Why You Might Need A Shop Vac Instead Of A Regular Vacuum

Why Use Shop Vac Instead Of  Vacuum Cleaner

Depending on your needs, you can consider investing in a shop vac to complement your regular vacuum cleaner.  A shop vac can even handle all surfaces, even garage floors, drains, concrete, pretty much everything.  If you’re someone who does a lot of DIY or likes to renovate then it’s a must-have product.

What Is The Difference Between Wet And Dry Vacuums?

Wet cleaners host a waterproof collector can and trap, which prevents water from getting into the electrical wiring and fan.  This enables you to suction up water, or perhaps suction up cleaning solution from a carpet you want to clean.  A regular (dry) cleaner cannot do this and may short-circuit if it does.  On the flip-side regular (dry) cleaners are much better at filtering out dust and allergens, so are generally used for more delicate, carpet-based cleaning.

Shop vacs have a far more advanced motor than regular (dry) vacuums. This is in order to help it with the more heavy-duty jobs it is often required to do.  Shop vacs need to be lifted up and flipped around in order to empty them, unlike a normal vacuum where you remove the bag or filter compartment.  Dry vacuums have advanced filters to improve air quality in your home and prevent small particles from re-entering the air in your home. However, shop vacs’ chief purpose is to suction and house various objects, not clean the air.

Is A shop Vac The Same As a Wet/Dry Vac?

Strictly speaking, the more expensive industrial shop vacs are called ‘wet/dry shop’ vacs; however, with ever-improving technology most shop vacs are able to handle most demands and so the name wet/dry vac is generally synonymous with a shop vac.  They have a larger capacity than a regular ‘dry’ vac, a more powerful motor for suction, four casters, and are not designed solely for carpets, but can also handle garages, drains, flooded basement floors, and ponds (depending on the manufacturer’s guidance).

What Is A Shop Vac Used For?

Shop vacs tend to be used in construction sites or woodworking shops, hence the name ‘shop’ vac which differs from regular domestic vacuum cleaners.  In a workshop or garage the shop vac is expected to suction screws, metal pieces, sawdust, chunks of wood, and various other bits of debris that may be lying around.  A commercial vacuum cleaner is more powerful than a domestic vac, but it tends to be more useful for office space and effective air filtration.

Can You Use Shop Vac On Carpets?

Shop vacs can be useful if you want to clean a carpet.  Unlike carpet cleaners (whose sole job is to do this), shop vacs will require you to do a bit of prep work first.  You need to apply and scrub in the carpet cleaner solution with water, using a scrub brush to apply it evenly.  Then, you’ll need to suction up all the soapy residue, water, and suction up again.  This is a bit more work than with carpet cleaners, but the end result is still impressive.

How To Use A Shop Vac Correctly?

A shop vac is best used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.  It is ideally for heavy-duty, debris-laden environments.  If you’re just looking for an extremely strong, durable dry vacuum cleaner then consider a commercial vacuum which is precisely that.

It is important to give the handle a good slap on a regular basis so that debris comes loose and drops into the canister.  If you don’t do this then the suction power can become lessened.  If your shop vac has a filter and you’re using it for a lot of dry vacuuming, then you must clean it by blowing it with compressed air at low pressure, to prevent mold from forming and other clogging reducing your machine’s suction power.  Try knocking the filter against the ‘bucket’ (canister) whenever you empty debris from it.

Using a portable regular vac, vacuum the shop vac to improve the intakes.  Remove grit from the casters and lubricate them.  Make sure your shop vac is not coated in dust, otherwise it will leave a trail as you go along.  It is important to clean the hose, otherwise it can get blocked or restricted, which in turn can impact how effective the cleaning is.  Check regularly to see if anything is lodged in the hose, if you notice the vac losing its suction.

Don’t Forget The Blower

Shop vacs make highly effective blowers, too, which can come in useful as a makeshift leaf blower, or even to unblock a drain.  The process of using your shop vac as a blower may vary between models, but the principle is the same – a reversing of the airflow by turning a switch or moving the hose from one port to another.