Best Shop-Vac Wet-Dry Vacuums for Indoor and Outdoor Clean-ups

Review & Comparison, Last Update January 13, 2024
A vacuum cleaner is a common home appliance that can be found in any household or apartment. Yet, not all vacuums remove equally ...Read more
PROS

A tank drain option available in this model will take the strain off out of liquid drainage after a wet cleanup. Such solution will save you the trouble of lifting a heavy vac and add convenience to vac maintenance as well.  

CONS

The unit operation is pretty noisy. 

OUR VERDICT

This stainless steel Shop-Vac is one of the most powerful and efficient vacuum cleaners in a manufacturer's range. Besides, you'll get the functions of several premium appliances in a single unit. Not only will it quickly and easily tackle bot wet and dry messes delivering perfect cleaning results but also you'll get a forceful blower suitable for a variety of tasks.

detailed parameters
POWER SOURCE

AC (12-foot power cord)

CAPACITY

8 gallons 

PERFORMANCE

6 Peak HP, 11.8 Amps, 175 Peak Air Watts, 75 CFM Airflow, 54-inch sealed pressure 

ACCESSORIES

7-foot hose, 3 x extension wands, 10-inch wet/dry nozzle, Crevice tool, Gulper nozzle, Cartridge filter, Foam sleeve, Disposable filter bag

USABILITY

Tank drain, Stainless steel tank, Blower feature, Onboard accessory storage, Built-in handle, Transport wheels

WARRANTY

3 years 

PROS

A wet/dry cartridge filter is designed for efficient dirt an dust collection during both dry and wet cleaning. In addition, it is reusable and easy-to-clean that will let you use it for a long time. 

CONS

Due to an accessory container, the unit is rather bulky. 

OUR VERDICT

An All Around 4-gallon vac from Shop-Vac Home and Apartment series is specifically designed for the use all around the house and cater to the majority of your home cleaning needs. Thanks to really large transport wheels, this model is easy to roll and maneuver on any type of surface. Hence, it will quickly propel over asphalted or paved pathways if you need to clean the terrace or tidy up your backyard.

detailed parameters
POWER SOURCE

AC (16-foot power cord) 

CAPACITY

4 gallons 

PERFORMANCE

4.5 Peak HP, 9 Amps, 320 Peak Air Watts, 175 CFM Airflow, 60-inch sealed pressure

ACCESSORIES

8-foot Lock-On® hose with a curved end, 2 x extension wands, Dual surface selector nozzle, 10-inch wet/dry nozzle, Crevice tool, Gulper nozzle, Round brush, Wet/Dry cartridge filter, Disposable filter bag

USABILITY

Blower feature, Onboard accessory storage, Built-in handle, Transport wheels 

WARRANTY

3 years 

PROS

A motor power of 9.9 amps paired with a suction power of 320 air watts will let you collect even large debris as well as quickly suck up large amounts of liquids. 

CONS

A power cord is pretty short.

OUR VERDICT

Coming packed in a stainless steel body, this Shop-Vac 5 gallon vacuum not only have a stylish and contemporary look but also is suitable for the use in harsh conditions and will serve you for years to come. At a reasonable price, you’ll get a highly functional and reliable appliance for your household cleaning needs and those related to your domestic DIY projects.

detailed parameters
POWER SOURCE

AC (6-foot power cord) 

CAPACITY

5 gallons 

PERFORMANCE

4.5 Peak HP, 9.9 Amps, 320 Peak Air Watts, 175 CFM Airflow, 59-inch sealed pressure

ACCESSORIES

7-foot hose, 3 x extension wands, 10-inch wet/dry nozzle, Crevice tool, Gulper nozzle, Cartridge filter, Foam sleeve, Disposable filter bag

USABILITY

Stainless steel tank, Blower feature, Onboard accessory storage, Built-in handle, Transport wheels

WARRANTY

3 years 

PROS

An 18-feet power cord in a combination with a 7-foot hose ensures excellent unit mobility and allows using this vacuum cleaner in really large premises like basements and attics with a limited access to power sockets.  

