Your shop is so clean and organized, how can I trust you?

Not having to do anything with wood working, but the video format is amazing. Easy, immediatly down to the point, demonstration, budget alternatives... great expirience!

I bought a pool vacuum hose for my shop vac and it works great. The extra length makes life so much better. Plus I can sometimes put the vac outside when using it and the noise reduction in the work area is a win.

Good reaffirming info. Very practical and down to earth. With a shared car use - garage workshop, trying to keep dust down is key. I converted a 2 tier cart into my portable dust collection with the Rigid contractor style vac on top with the blue filter and vac bag connected to the Rockler Dust Rite dust separator below with the 10 ft Rigid vac flex hose you show as well. Whatever non-contaminated, i. e. only solid wood dust I don't vac or sweep up, I use a leaf blower and blow everything out the garage door which allows ne to keep items hanging on the wall or in various nooks and crannies much cleaner than a typical garage.

That tip with the Festool bags and using clips to hold it back together is gold. Thank you.

Thank you for the tip on getting the vacuum bags from Amazon and saving a good amount of money because I buy the bags from Home Depot. I'm a house painter and I use my shop vac to pick up sanding dust and the bag is really does help to minimize not only wear and tear on the vacuum and filter but also to keep the dust from blowing around as it gets sucked into the vacuum. When we skim coat the walls, I vacuum up the walls after sanding and there is much less dust on the walls as well.

Another cyclone user here. Best thing I've done for dust control. I have them on my Shop Vac and dust collector.

Thank you for validating what I'm already doing. Really, I appreciate it. In addition, I use a cyclone style separator which means my bag has never filled. Ever. I do have to empty a five gallon bucket fairly often, however. I've also gone over the seals, especially around the top of my Craftsman vac, and added a layer of bicycle tube rubber. I'm sure I still have some small leaks in my system, but the suction has been greatly enhanced. To finish it off, I made a fan dust collector. It uses two 20x20 perpendicularly mounted air filters and works great by collecting what dust escapes and gets in the air. Oh yeah, there's still the KN95 facemask, too. Stay safe and have fun.

A dust cyclone is an absolute game changer. I also empty my bag every month and blow it out with my blower. Saved me a fortune in bags. Great video btw! 👍👍

I'm impressed - right to the point, yet well explained, and each claim is backed up with demonstrated proof! Well done

I have the exact Rigid vacuum used in the video. I had NEVER heard about using a bag, and I read directions faithfully. Placed my order - this is a game changer.

Hands DOWN!! This is the BEST...advice pertaining to using a bag inside any shop vac!! I grind my fair share of concrete and a good bag does the trick. Seeing you re-use the bag and clamping it. OUTSTANDING!!🤓😺

Love the fact that you are Canadian providing this information - too many US presenters forget our market is slightly different, especially when it comes to $!

I’ve been using the yellow drywall filters for my 16 gal Sop Vac, vacs for years. They are heavier duty and designed for finer dust. I also keep the pleated filter installed, and they hardly ever need cleaning. And as you said, they are expensive. I tried using the Home Depo separators with them, and for sanding they worked very good, but were sadly bad when hooked to my DeWalt contractor saw. I also bought the Oneida separator that sits in too of my Festool Vac. That thing is awesome. Btw, because of this video, I am now a subscriber to your channel. 😊

I did construction cleaning and my vacuum was probably my best kept tool. Always used bags and attachments (hoses,nozzles, and collector)always got washed especially after the drywall guys got done sanding. You could borrow just about any tools I used (did punchlists too) except my vacuum.

I used one of those little Rigid vacs at work over a decade ago and fell in love. Bought one on my way home. Thing still works like an absolute BEAST anytime I plug it in.

Thank you for the tutorial video. I live in a 30ft travel trailer while remodel my childhood home after my parents passed. By the way , my best friend lives with me. She's a half Aussie and Blue healer and of the crazy things she hates my smaller vacs but comes running when I get the shop vac out. She paws at me until I give her the once over with the shop vac and then off she goes 😅

I second using the dust bags. They work great and can last quite a while before youd have to beat out the filter otherwise. Always thought about resealing them but never tried it. The binder clips are a great idea. If it doesnt end up holding its still in the vac with a filter so no big deal.

