How do you clean your shop vacuum filter?

[vash]

Gah, I hate it. I hate cleaning that damn filter. I Use it to clean up everything. That gray hairy mess under my fridge to all the Nooks and crannies in my garage. Not to mention The dog hair onslaught in my truck.

I tap it out in my garbage bin. I can’t help thinking I’m shortening my life span. I should put on my half-face respirator. But admittedly I get lazy. The cloud of dust in the resulting plume is scary.

Short of me sneaking into your garage and using your shop vac to clean my filter . How do you do it? I use the paper (dry) filter.

Last time I dropped it into a paper bag and cleaned it when I washed my truck at a drive thru. We have a place with crazy strong vacuum. I did feel guilty.

Just a boring Sunday friendly discussion.

[speeder]

I just knock it against the inside of the black trash bin when it’s empty and then close the lid right away before the toxic dust cloud kills me.

Dropping it on the cement driveway several times on all sides works as well. If those things don’t get wet, they basically last forever.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by speeder

I just knock it against the inside of the black trash bin when it’s empty and then close the lid right away before the toxic dust cloud kills me.

^^ What he said.

[chapo]

I put it in a plastic trash bag and shake it out

[john70t]

Break out yer ear muffs and use the air compressor outside with the blowgun tip. Foam filters can be rinsed out.
Do this after every single use.
Then spray a little shot of Lysol into the intake and run for a few seconds more.

It's good as new the next time around.

[Nickshu]

Put them in a trash bag and beat it on the ground in the bag. Then hose it off, between each pleat, then let it dry in the sun, or not in the sun just takes longer to dry.

I don't think there's an easy non-messy way to do this job. I always contemplate just treated them as disposable...for my vac new ones are about $15 at Home Depot.

[Neilk]

A mix of all of the above...

Wait for windy day, knock off most of debris in garbage cans, then go to alley, check wind direction, stand up wind and drop the filter several times and see the resulting cloud of crap go downwind. Then a fire up the compressor and blow it out as John mentioned. Good as new.

[jwasbury]

I just buy a new shop vac

[nota]

I just toss them when they get wet
95% of my use is the koi pond demucking so they get wet
wife has a home vac with 3 stage filters for the house

and run an old vac hose or two on the air out -side to get the airborne dust out of the work area
as the filter really reduces the total flow/suck
I guess the motors die quicker that way but shop vac's are a very common yard sale item
so cheap to replace

[john70t]

I've heard of green scrubby pads being used as pre-filters in things....including computers vs. pet hair.

[javadog]

I bet use HEPA filters that can be washed. I take the filter out, knock 90% of the dust off of it, flip the hose around on the vacuum so it blows instead of sucks, and then I blow it clean from the inside. Periodically I wash it with dish soap and lots of water, then let it dry. I actually have two, so that I can have a clean one on hand had a moments notice.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by javadog

I bet use HEPA filters that can be washed. I take the filter out, knock 90% of the dust off of it, flip the hose around on the vacuum so it blows instead of sucks, and then I blow it clean from the inside. Periodically I wash it with dish soap and lots of water, then let it dry. I actually have two, so that I can have a clean one on hand had a moments notice.

That's cool but if you blow compressed air through it anywhere near your nose, it kind of defeats the purpose of using a HEPA filter in the first place.

I skip the compressed air step. If you simply knock most of the dirt and dust off of one of those things, the vacuum sucks like Nickleback once again. Those filters have a lot of area.

[javadog]

In Oklahoma, we often have this phenomenon called wind. I have learned to use it to my advantage when cleaning filters outside.

My nose remains pristine.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

Put them in a trash bag and beat it on the ground in the bag. Then hose it off, between each pleat, then let it dry in the sun, or not in the sun just takes longer to dry.

I don't think there's an easy non-messy way to do this job. I always contemplate just treated them as disposable...for my vac new ones are about $15 at Home Depot.

I "de-ash" the pellet stove with mine and the above is the method I use.

[DanielDudley]

I started using the shop vacs with the drywall liner bags for drywall dust. You can suck up drywall dust, dirt, whatever until you have about 40 pounds worth, and never have to clean the filter once. I used to have to clean up the filter after about five minutes of use. Now I just pop out a full bag and carry it over to the trash bin.

Filter cleanup is minimal. The drywall bags cost about 10 bucks each, but they increase the utility of the vac immensely. I used to hate using shop vacs, because every time I went to use one, I would have to clean the filter before it would suck anything. Everyone else who uses them just works them until they are clogged and then stuff them back in the corner for me to clean.

Imagine a shop vac that keeps sucking until it is so full it weighs a ton. It's a totally different world.

Oh yeah, if you just want to clean your filter, tap it out in a bag and blow it out. Use your respirator. If you want a better shop vac, get a bagger.

[KFC911]

I clean mine with another shop vacuum....easy peasy

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by jwasbury

I just buy a new shop vac

Missed that

[wdfifteen]

I hold it inside a trash bag in one hand, wrap the bag around my wrist and hold it closed with the other. Back up against a wall and swing it between my knees, bashing it against the wall.

[Baz]

For many of these type jobs I would just hold my breath while I performed the task as long as possible.

A light bulb went off (somehow) and I decided to make a face mask respirator purchase.

I got these from Amazon and they will arrive later today:

Disposable Dust Masks for face - NIOSH Certified - Safety N95 Respirator Mask with breathing valve (15 pack) | Multi-Layer Protection

[herr_oberst]

[QUOTE=DanielDudley;10464331]I started using the shop vacs with the drywall liner bags for drywall dust. /QUOTE]

This has been my strategy for years, too. It takes a long time to fill one up with just the spooge from the garage and cars. Cleaning SV filters is just nasty business. These eliminate that chore.

(You can't use them wet, obviously, but that's not even an issue for me, generally speaking.)