CONS

Disposable filter bags are rather expensive. 

OUR VERDICT

The EZ Shop-Vac 2.5 gallon wet-dry vacuum cleaner cleverly combines powerful performance and relatively high capacity with a compact and lightweight design. As a result, you get a powerful, maneuverable and portable shop vac that will considerably save your time on cleaning.

detailed parameters
POWER SOURCE

AC (18-foot power cord) 

CAPACITY

2.5 gallons 

PERFORMANCE

2.5 Peak HP, 8 Amps, 220 Peak Air Watts, 130 CFM Airflow, 56-inch sealed pressure

ACCESSORIES

7-foot hose with extension end, 2 x extension wands, Dual surface selector nozzle, Crevice tool, Gulper nozzle, Round brush, Foam Sleeve, Disposable filter bag

USABILITY

Blower feature, Onboard accessory storage, Wall mountable design, Built-in handle, Transport wheels

WARRANTY

3 years

PROS

Owing to a wall mountable bracket and wall mountable holder, you can compactly stow the vacuum cleaner away together will all attachments without taking much storage space.

CONS

The unit power might seem somewhat low. 

OUR VERDICT

The 201000 Micro is by far the best small Shop-Vac vacuum within the brand product range. Designed for minor quick clean-ups, it will help you remove hair, dust, and all kinds of waste from car interior and quickly tidy up your garage or small workshop.  Truly compact and extremely lightweight, the unit is suitable for continuous operation causing no fatigue to your arms.  

detailed parameters
POWER SOURCE

AC (6-foot power cord) 

CAPACITY

1 gallon

PERFORMANCE

1 Peak HP, 8 Amps, 145 Peak Air Watts, 98 CFM Airflow, 46-inch sealed pressure

ACCESSORIES

4-foot hose, Crevice tool, Gulper nozzle, Foam sleeve, Disposable filter bag

USABILITY

Wall mountable design, Wall mountable tool holder, Built-in handle

WARRANTY

2 years 

High-performance Vac For All Kinds of Clean-ups

If you have a big house you know firsthand how much time and effort it might take to keep it clean and tidy. In addition to a variety of sweeping, mopping, vacuum cleaning, dedusting, and washing tasks you have to tackle around the house, most likely, you also have a number of outdoor works to accomplish, be it cleaning the terrace, sidewalks, and pathways, tidying up the lawn, or sorting out the mess in your garage or workshop. And all those tasks are routine. The only difference is that some of them pop up on a monthly or weekly basis while others are on your daily cleaning schedule. To manage all those domestic chores, you definitely need an efficient cleaning assistant. While many people would start packing their household arsenal with numerous cleaning tools and equipment or even call for the assistance of a cleaning service, you can go for a single unit that will help you with the majority of domestic cleaning jobs. It’s the Shop-Vac 8 gallon vacuum cleaner from Stainless Steel series.

Fitted with a forceful 6 HP electric motor, this vac produces a truly high suction power allowing to remove all kinds of dirt and spills and handle literally any surface pollution. Fine dust or hair, pet litter or ground from the flowerpot, laundry detergents or food residues, sand, gravel, metal or wooden chips, some used small hardware or any fabric rags or paper pieces, water, milk, oil, or even paint, this model can suck all this garbage and liquids with ease making time-consuming and messy cleanups a breeze.

A vacuum cleaner set comes complete with a number of attachments expanding the unit functionality and the scope of application. It includes 3 extension wands to clean at heights and in hard-to-reach areas, a 10” wet-dry nozzle for sucking larger debris, and a crevice tool to get into tight spaces, and a gulper nozzle for cleaning out upholstery, carpets, stairs, car seats, and vehicle carpets. In addition, thanks to a high-power blow option, the unit doubles as a helpful blower to blow off leaves, dust, or even snow from the porch or driveways or simply blow dust flocks to the corner for easier pickup. Meanwhile, a collection tank capacity of 8 gallons will let you fulfill several cleaning tasks or finish a spring cleaning before you will need to empty the tank.