Thanks for the tips on using bags. Will definitely look into it. I have a dust separator that works quite well. However, when connecting my sander to the separator the air velocity is so low that the dust makes it all the way into the shop vac. To combat that issue I've introduced air leaks into the hose that connects the sander to the system and it keeps the air flow up where finer dust gets separated from the air stream. BUT this means that only the finest dust can make its way into the shop vac. So your suggestion of heppa bags will likely catch the finest dust for me and will likely never make its way into the atmosphere. Oh, and I do have a whole shop air filtration system. It's mounted right above my main dust separator (Harbor Freight). The filter bag is notorious for leaking dust, so I put it right there. It's amazing how much dust it was taking out of the air. Since upgrading to a pleated canister filter air velocity is up and dust leakage is down so low that I haven't detected any indication of a dust leak whatsoever.

Great tips. I've been using a cyclone separator to keep my filters clean. The negative about the cyclone separators is the need of a separate container for the dust, which then you need a cart to move container and vacuum around the shop. Regarding the bag, the negative, is buying bags regularly, which wind up in the land fill. Cloth bag seems to be the best compromise. When the cloth bag after multiple uses finally gives up, it then becomes a rag for wiping up spills.

I use my shop vac mainly in my woodshop and I use it in conjunction with a dust deputy, of course it was my dad's craftsman shop vac and it wasn't built for a filter bag, I was able to modify it and installed a hepa filter too. I mainly use the filter bag and hepa filter to catch the fine dust.

Dust is horrible. Thank you for sharing. Everyone stay warm, safe, happy and healthy. From Henrico County Virginia

Not at all click bait, good job. One thing I have noticed with a wider hose is a reduction in noise which is an additional bonus.

Great information! I've honestly never given much thought to my shop vac filtering. Got to go spend a few bucks on some upgrades!

I've watched many videos on KZfaq of people telling you how to save money with your shop back. you my friend are 100% correct . I also love how you didn't mention about cutting the bag for the rigid vacuum Lol. I tried it and it was a mess Lol. also a better way of being gentle with your filter is actually buying two filters and have them in rotation. When 1 filter gets dirty simply swap the filter , when you have time take the other home and wash it in your laundry sink and let it dry . comes out much cleaner and lasts much longer .

Thank you sir. I’m not a woodworker but appreciate a good wet/dry vac. I had no clue there were bags for them! Gonna be a game changer.

You can use a cyclone as well. Made one from 2 home depot buckets. It definitely helps keep the filter cleaner.

I have been using several iterations of the Milwaukee vacuum (1st and 2nd gen M18, Fuel M12 and pack out M18). They come with the same filter and no bags, I have been banging out the filter when it has noticeably less suction. No issues with exhaust dust, so lucky there. Just started on Hilti Nuron and their vacuum comes with a bag that I immediately pulled out, and then the filter clogged really quickly so just learned all of the things in this video, thank you.

Great advice! I can attest to the bag tip. If you are not vacuuming up water always use a bag. It seems weird that the manufacturers don't harp on this because they could make more money selling bags, but it took a while for me to try it and what a difference.

I’ve had a Festool CT36 for 10 years. It works great. I added the Bluetooth remote. I try to reuse the bags when I vacuum sawdust/mdf. I definitely discard them when I vacuum concrete. Yes! I use it sometimes with a 5” concrete grinder a it works great. I replaced the filter last year because accidentally the bag wasn’t installed properly and the filter got full of concrete. Thank you the tip of cutting the bags at the bottom

My World has evolved to the point where I am now using shop vacs and I see where I shall be using them more. This excellent advice comes at the precise right time for me. Thank YOU, ...and the KZfaq algorithm.

Damn. Wish I would have found this channel sooner. Simple, to the point, and not a lot of the fluff that I can't stand in other videos. Awesome stuff.

I’ve added a pool skimmer sock to cover the pleated filter. It helps to keep much dust out of the pleats. I’m not sure about performance degradation but it seems to suck well. The socks are cheap compared to filters.

It makes a huge difference what type of shop vac you get regarding how much dust goes back out into the air through its exhaust. At a large model railroad at a museum, we found that the usual cheapie shop vac (like from Sears) put a lot of dust into the air. (It settles back down on track and trains then don't operate well.) But a Dewalt DCV581H with VASTLY better filtering (bought in 2016) puts almost no dust into the air.

