my darkrooms, no cleaning products, instead I would wipe surfaces with a paper towel I wetted from the cold water tap. My darkroom in my photostudio was like the operating room in a hospital, but had a permanent dust problem, my last darkroom in a shed in my backyard? Using the methods above near zero dust problem and I'd often have mud and dirt on the floor tracked in from outside. Hope this helps.

[baddinosaur]

I've always cleaned my filters with the air compressor. Can't remember when I've bought a new filter. Gee I don't think I ever have.

[Keefymonoped]

Like the idea of running it in a drill. I've used a compressor before outside but its really not ideal, so after watching this i'm going to use an old 12L fence paint container, drill a hole in the centre of the lid to feed my bolt through and try that to see if it works ok. Hopefully the lid on the bucket/paint tub will stop the dust from flying all over the place. Thanks for the idea.

[DanFilipi]

Should be called “The hardest way to clean shop filter”
Mine has several years on it by washing with garden hose. Be sure to leave it in the open air to dry or the filter might rot

[matthewgrills]

Actually, the results monitor is to weigh a new unused filter vs your “clean” one to see how much dust the “procedure” removed.

[scootermom]

Considering I don't own an air compressor and will probably never be able to buy one, this video was extremely helpful! Not only for attaching the filter to the drill but also for attaching any other object of choice to a drill. I wondered about how people do that, and now I know. Thank you for making this video! 🙂

[TheNewenglandboys]

I put mine in a plastic trash bag and wack it against a tree several time. Good to go

[Tropical_Dreaming]

Really a brilliant idea and I will TOTALLY use this — OUTSIDE. I knew the box thing was not going to work well (you’re generating a lot of wind, there) but I wasn’t expecting THAT! Thanks for not editing that out. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages! I had tears streaming down my cheeks from laughing so hard! Thanks for the great idea — and the entertainment!

[wagnerrdtradingpostonebay]

I just blow my filter out with compressed air outside the shop. Same shop vac filter going on 10 years.

[RobinhoodarrowsRHA]

Just tried it and it works great!
'To make it even more effective, right at the end when it was mostly clean, I held a small flat piece of metal across the filter elements as it was spinning. Really got into all the stuff that gets stuck in there. Very happy :)