Can You Use A Wet Dry Vac Without A Filter

Co-ordinate to a post featured in the 2007 edition of Professional Carwashing & Detailing Magazine, it's possible and in fact, recommended to use a store vac without its filter.

The writer goes alee to explain that doing so helps to go maximum airflow and suction from the vacuum as long as you fill the tank with a few gallons of water.

This article and many others raise the question, can you employ a shop vac without a filter?

The simple answer is YES, but it isn't that straightforward. To empathize why we don't recommend using a store vac without the filter despite it being possible, it'south of import to wait at how a shop vac works and what it'south meant to practise.

Table of Contents

How Does a Shop Vac Work?
Does Shop Vac Need Filter and Bag?
What is The Function of a Filter in a Shop Vac?
All-time Way to Employ a Shop Vacuum without a Filter
- 1. Wet Vacuuming
- ii. Using Water
How to Improve the Operation of the Filter?
Often Asked Questions
- i. What happens if you utilize a shop vac without a filter?
- two. Can you use a shop vac in standing water?
- 3. Why does my filter go along blowing dust back?
- 4. Do I demand a filter for wet vac?

How Does a Shop Vac Work?

A store vacuum, too known as a bucket vacuum cleaner, is a powerful car generally used to clean woodworking shops, commercial buildings, and construction sites. While a shop vac works on the same principle as a regular domicile vacuum cleaner, it is built with a more powerful motor and superior suction, enabling information technology to suck whatever substance.

A shop vac tin can suck anything from stones, sand, lumps of garbage, nails, and woods pieces without breaking a sweat. This simple machine also enables you to work on a larger surface area because information technology's efficient and powerful.

About people don't know that you tin too use a moisture dry out vac to collect water or liquids. For example, if your basement is flooded afterwards a storm or you accept spilled a significant amount of h2o on your carpet, a shop vac tin help suck all this water faster than a mop tin. Even so, there are a few adjustments you have to make to the shop vac before using it as a water pump.

Does Shop Vac Need Filter and Pocketbook?

As with whatever vacuum cleaner, a shop vac comes with a collection bag where all the debris and dust will collect once it'southward sucked upwards, and a filter to act as the filtration system. Since the work of a vacuum purse is self-explanatory, let'south discuss the importance of a filter a lilliputian more.

What is The Part of a Filter in a Shop Vac?

Any vacuum cleaner needs ample airflow and suction to suck in all that debris and dust. The only manner that's possible, still, is if the pathway is completely articulate of any dust or bottleneck. A filter ensures this by catching all the fine dust and protecting the pathway from clogging.

Without the filter, the vac would have picayune airflow, affecting its suction capacity and eventually ruining some parts because of clogging. What's more, the vacuum cleaner would blow all the dust you lot have collected back to the environment through the frazzle system.

Best Way to Apply a Shop Vacuum without a Filter

With that agreement of how a shop vacuum works and the importance of a filter, nosotros can now move on to different ways to utilize a vac without a filter.

1. Wet Vacuuming

The number ane fashion and perhaps the but recommended way to use a store vac without a filter is when you lot are vacuuming moisture places or using it every bit a water pump. As we have already pointed out, the chore of a filter is to prevent dust from passing and going inside the vacuum. When you are cleaning liquids or moisture surfaces, there is no dust; hence a filter is unnecessary. In instance you make up one's mind to leave the filter in place, chances are it volition get ruined by the liquid or moisture, so it'southward amend to remove it first.

2. Using Water

The second way yous can maybe use a vac without a filter is to apply water as the filtration system instead of a filter. This is the precise method explained in that Professional Carwashing & Detailing magazine, but it'southward not total-proof. The idea here is to make full the vacuum cleaner tank with a few gallons of water once you lot accept taken out the filter. Once you suck in your debris, the h2o will effectively catch the dust and allow the solid debris to pass to the collection bag.

People who use this method claim that information technology helps ameliorate the vacs suction capacity and airflow. While that's debatable, the method has one uncomplicated advantage; it allows you to work more without the need to modify filters. This helps if you lot have a large job to do and enough of dust, especially in construction and woodworking sites.

Unfortunately, this method will non catch fine dust, and then it's not a full-proof way to protect your car and maximize its output. Despite it being a genius idea, using a dry vac without the filter volition eventually cause more impairment than good to internal parts. If you decide to use this strategy, use the vacuum in an open space or outside because the vacuum will throw dorsum some of that dust to where yous are cleaning.

As a note, non all shop vac models can piece of work without a filter; make sure to check the instructions before you try any of these methods to avert destroying the automobile.

How to Ameliorate the Performance of the Filter?

improve performance for drywall dust and dirt

As we have seen, a filter is a crucial part of a shop vac. The showtime role of improving its performance is choosing the correct filter. For wet cleaning, go with a foam sleeve filter that will not be ruined by moisture.

On the other manus, when cleaning dry surfaces, you must attach a dust bag to collect about of the debris. In fact, you can't use your vacuum without a bag. You can also clean the filter and the filter cartilages regularly if it's something that can be cleaned and too alter information technology post-obit the manufacturer's instructions.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens if you lot use a shop vac without a filter?

The brusque answer is, yous will reduce the lifespan of your store vac. While it's possible to use a shop vacuum without a filter when vacuuming moisture surfaces or using water as filtration, these methods practice not fully protect the automobile from bottleneck and eventually breaking downwards.

Another thing that may occur if y'all use the wet dry vac without a filter is dust blowing back up on your confront. The filter plays a significant role in preventing dust from getting into the vacuum'due south components and coming back through the frazzle. Getting rid of information technology will make what you are doing useless because nearly of the grit volition go back anyhow.

ii. Tin can y'all use a store vac in standing water?

Aye and no. Yeah, because you can apply a store vac as a water pump when y'all take a pocket-size flood in the business firm or outside. All you lot demand is to remove the filter (if the manufacturer'south instructions permit) and dust pocketbook, and connect the vacuum to a hose where the water will pass through as information technology goes out.

However, you cannot use a store vac to suck a lot of standing water. If you are thinking of swimming puddle water, ponds, and boreholes, the vacuum isn't strong enough to get rid of all that water, and you could end upwards breaking it.

three. Why does my filter keep blowing dust back?

A couple of reasons could cause this; one, the filter is non installed correctly, and ii, there is a hole in the motor or the filter itself. You could start past checking these two and changing the filter if it'south not new. All the same, the reason could likewise exist that the dust yous are sucking is also fine or smoothen, in which case you will need a filter with a high-efficiency dispensable bag.

iv. Practice I need a filter for wet vac?

The role of a filter is to stop dust from blowing dorsum out when cleaning and going inside the vac. If you lot are cleaning wet surfaces notwithstanding, yous practise non need the filter. It's recommended you remove the filter when doing a wet vacuum to avert dissentious it. That said, some vacuum cleaners come with a cream sleeve filter which yous don't demand to remove considering it protects debris from ending up in the motor.