No matter what kind of mess you have to combat, with the Shop-Vac 5989400, you will do cleaning times faster and always achieve efficient results.

The Ultimate Ease of Use

As powerful and functional as it is, this model is extremely easy to use. Fitted with two handles and four caster wheels, the vacuum cleaner is convenient to carry and easy to roll on any surface, be it a wooden floor or a paved pathway. While rolling the unit or occasionally dragging it during operation, a circumference dolly will add stability and prevent tip-overs.

When it comes to discarding the waste, the biggest problem with high-capacity wet-dry vacs is that they become pretty heavy when the collection tanks are full of liquid. Yet, it’s not the case with the Shop-Vac 5989400. The unit features a tank drain hole saving you the need to lift a heavy canister for draining. You can simply take the vacuum outside and remove the cap to empty the tank.

Once you finish cleaning, you can conveniently store your vac in a closet or utility room with all attachments compactly kept in the onboard tool storage.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $254.99
Stock In stock
ASIN B075MY3QMX

Your Best All Around Home Cleaning Assistant

Whether you leave in a large private house or in a city apartment, regular clean-ups are an integral part of your domestic chores. If you live alone or with a partner and spend most of your time at work, you hardly do cleaning more often than once per week. Yet, if you have a big family with kids and pets, you have to tidy up your dwelling on a more frequent basis, if not on a daily basis. Coke or juice spills and popcorn scattered all around the sofa when your kids were watching movies, marks of wet and dirty pet paws or dusty footprints left on the floor or a common mess on the attic are only a few minor things you might have to tackle. This is to say nothing of tougher cleaning tasks. For example, when you need to unclog the kitchen sink, clean the dryer vents, remove the water from a flooded ceiling, get rid of puddles on the sidewalks, tidy up your home workshop, or spruce up your RV before the next family trip. There is a single cleaning device that can efficiently handle all those jobs and even more, taking the strain off out of household clean-ups and making your life much easier. It’s the Shop-Vac 5870400 wet dry vacuum cleaner.

Packed in a solid plastic body, this model is durable enough for extensive use both indoors and outdoors and, at the same time, it is pretty lightweight for easy carrying and handling. A Lock-on hose is securely threaded onto the tank's inlet preventing any accidental disengagement during operation while a 16-foot power cord will ensure a pretty large working area without the need to use an extension.

An electric motor boasts the 4.5 HP power output, 175 CFM airflow rate, and the sealed pressure of 60 inches, all of this allowing the unit to generate a truly powerful suction and deliver almost commercial-grade performance. It will perform really great not only on powder dust and dry wastes but also on wet mud and dirt, and all kinds of liquid spills efficiently removing both small and large amounts of mess. Along with a really strong suction, this model also offers a really powerful blowing action. Just attach the hose to the blower outlet on the rear panel and use the unit to blow the dirt out from hard-to-reach places. Besides, a variety of interchangeable accessories will add functional versatility to the unit and let you accomplish even seemingly tough tasks with ease. In addition, it’s worth noticing, that despite a powerful operation, this vacuum cleaner works very quietly which is a handy option for home use.

This All Around 4-gallon vac is one of the best models from the Shop-Vac Home and Apartment series specifically designed for the use all around the house and cater to the majority of your home cleaning needs. You can use it to clean kitchen and bathroom, bedroom and hall, carpets and stairs, blinds and ceiling vents, workshops and vehicles, and more.

