Three things keep a vacuum working through a whole job.
1. Always use a bag for dry work
The bag takes the bulk; the filter catches what escapes. Vacuuming plaster or sawdust without a bag is the fastest way to ruin a pleated element.
2. Use the filter cleaning button
If the machine has one, press it every few minutes on dusty work rather than waiting for the suction to die. It knocks the pleats clear without opening anything.
3. Fit a cyclone for real dust
A cyclone separator drops the great majority of debris into a bucket before it reaches the filter. On sanding, chopping or sweeping up a building mess, it is worth more than a bigger vacuum.
And check the hose
A blockage in the hose looks exactly like a dead motor. Disconnect it and look through it before diagnosing anything else — it takes ten seconds.
The questions we hear
Fleece or paper bags?
Fleece, almost always. Paper clogs at its inlet face and suction fades long before the bag is full; fleece filters across its whole area and holds several times as much. On ash, plaster or fine sand a paper bag can choke in a single session.
Can I wash a pleated filter?
Rinse it, dry it completely, and accept a little lost performance each time. Fine dust driven into the pleats is permanent. Never refit a damp filter — the next dust it catches sets like cement.
Last reviewed 2026-08-15