Love your work mate, thanks for all you do.👍 I've had the Milwaukee m18 wet/dry vac 7 years. got a good filter that can be washed only just replaced the original recently. Will definitely try the bag

Another tip for everyone out there is that a pool vacuum hose is the same as that $100+ hose. The ends and attachments are also sold at Home Depot and fit a pool hose. And pool hoses are long af not just 10ft

Great video. Concise and full of useful information. When I first started doing home projects I did not use bags then I tried vacuuming up after I sanded a bunch of drywall compound and spat all the dust back into the room 😂 From that day on, bags for me.

One of the most useful videos I've seen this year. Great tip.

Thank you for this, I had no idea you could get a vacuum bag for a shop vac and my filter has been constantly getting clogged up with saw dust, especially when sanding. Much appreciated!!

I use the size 1 and 1/0 Mustad hooks to freeline for snook kzfaq.infoUgkxzXmlErSqVAEGWFEKO530BvTqFDw53QW3 and they have been fantastic. The points are super sharp, and the hook is small enough to blend with my baitfish, yet large enough to land fish 30" or more. I also use these hooks when I'm pier or surf fishing with my kids. They tend to catch tons of smaller snapper, whiting, and catfish, and we get far fewer gut hooks with these Mustad in-lines, which means more of them survive after release. I was actually using these hooks when I caught my friend too, but I think that had more to do with the bait I was using ;-)

100% agree, and thanks for Amazon tip on cheaper bags! I work in Facilities Maintenance at a school here in the Fraser Valley, create my own Facilities content on the KZfaqs, and have one of the RIDGID vacuums (which are a great vacuum for the price) - but they get you on the bags (kind of like selling a printer for cheap but hosing you on ink refills!). I also always ask what someone needs to clean up when they come to me and want to borrow my vacuum, to make sure they aren't going to start sucking up water WITH the vacuum bag and filter, lol.

I have that same Ridgid. I build a cart with a cyclone pre-separator. It works AWESOME. I also added power strips & lighting to the cart so I only plug one thing in and it becomes a mobile dust, light, & power station.

Thanks for the tips. Your channel has given me some ideas for my home garage and my portable shop when we are out mining.

been cutting the and reusing vacuum bags with clips for over 5 years. Best advice!

Thanks for a very informative and helpful video, sincerely! I went an additional step and took the only bag I have for my ho-hum DeWALT wet or dry vacuum, that was soon discontinued... So I took the only bag to a nearby sewing shop, and asked them to put a clothes zipper at its bottom, so that when woodworking, most of the medium to fine dust can be emptied along with the coarse shavings from my electric hand plane, and reused. The Tyvec® like cloth has endured many cleanings and still works fine. But the vacuum is only 9 gallon size, and its relatively small pleated filter causes a somewhat high pressure drop and the resulting drop in air flow... So I will try to get a larger bottom can, or perhaps making it from another kind of cans, to make a larger filter and save the motor and fan, that work well and are powerful having 1,400 watts at 120 VAC.

Great video . I added a goodwill pillow case to the exhaust and a pipe clamp . Been using the same rig for 25 plus years. I do use the gortex washable filter. Give the pillow case option a measured try for one of your "short" videos :)

I appreciate seeing all the measurements to back up your advice!

Sir, you are a national treasure. Don't stop. EXCELLENT video in every respect.

Great video. I'll have to try these. I've been wrapping my filter in paper towels and that seems to work for me. The filters never get dirty. When I'm done using it, I just kick the can and everything falls off the towel and into the container. Works great.

Kept looking for your picture on milk cartons, but you came back with a good one. Thanks.

I love the HEPA filter for my shop vac. I bought it for rodent droppings. Now that I’ve learned about using bags on tandem I’ll definitely do that also

Good job, man! Thank you. Always good to learn about some safety and money-saving tips.

I've been re-using my festool bag for years and thought I was the only one haha but I like how you did it better with the binder clips than how I did it. Unfortunately, I've butchered my bag to the point that clips wont work... but maybe I can figure something out. Thanks! Good tips!

