That $250 shop vac I bought on a whim actually saved me today

Had a call this morning where a client's flue was completely blocked with this weird drywall dust and mortar mix. Old renovation job they never cleaned up after. My regular vacuum couldn't handle it, kept clogging every 5 minutes. Pulled out the Ridgid I grabbed on sale last month and it sucked up everything in one pass. Anyone else ever get burned by not having the right gear for a weird blockage?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oscar2mo ago

A shop vac is a shop vac man. Its not that serious. You probably could have just knocked the blockage loose with a broom handle and saved yourself 250 bucks. But hey if it makes you feel better about the purchase go ahead and call it a lifesaver. I just think people overhype this stuff way too much. A regular shop vac would have done the same thing after you broke up the clog a little.

tarajenkins20d agoMost Upvoted

Oh totally, I mean I see where you're coming from but I had a friend who tried the broom handle thing and it was a whole mess. He shoved a broom handle into his shop vac clog and it got stuck in there, then he broke the handle trying to pull it back out. Had to take the whole thing apart to get the pieces out. So yeah, sometimes you can cheap out but other times you just pay the price for convenience. Idk, maybe it just depends on the kind of clog you've got.

ninabutler2mo ago

Pulled out the Ridgid" - man, I feel you, nothing worse than gear failing you right when you need it most.