50 Cent Shop Vac Hack

I will show you how to improve the performance of you Shop Vac for only 50 cent.
This is one of the best and cheapest shop vac hacks I have found to improve suction and reduce filter cleaning.

This is not a sponsored video. If you chose to use the link provided, I will receive a small commission.

[supergoober]

For those of us who haven’t yet built our dust control system, here’s a tip: I put my filter into a kitchen waste bag, then beat it against the inside of my waste can. Clear filter. No dust cloud.

[Shiftypop]

For most jobs, I use a couple layers of pantyhose stretched over a wire cylinder made from old 14-16 gauge galvanized wire fencing.
When I’m needing more filtration I use a bag filter meant for drywall dust and is designed to fit a smaller vacuum. It attaches to the intake hose stub and forms a “C” shape if you look straight down at it, with the center of the”C” being open space large enough for the usual pleated filter to fit.
This cuts my usable space down by half or so.

[matthewh]

I do a lot of Remodels and repairs on rental units as a Property Manager. Shop Vacs are a essential part of my tools! I've tried every damned filter I could find over decades. None seem to last long for me. One day I go to use my shop vac and the paper filter had fallen to pieces leaving the wire cage frame. I didn't want to stop what I was doing so I got creative. I took an old T-Shirt rag and cut a long wide strip to wrap around the cage. Put 2 rubber bands on it to hold it in place. I finished the job and it seemed to work just fine. At the end of the day I took the rag off and threw it in the rag pile to be washed. I've been doing this now almost 10 years. It seems to work just fine and does not put extra strain on the motor. It catches the same amount and size of particles etc.. Works for me and I don't have to buy filters.

[chuckredd]

For several years I've been using upright vacuum cleaner bags slipped over the regular filter and held in place with a zip tie. Usually have to cut off the very top of bag to slip over other filter.
You can usually find them dirt cheap (no pun intended) at garage sales, thrift stores. They last a long time, shake or blow them off.

[larrythompson]

I found a hack on here a couple years ago so, not my idea but it works pretty well. Take some regular white kitchen paper towel and wrap around the pleated filter. One layer only with a slight overlap, hold it in place with a couple pieces of wire, one top and bottom. I leave good sized tails on the wires so they are easy to undo when covered in fine dust, it doesn't take much to hold as the suction keeps it on when the vac is running. When it's clogged just undo the wires and drop the towel in the base, no mess, no dust cloud, no clean up. Dump the vac, new paper towel, good to go for a couple pennies.

[goulartaf]

Great tip it's also recommended to use a vacuum bag instead. Prolong the filter even longer.

[theondebray]

For big cleaning jobs, I use a homemade lid with two hoses in / out on my wheelie bin to make it an intermediate dirt catcher, one hose to suck, the other connected to the vac. Dirt straight into where it has to go, and minimal dust.

[josephsteffen]

Great video. About 25 years ago shopvac sold a pre-filter sock that fit over the filter. They were expensive. I purchased one and tied it on. The material was a tightly woven rayon (?). It had a really slippery feel to it. of It was a sloppy baggy loose fit, but I think it was designed that way. It worked like a charm! Plenty of extra square inches of baggy of surface area for longer periods of vacuuming. Plus the most of the debris would fall off during use. After that, I didn't have to purchase another filter. The original filter catches the last bits of dust and eventually clogs up, after many uses. The only draw back was that it took a while to untie the sock, clean the stock filter, then put it all back together. Overall it's awesome. But I haven't seen them for decades.

[georgefitter]

I blow my filter out with a leafblower. Been six years since and haven't bought a filter yet! Works great!

[RandomhumorwithBill]

Love it. Nothing makes my day more than running across an idea that works for day to day life.!

[actionjksn]

I haven't had to deal with this problem in years ever since I started using bags. I can vacuum all kinds of dust multiple times and when I open it up the filter still looks perfect. I do sweep up the big stuff first because I don't like to fill my Shop-Vac up with all that crap.

[discerningmind]

Very good making the scum sock connection. But I have to say that super dusty clean-up you went through outdoors is the reason I buy bags for my shop vac. The bags keep my filter cleaner than the scum sock. Yes, the bags will rip when overused but a lawn bag can be placed over the entire vac and then turn it upside down. It's a lot less dust than what you were exposed too. There could be anything in that dust and none of is good for your lungs, nor do you want that dust on your clothes, thus tracking it wherever you go.

[stringlarson]

Never bang the pleated part against the rubbish bin. Use the rubber edges to dislodge the 'big stuff. Also, when using the air hose, start by blowing from the inside of the cylinder and then take the time to run thru each crevace in the pleats and go back to the inside blowing out.
If you have a German Shedder dog, that hair make a good outter filter :)

[GodsMount]

Been using a 1 gallon paint strainer and they fit perfect with the elastic band.

[realvanman]

We used to do that for the air filters on our dune buggies "back in the day" with a pair of nylon stockings. I never thought of doing it for a shop vac. This is brilliant!!

[norm]

Have used them for years, great they are. When i clean the filter, i put a bathroo. Trash bag on it, then spin with a drill. Does an amazing job. No dust at all.

[OregonDARRYL]

A paintbrush makes a good tool for a quick clean. It gets between the folds of the filter.

[MJorgy]

I use a dust separator and a vac bag. I usually get 4-6 separator fills per bag and clean the filter after 2 bag replacements unless I'm sucking up drywall or overspray (clean filter with each bag). I will give this a shot and maybe get a 3rd or 4th bag per filter cleaning when working wood.

[solarsynapse]

Great idea! Many shop vacs already have a foam pre-filter that comes with it. You could spray it with a wax based furniture polish to really make it catch dust like you do with furnace air filters, but that would mean you would need to wash it with soap. I seen one vac with a sock hat over the paper filter. It worked! The finer the filtration, the more work the motor does.

[tonyc]

Good tip, thank you. If you already said it, I missed it but, that would be good for use on wet debris or water vacuuming, helps saves the filter paper from getting soaked.