I feel like looking for a higher quality filter immediately. Although I use an FFP2 mask anyway when using power tools, but like you noted in the video, the fine dust will remain behind on surfaces, so when I'm doing other stuff afterwards without the mask, some of the dust will inevitably rise into the air. Thanks for the advice!

You’re my hero with this one video alone! Love your sense of humor!

wauw! Thank you. One of the best videos I have ever seen her, saving people money while pointing to alternative products, re-use etc. instant subscribe

You can also staple the bags shut, then cut off that half inch next time you empty it. Another tip is to cutout a strip from some cheap vacuum bags to staple into a cylinder to place over the filter, removes more dust from the air and makes the cleanup easier.

My cyclone separator has worked so well I haven't even tried using a bag yet. Barely anything makes it into the vacuum. But that also means a bag would last a long time before emptying so maybe I should

Awesome video! I just recently started using a new shop-vac and the timeliness of your video is perfect. Thank you!

Thanks for the tips .I converted my rigid stainless vacuum to my central vac system.Sits out in the garage No noise in the house. Just took a service box with low voltage transformer and ready to 120 volt and a standard plug box on the side .Turned vacuum on plugged in and hooked hose to to central va piping .Will thane your tip for vacuum bag next time to check the tank.Rigid vac life warranty I think

Congrats on the new workshop (I just noticed). I’d love to have something like that!

I'd rather eat glass than put any business Bezos' way.

Mate, that's so valid, been working 35+ years, run with Festo heaps, costs a fortune over 12 units, need to look at real alternatives. Cheers, keep up the good work

This is the first video of yours that I've watched and I'm familiar with everything you're suggesting. However the sources you provided for upgraded hoses, filters and bags were much appreciated. Good info.

I've been using that exact same Ridgid vacuum for probably the last 15 years (Pro commercial handyman) and I've been using bags from Crucial. MUCH cheaper than the Ridgid bags and just as good. I've never re-used them though. They are cheap enough that it's not worth my time to clean them. When it comes to cleaning the filter, I clean it with a firm water spray (not too hard, and don't use a pressure washer), and let it dry thoroughly. Like new.

No mention of a cyclone separator. I use an Oneida Dust Deputy that keeps my vacuum close to dust free. I did install a HEPA filter nonetheless. There are other cyclones available too from a variety of places. That would have been my tip #1.

I've been shaking my festool bags out via the inlet hole. Just ordered some binder clips, a great idea.

Very glad someone has made a youtube video on the filter problems with shop vacs. I've made several suggestions to RIGID about how to improve their shop vacs, but doubt if they even care. In some ways, RIGID has disimproved their shop vacs. One problem is how they rate the gallon capacity. It's a meaningless designation, since for example, a 12 gallon RIGID shop vac could never vacuum up 12 gallons of water. The gallon capacity applies to the full size of the container. The proper way to designate gallon capacity should be to see how much water the vacuum can extract before the overfill valve blocks the vacuum air intake. A second problem, I have had both the older and the newer 12 gallon RIGID shop vacs. I've suggested to RIGID that they should design a square container, to make it easier to store and transport your vacuum. Since space is at a premium in work vehicles, this is a huge issue. I take the wheels off and leave them off so the vacuum takes up less room in my vehicle. The newer RIGID 12 gallon has rounded the bottom, which creates a stability problem vs. the older model, that had a flat bottom. A third problem is the ridiculous cost of the filters. I've seen a lot of people use these with no filter. Generally, it's employees of restaurants, who will not spend their own money to buy a filter for the restaurants vacuums. What I've done is take bar towels and wrap them around the filter frame, fastening it with a plastic wire tie. This works quite well, and you can pick up dirt or water and not worry about ruining an expensive filter.

I like the smaller dia. hose for my drywall sanding attachment, the large ones are cumbersome. All depends on the application.

Very informative video! Thanks for putting this together and sharing with us!

I've been using a bag for years it really does make a big difference. It keeps the filter cleaner longer and a lot less mess to throw out a bag instead of trying to dump out the vac into a trash can

Thx for the tip re using a bag, I'll be tracking some down that suit my workshop vac ASAP

Pro Tip- Get a few of the 20' long 2 1/2" hoses and connect them together to keep the vacuum OUTSIDE the house and let the fine stuff get close to nature! I have 3, 20' hoses and can do anything inside the house and never get the dust film anywhere.