All-surface Mobility

All Shop-Vac vacuum cleaners are designed to be mobile and easy to maneuver. They come equipped with carry-handles and transport wheels so that you can easily drag the unit where the mess is. The 5870400 is not an exception. Yet, unlike other Shop-Vac models with rather small caster wheels that might stuck on a paved surface or gravel sidewalk, this All Around vac features large rear wheels that add stability to the whole construction and will let you easily roll the vac on any surface indoors and outdoors, be it a smooth wooden or marble floor or a rough asphalted driveway with some cavities and minor bumps.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $185.00
Stock In stock
ASIN B0008JIQVI

Affordable Power and Functionality

Choosing a home appliance, we want to get the most out of it, especially when it comes to household units that really facilitate our lives and save our time on domestic routines to spend it on some more pleasant things and activities. Hence, we usually seek high-quality products with bunches of useful features and functions we’ll be able to apply to get some work done easier, more quickly, and efficient. Yet, for most of us, the product price is no less important and we look for maximum functionality and high reliability at a reasonable price-tag. This is exactly what you will get with the Shop-Vac 5-gallon wet-dry vacuum cleaner.

Like all models from a powerful Stainless Steel series intended for professional use and commercial applications, this unit features a durable stainless steel tank that makes it suitable for operation even under harsh conditions. Meanwhile, a motor power of 9.9 amps paired with a suction power of 320 air watts allows efficiently collecting even large debris as well as quickly sucking up large amounts of liquids. The accessory set including 3 extension wands, a 10” nozzle, a crevice tool, and a gulper nozzle will let you easily get into tricky areas and tight spaces and perform all kinds of cleaning with ease. Whether you need to remove the dust from chandeliers and from under the furniture, clean the ceiling panels, suck up the waste from drainage pipes outside the house, clean carpets, and upholstery, combat the spills in the laundry caused by a washing machine overflow or tackle a big mess in your garage, you’ll find the necessary attachment in the set and the unit definitely offers more than enough power for that. Besides, by attaching the hose to a rear outlet, you can turn your vacuum cleaner to a powerful blower that will come in handy for the applications where you need a powerful air jet.

With the Shop-Vac 5989300, you’ll get a professional-grade cleaning unit to tackle both minor and heavy dry or wet messes in your dwelling, garage, basement, or workshop as well as outside your household.

Designed With User Convenience in Mind

Along with a powerful operation and excellent functionality, the Shop-Vac 5 gallon vacuum cleaner offers every convenience of use you’ expect from the unit of this kind. A sturdy dolly with 4 solid caster wheels will prevent the vac from tipping over and ensure its mobility and maneuverability on different types of surfaces both indoors and outdoors. Besides, top and side carry handles further enhance the unit portability and contribute to convenient handling. A secure latch system will keep the tank and lid tightly closed while a hose lock will keep the hose firmly attached to the tank inlet during operation.

For efficient cleaning performance and easy maintenance, the vac comes complete with a cartridge and disposable filters for dry cleanups and a foam sleeve for picking up wet messes. Though unlike other models in its series, the 5989300 does not feature a tank drain function, due to a pretty compact unit size and average canister capacity, tanks drainage won’t be a hassle.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $203.99
Stock In stock
ASIN B075MWCF8L

Portability and Powerful Performnce Cleverly Combined

The biggest difference between commercial vacs and domestic models is that the latter are usually smaller and boast better portability for fatigue-free handling and rolling around the house. However, in most cases, compact size also means much less power. And though you might not need a commercial-grade power output for home cleaning, there are still some tasks that require higher performance than the majority of the canister, handheld or stick vacuums can provide. The Shop-Vac Home and Apartment series was specifically designed to meet domestic cleaning needs and offers rather powerful performance packed in a compact design. The Shop-Vac 5895200 is one of the most popular models from this series highly valued by thousands of homeowners.

The first thing you will like about this model is its pretty small size. With a construction all made of solid and durable plastic, the unit is also much lighter than most other models in its class. A small dolly with swivel wheels ensure the vac stability and, at the same time, provide the ultimate mobility allowing you to easily roll the appliance around the house. In addition, thanks to a top handle, you can easily carry the unit which is convenient for premises stuffed with furniture or if you need to move the vac up the stairs. However, despite compactness and portability of a handheld model, the 5895200 offers a powerful performance of a full-scale professional vac. Its electric motor delivers a 2.5 HP output power, 175 CFM airflow rate, and a 59-inch sealed pressure that all together allow achieving a truly high suction power to suck up all types of dry and wet debris and spills you might come across in your household. Like most commercial shop vacs, this model even features a blow function and produces a pretty powerful air jet for inflating toys and mattresses and different cleaning applications.

