# Clean your House with a Ridgid Vac



## rtb

FIRST let me say welcome to he family, pull up a stump and sit awhile. warning this site can be addictive. I like the way you use the shop vac in the house. I have done this for special cleanings but not thought about the things that you mention. Mine is far to big to drag around but I think that you have found an excellent mix.


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## WayneC

Welcome, I use my shop vac at times as well.


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## RvK

My sister arranged for a Kirby demonstration (she wanted the free rug cleaning they do lol) and the guy was telling us about the suction comparisons and all, and he's like "the only thing with more suction power is a shop vac…" *DING* hey, I have a shop vac!


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## d_webb

I actually enjoy cleaning my house because of this thing. People always think I'm joking, or it's just a guy "being a guy" kind of thing, but I will never clean my house with anything else. As long as you have the hepa filter, it works.

I will admit that using it for wet stuff isn't so great. I had the bright idea of just soaking my kitchen floor, and then vac-ing it up; you know, like sweeping and mopping in one easy step… because it is after all a wet vac. But because it's so small, after it had about a gallon of water in it, it starting blowing water out the exhaust, and spraying the walls and appliances with dirty water. It was a mess, and I learned from my mistake.

But yeah, for dry stuff (and small puddles) it's great.


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## FJDIII

Tim the Tool Man would be proud!!!!!!!! AAAAAARGGGGHHHH!! Now if Pam was there to lend a hand…..


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## JohnGray

I have the Ridgid Vac the mounts on the wall in my shop and must admit it is powerful and I LOVE IT. I also bought a remote, aftermarket Rockler I believe, switch for it, I carry it in my pocket and it works from anywhere on the premises.


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## davidmicraig

Cool idea. Only issue you might have is the lack of a carpet beater. Hardwood floors would be a cinch, but without a beater on the vacuum, dirt does have a tendency to go deep into the carpet.

Welcome to LJs and thanks for posting.

David


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## charlie48

Welcome to LJs.Just last week my wife told me we were having some one come over to show us a air cleaning machine,well you guessed it it was a 2800.00 thats correct ( 2800.00 ) vac. system. I damn near had the big one.I can't wait to show her this , as I have three shop vacs.Thanks d_webb you just saved me money ,I may have to go out and get a new TS.


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## thiel

So… which one of us will up the ante by rolling a cyclone into the living room? 

I will say that my wife wanted a Miele vacuum, and since I was able to distract her with it while rolling a new cabinet saw into the house, I said "Sure!" It was $400.00 well spent. The suction is so impressive that I DON'T bring my shopvac indoors to clean up after renovations, and I pull the Miele out to the driveway to clean the car. And it's so quiet that I actually always plan to make phone calls while vacuuming (not joking!) so I use the time more effectively. I have no idea how they made this thing. Must be alien technology.


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## XACX

I am a big Consumer Reports believer and they love the Ridgid Vacs. I think they score tops in every catagory, if not then definitely 2nd. At the price you can't beat them. Also they must hate Dyson because in the convential home vacuums they score Dyson way down towards the bottom. If your interested, the Hoover U6485 (anniv. edition in blue about $150) scores at the top for convential vacuums. I got one and love it. My Inlaws are supposed to be getting me the Ridgid 16Gallon for Christmas, but I am sure they will screw it up like last year when they got me a Husquavarna leaf blower instead of the Stihl. They spent about $50 more on something that was not as good a product. Nice review, good to see that Consumer reports was on target.


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## longgone

My wife and I also have been using shop vacs for years around the house. I currently have a $79 Ridgid vac on wheels and it does a great job.


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## sikrap

I have this vac and its great!! I don't use it in the shop too much, but if you connect the hose to your sander, there is nothing better (AFAIK) for sanding sheetrock. I got mine for $5 at a garage sale and figured "what the hell, let's give it a try". It TOTALLY eliminated any additional cleaning after sanding the drywall.


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## mtkate

I admit, I do it too. I put in ear plugs and turn on the shop vac. I even vacuum one of my dogs with it. She loves it and during shedding season it's miraculous… The only problem is when you turn on the shop vac, the smell of dog is pervasive… gotta love dogs.


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## MikeGager

yep and the vacuum exhaust is great for blowing dog fur out from under your couch!


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## sidestepmcgee

during this last black friday the depot blew out a 5 hp shop vac for 15 or 20 cant remember, by time I got there they sold out.darn


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## hardbroke

I use a 1.5 gal. to clean-up spills on our carpet. I haven't found a carpet shampooer that will suck as much water out of the carpet as a shop vac yet. I use a soapy rag or for bigger spills a soft nylon bristle brush to do the cleaning. To rinse I just pour a little more water over the spot rub alittle and vac it up almost dry.


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## kevinct

good way to catch bugs too, had a bunch of those lady bugs in the windows this fall, instead of squashing them and making a mess, I just vacuumed them up and released them outside. I have 3 ridgids, love them. They have a cool little bucketvac these days that fit 5 gallon buckets.


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## BigBard

Excellent post guys, I enjoyed all of this info especially considering i have 2 rigid vacs and was thinking of getting a Dyson for the house.


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## userfriendly

The BEST RIDGID in my opinion is the one I actually registered for when we got married. It is the big momma jomma that doubles as a leaf blower. (the motor actually comes off of the top with handle) I use that in the garage/yard and have a smaller one that we use in the house. They are the best and nothing compares to them. I know someone who has had one so long, they replaced the cord on it, now that it saying something.


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## d_webb

Hey David, maybe I didn't make myself clear. I do actually have a carpet beater for this Ridgid, it's actually shown in the above picture. It's not a Ridgid made carpet beater, it's a generic one that I bought at an independent vacuum cleaner store. The Ridgid, or other shop vac style, carpet beaters are really cheap and don't work.

The one in the picture above is actually a $50 attachment and it works on suction alone. It's not like some carpet beaters that need an electric supply to run an internal motor. And even though it is powered by suction, it doesn't slow down the Ridgid at all.


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## MattyAz

Well I have a 6hp shop vac in my garage that is mounted with a 30 foot hose for cleaning the garage and the cars in the driveway. I'm going to run pvc pipe through the garage to a spot in the house and make a connection/door like a central vac uses to use a hose inside the house. Since my entire house is entirely tile except for the bedrooms this is going to work awesome. Also I need to do now is order the hose, wall door, wand, wood floor tip for the wand, one of those wireless outlets that have a switch to turn the unit on. Bedrooms I'll use the dyson. I have 5 cats 2 dogs ..


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## Lee61

Hah!! I've been using shopvacs for years on my floors. Now that the old canister vac that I think was my mother-in-law's FINALLY went, and so (thankfully) has that dumb upright (u know-the kind that can make a person horizontal?) we can finally get a shop vac.. I've said for years this was the best buy-not those hundreds if dollar things not many can afford. And those who CAN afford the expensive ones and buy em deserve to have been taken to the cleaners. I think it's just silly spending that much. And yes, we have an 18 year old who brings friends over and we do have a bunny and a cat and it does work. Thank you, d_webb.


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