14 Tips and Tricks to Vacuum More Efficiently

Power Filter Cleaner

Remove the dust from your shop vacuum filter by holding a random orbit sander (just the pad, without sandpaper) against the filter. This is best done outdoors, or with the filter inside a trash bag to keep the dust under control. — Bettina Roy.

Lighted Shop Vacuum

I often use my shop vacuum in dimly lit places, like under my car seats. To make it easy to see what I’m doing, I zip-tied a small flashlight to the hose. Works like a charm. — Brian Mischke.

Vacuum Cord Control

Do you hold your vacuum cleaner cord in your free hand to keep your feet from getting tangled while you vacuum? Try this: Clip a carabiner onto the handle and loop the cord through the carabiner. If the carabiner doesn’t fit around your handle, zip-tie it into place. — Karl Burns.

Shop Vacuum Prescreen

I pull out my shop vacuum for many woodworking chores, including dust collection from every power tool with a dust port. But the filter quickly plugs with coarse dust from the table saw and finer dust from sanding.

I solved part of the problem by placing window screen over the filter. Now the coarse particles stay at the bottom of the tank, and the filter doesn’t plug as fast. — Bill Wells.

Stay-Together Vacuum Hose

If the hose or rigid tubes of your shop vacuum come apart while in use, stop cussing and fix them this easy way. With an awl or other sharp pointed tool, score deep X’s on the ends, inside and outside, at each offending joint. The added surface friction from the X’s will keep them together. — Richard Dorsey.

Get-a-Grip Shop Vacuum

Sick and tired of trying to pick up my shop vacuum with nowhere to grab, I finally mounted a large door handle directly onto the top. I used four 1/2-in. No. 8 sheet metal screws. Try it. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do this years ago. — Al Seibert.

The Baking Soda and Vacuum Trick

Baking soda naturally absorbs odors. To freshen up a fabric-covered furniture, put some baking soda in a salt shaker or similar dispenser and sprinkle liberally.

Baking soda takes time to do its work, so let it be for an hour or so. For really bad situations, leave it on overnight as long as your pets won’t track it everywhere. Then thoroughly vacuum up all the baking soda. This should freshen up most fabrics.

Note: Baking soda neutralizes acidic compounds easily but may not be effective for all problems.

Find Your Lost Items

Everyone knows how annoying it is when you can’t spot a dropped pill or the back of an earring. So how do you find these items quickly and easily? With your vacuum.

Here’s the trick: Before you turn on the vacuum, cut off the end of a nylon and secure it on the end of your vacuum hose with a rubber band.

Vacuum Cleaner Spout Hack

Sometimes you need a little creativity to deep clean hard-to-reach areas. If you have a plastic squeeze top bottle, try fitting the tip onto your vacuum nozzle. If it fits, great. If not, there’s always tape. You’ll have a powerful machine to get rid of dirt and dust in even the tiniest of spaces, like a keyboard, headphone port or your car’s dashboard.

Long-Reach Vacuum

Central Vacuum for the Garage

Install two-inch sanitary tees on the ceiling and drop a pipe near each car door in your garage. Install a long 90-degree bend and a stubout to connect the hose. Cap off the stubout with a standard two-inch pipe cap when not in use.

No Air Pump? Use a Shop Vacuum

If you don’t own an air compressor to inflate your air mattresses or pool toys, use your shop vacuum instead.  Just pop the top off a plastic squeeze bottle and fit the top to your vacuum hose. You may have to use duct tape.

Once you’ve secured the top, attach the hose to the exhaust port. It’ll blow up your inflatables in no time. To deflate, attach the hose to the vacuum port and suck the air out.

Suck Out Drain Clogs

Simple DIY Vacuum Extension

Another way to clean hard-to-reach spots: Use a leftover wrapping paper tube as a vacuum cleaner extension.

Start by attaching the detail accessory that comes with a vacuum cleaner to the end of the hose extension. Next, fasten the wrapping paper tube over this attachment. For more suction, tape it to the end of the hose. You can also fold the other end of the tube for an “edge” like a hose.