A kit of attachment accessories the vacuum cleaner comes packed with add convenience of use and expands the appliance functionality. Along with standard extension wands, crevice tool, and gulper nozzle allowing you to tackle dirt and dust at heights and get into tight and narrow spaces in between and under the furniture or car seats, the kit also includes a dual surface selector nozzle to go effortlessly from bare floors to carpets and a round brush nozzle ideal for cleaning furniture, clothes, radiators, dashboards, keyboards, window frames, air vents, etc.

If you need a lightweight and portable yet powerful and really functional cleaning unit for home use, the Shop-Vac 2.5 gallon vacuum is a great choice to go for.

A Real Find for Large Premises

While most Shop-Vac wet-dry vacuums feature pretty short power cords often requiring the use of an extension, the 5895200 is distinguished by an 18-foot power cord. Paired with a 7-foot hose and an extension wand, these handy options will let you tidy up large areas and big premises such as attics, basements, or terraces where the access to power sockets might be limited without using an extension cord.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $109.99
Stock In stock
ASIN B0040LT71S

An Efficient Little Helper

If you are a happy parent of several kids and a happy owner of a fluffy four-legged companion or two, most likely, you have to manage some minor cleaning tasks literally every day. This might be cookie crumbs, popcorn, potato chips, citrus peels, and chocolate or candy wraps scattered everywhere as well as some spill in the kitchen, bathroom, or laundry, pet hair and pet litter. It would be somewhat inconvenient to take out a big vac or even keep it somewhere in the corner for such minor cleaning tasks and most people often purchase small handheld vacuums for these purposes. Yet, the majority of handheld models designed for occasional use are meant only for dry cleaning and won’t be able to suck liquids. To give you an ideal compact cleaner for tackling occasional light-duty dry and wet cleaning jobs, the Shop-Vac created its 2021000 Micro vac from Small Vac series.

Being only 10 inches high and weighing less than 8 lbs, this model is fully portable, compact, and lightweight like all handheld vacuums. Yet, unlike traditional handheld units with rather low capacity collection bags or tanks and featuring no hoses, the 2021000 has a standard Shop-Vac design with a hose and capacious collection tank that simply comes in a smaller size. The tank capacity of 1 gallon is much higher than that of other conventional handheld models and will let you collect pretty large amounts of garbage before you’ll need to empty the tank. In addition, a 1 HP electric motor will yield a really powerful suction to quickly pick up all kinds of debris and liquids including even larger wastes other handheld vacs won’t be able to cope with. A crevice tool coming in the set will help you get into tight spaces and hard-to-reach areas while a gulper nozzle will let you efficiently remove liquids and clean furniture, upholstery, counters, shelves, and window sills. As portable and functional as it is, this model will perfectly double as a car vacuum to maintain your vehicle interior clean and neat.

Compact and lightweight as a handheld vac yet powerful and functional like a full-size vacuum cleaner, the 2021000 Micro vac is by far the best small shop vac that will come in handy for a variety of household applications, be it some minor everyday cleaning or dealing with heavier messes.

Get the Benefit of Compact Storage

In addition to portability and comfortable use, one more benefit you’ll get with the 2021000 Micro vacuum from Shop-Vac is the convenience of storage. Though the unit is small and won’t take much space in a closet, the manufacturer also fitted it with a wall-mountable option for even more compact storage. With two wall brackets included in the package, you can easily hang the vac and attachment nozzles on the wall in a laundry room, storeroom, garage, or tool shed to conveniently store it out of the way.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $98.62
Stock In stock
ASIN B004UQVQ0I

What Is a Shop-Vac Wet-Dry Vacuum Cleaner?