I had to teach my grandfather, who has been doing drywall for 30 YEARS to use vacuum bags. They really save your vacuum life. And I include the price of a vacuum bag and filter in my estimates, that way I know for certain I'm not going to get dust all over my customers house.

Nice tip about reusing the bags!!!! I use them by default unless I need to vacuum up something wet.

Have a 25 year old Craftsman. I love it and never had a bag. Going to see if I can adapt one. It's a different port arrangement. Cool video

There's an article by pro tools that suggests for dust collectors and extractors if using a bigger hose the suction drops. Suction gets the air moving, CFM keeps it moving. That's why dust extractors come with a 1-1.5 inch hose to keep the suction high and pull decent CFM numbers.

Well, when I started working in carpentry some over 40 years ago, wasn’t a big emphasis on dust collection or dust in the air and protecting yourself from it but now much older have been trying to be a lot more conscientious. One problem with all dust, collecting systems is a lack of uniformity in the sizes of hose and how they connect to gather!

For filter. Those pool skimmer bags work pretty cool as well. Nice video.

Thanks for the great info. Going to be replacing my ridgid filter now.

I just use the Dust Deputy 2.5 deluxe cyclone and rarely even have much make it to the shop vac and with that cyclone setup, I just dump out the 5 gallon bucket when it gets full, zero filters involved.

I put 2'' of water in the bottom of the vacuum cleaner. It keeps most of the dust from going into the filter.

Tips 3 & 4 - Ligit!!! Spot On!!! Great Tips. He IS correct. I have a Rigid 16 Gallon 6.5 peak HP shop vac - and did check and purchased said vacuum Tent Bags....This Really works! Thanks, & Great Tips

I purchased the vaccuum bags you recommended for my Rigid Shop Vac. The fit is great, I'm looking forward to seeing how they work over time.

Wow. I thought this video was going to be sort of a joke. Great suggestions overall. It's too bad they don't have a reusable bag designed for rigid with a zipper at the end or something. A lot of time I am just sucking up sawdust which is good for gardens or just dumping and doesn't need to go in the trash. The binder clip idea is interesting.

TIP: KEEP IN MIND Generally, the better the filter, the less performance in suction. Need to find the balance that works for you/your shop

Uhhh, I watched a coping video of yours and your video breadcrumb links lead me to see like 5 more of your videos and 100% of them were amazing. Easy to watch and very informative. I feel way better about the LVP install I'll be doing next month. Thanks!

An option is to use a second hose to drive the exhaust outside, or use a long pool hose and place the entire vac outside while in use. My built in shop vac is exhausted to the outside.

When I smoked cigarettes I accidentally sucked up a lit one. I immediately shut it down and took it apart most of the fire was concentrated on the filter so I threw it out in my back yard which was dirt. I had fun kicking it around as every time I did a decent size fireball would erupt from the fine sawdust! I never smoked around a vacuum cleaner again!

Great video I always use a bad on my Karcher vac but had no idea you could improve performance by upgrading the filter and hose.

Reusing the bags using clips, brilliant and thankyou!

The only possible comment I can think to add is that the bag lining is in part, a kind of disposable filter so while you can re-use them over time effiency will drop off as the pores in the bag get clogged :)

If you only use it in the shop, I might also suggest adding a cyclone separator. I do a lot of woodwork, and almost nothing but the finest wood dust gets to my vacuum.

Crushing the drop zone! Nice breakdown

I almost subscribed when I saw how much fun you were having playing with your "big hose" but then when I saw you break out the running man, I subscribed instantly!

I can’t believe you didn’t mention a cyclone separator. Hands down the best thing you can do for your shop vac. Won’t need bags, either. Make yourself a nice cart stacking the vac and the cyclone bucket.

Holy price gouge, Batman! Those hoses have literally gone through the freakin' roof! Wow.

Thank you so much. This was incredibly helpful during my move!

Spot on. Found the space tent bags last year and use the blue filters and bag combo. Only way to go and dust free. Thanks

Thanks for the video, I'm going to start using my vacuum as you suggested !