Cleaning is something you do on a daily basis to a certain extent. Though you are not necessarily into a big clean-up every day, there is a lot of tidying up tasks you have to tackle daily, especially if you have kids and pets or are engaged in some kinds of DIY projects, works, or hobbies related to big amounts of mess. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an opportunity to cope with a variety of cleaning jobs by means of a single unit? This is what Shop-Vac wet-dry vacuums are meant for.

Initially, Shop-Vac is a trade name owned by the Shop-Vac corporation that has been producing top-quality innovative vacuum cleaners for nearly 50 years. However, today a shop vac became also a generic term referring to almost any wet-dry vacuum cleaner. Primarily used for heavy-duty cleaning jobs and commercial applications, today, shop vacs are also available in a whole range of smaller models for domestic use. Following the same working principle applied in traditional vacuums, wet-dry vacs feature a bucket instead of a standard collection bag and boast much higher air intake ensuring extremely powerful lifting and suction capabilities. Unlike other vacuum cleaners for home use, wet-dry vacs are much more versatile and can be used not only for removing in-house dirt and spills but also for unclogging water pipes, cleaning out your fireplace, removing snow from your pathways, or handling construction waste in a workshop.

In case, you need a vac for minor cleaning tasks such cleaning furniture or car interior, you can go for one of the light-duty handheld vacuum cleaners.

What Features to Compare

Performance

Performance is one of the major selling points for any electric appliance and a wet-dry vacuum cleaner is not an exception. Performance is defined by a number of motor characteristics that all together determine the unit scope of application. For Shop-Vac vacuum cleaners these motor characteristics are:

  • Motor electric rating and horsepower rating that denominates the maximum output power of the electric motor;
  • Airflow in CFM that is a maximum volume of air the motor can move under certain system load. This characteristic greatly depends on the type and size of the hose used, accessories applied, and the filter cleanness;
  • Sealed pressure is measured in inches and shows how far a vacuum motor will lift up a water column.

All these characteristics define the vacuum suction power and, as a result, the unit cleaning performance. The higher the suction power is the more different cleaning tasks your vac will be able to accomplish and the wider scope of application it will have.

Yet, it’s worth noticing that for all Shop-Vac models, the manufacturer specifies maximum values achieved on all the above-mentioned characteristics that were achieved during laboratory testing. But it does not mean that vacs will always operate under maximum load and the output suction power might vary under the impact of such factors as a dirty filter, leaks, and accessories used.

Capacity

The wet-dry vacuum capacity is a volume of a garbage collection tank which is usually measured in gallons. The larger the tank capacity is the more dirt and debris you’ll be able to collect per cleanup without the need to discard the waste. However, one important thing to mention here is that a tank capacity also determines the vac size. And with a big tank being filled with waste, the whole unit will become heavier and more difficult to handle. Hence, it’s recommended choosing the Shop-Vac model size meeting the tasks you need to tackle on a regular basis.

By performance and capacity characteristics, Shop-Vac vacuum cleaners fall into several categories. Thus Home and Apartment series, Small Vac series, and DIY and Workshop series feature lower performance and tank capacity characteristics suitable for light-duty cleaning jobs. Meanwhile, the products from high-performance Stainless Steel series and Industrial and Contractor series will work better for heavy-duty domestic tasks and tough commercial applications on construction sites and production shops.

Usability

Shop-Vac wet-dry vacuums usability is defined by a combo of accessories the vac comes packed with expanding its functional versatility and convenience features ensuring the ease of use and comfort of operation. Thus, a choice of helpful accessories might include specialized attachments and nozzles for cleaning different types of surfaces, objects, and areas, several hoses and extension wands to get into hard-to-reach spaces and handle various kinds of garbage, disposable bag filters for quick clean-ups and minor everyday needs, and foam sleeves for prolonging a reusable filter service life. Convenience features you’ll come across in Shop-Vac vacuum cleaners include a tank drain option for quick and easy contents dumping, an onboard accessory storage, a blow feature, and transport wheels for convenient unit handling.

Did you know?

Get the Most out of Your Shop Vac

Shop-Vac wet-dry vacuums are known for their durability and high-performance characteristics. Whether you need a heavy-duty unit for commercial use on a regular basis or a portable shop vac for occasional and minor domestic clean-ups, you’ll find it within the Shop-Vac range. Notably, all Shop-Vac models are made of top-quality solid materials ensuring the unit durability and flawless operation in any conditions, be it less harsh home cleaning or tougher conditions of workshops where you might need to handle anything from heavy dust and wood chips to metal shaving and even used hardware such as nails, screws, and metal clamps. However, to keep your Shop-Vac optimal performance, consistently achieve the best cleaning results, and extend the unit service life to the maximum, correct use and due maintenances are the key rules you should stick to. Below, we’ve summed up several main things you should do to get the most out of your Shop-Vac wet-dry vacuum cleaner.

Keep the Filters Clean

A clean filter is an essential element for maintaining your Shop-Vac high performance. Dirty filters prevent airflow and reduce suction power, all of this greatly decreasing the vacuum cleaner effectiveness. After each use, especially if you did a serious cleaning, it’s recommended to remove the air filter and knock it against the inside of a waste collector to shake out the dust and fine particles. Yet, if you notice any tears, damages, or any kind of stains on the filter, it’s better to replace the filter since dust and debris escaping the filter might cause clogs. Replacing a filter, always make sure the new filter is properly installed since incorrect installation will also lead to the suction loss.

Don’t Forget About Collection Bags

Standard Shop-Vac filters are not meant to stop fine dust particles and dust will exhaust back into the air and even might cause motor damages. Hence, if you pick up fine dust, remember to use a disposable bag filter or a HEPA collection bag designed for capturing the finest dust and even allergens. As a result, you will need to clean a reusable filter less often and prolong the service life of both a filter and the whole unit.

Clean Your Shop Vac on a Regular Basis

Regular cleaning is a must if you want your Shop Vac to serve you faithfully for years. After each cleanup, especially if you were tackling a big mess, wipe the unit body with a clean rag to remove the dust sticking to the exterior. Keep the vac exhaust vents clean and free from dust clogs since it might block the air backflow and eventually lead to motor failures and malfunctions. From time to time, rinse the collection tank and the hose with water and you are free to use some cleansers to eliminate accumulated germs and bacteria. Try to apply this cleaning procedure after any cleanup engaging spills and leakages collection.

Discard Debris After Each Use

Since Shop Vacs can pick up literally all kinds of dirt and debris, from fine dust to glass mess, insulation pieces, or some larger construction wastes, make sure to discard the collected waste after you finish the cleaning. The waste might get compact inside the canister reducing a powerful suction. Besides, it will create a favorable environment for bacteria and germs growth.

Always Watch What You Clean

Be careful when cleaning oil, paint, varnish, or other difficult and sticky liquids spills. Though your Shop Vac will cope with it, eventually, it might lead to clogs. Hence, thoroughly clean the hose, canister, and filters after a tough spills clean-up.

The next thing that requires extra caution is hazardous materials such as harmful chemicals and poisonous powders, asbestos, and all kinds of dry fertilizers. Try to avoid cleaning those substances by a Shop Vac to prevent accidental exposure. In this case, it is better to contact a local cleaning service.

How to:

Sources:

1. 8 Best Uses for a Wet-Dry Vacuum Cleaner, DoItYourself.com.

2. Vacuum cleaner, Wikipedia. January 13, 2018.

3. Tom Raley What Is a Wet-Dry Vacuum? Sciencing. April 24, 2017.

4. Kelsea Weber Don’t Let Pet Hair Destroy Your Vacuum, Ifixit. October 26, 2016.

5. Tam Lee Advantages Of Wet And Dry Vacuum Cleaners, SelfGrowth.

6. Carolyn Forte 5 Biggest Mistakes You Make Vacuuming, Good Housekeeping. March 18, 2015.

7. Juliana Labianca 11 Unexpected Ways You Never Thought to Use Your Vacuum Cleaner, Reader's Digest.

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