VacmasterPro 8 gallon Certified Hepa Filtration Wet/Dry Vac,Black

I purchased this vacuum because I was restoring our wooden windows and needed something that could suck up lead paint. It did a great job, my blood test came back with hardly any in my system after 200 hours in sealed off remediation areas. I work in property management and occasionally use it for nasty questionable stuff. For the most part I use it as a home vacuum now, it's suction power is amazing, the vac attachment does a great job separating hair and dust so it doesn't clog up. My house has never been so clean and dust free. The bags are a little expensive and it's a fairly heavy machine, but it's a HEPA unit so idk what people expect lol. I don't even use our normal vacuum anymore. Why bother, this thing is a beast and does a superior job.

This thing is a workhorse!- Suction is unbelievable- Picked up nails, staples and pieces of carpet tack & never jammed up- Really easy to move around for being a pretty big shop vac.- Doesn't constantly tip over like every over shop vac I've had before- Doesn't blow dust around - keeps it contained- Attachments are great & pretty easy to take on & off- Hose length is great for maneuverabilityONLY complaint is the metal sections of the hose are near impossible for me to take apart after initial connection - bc of the paint. My husband & I each have to grab an end & wrestle them apart. But I will just keep that section assembled bc it's not worth the hassle.I got it to remove mold spores from carpet & deep clean the subfloors before putting down new flooring. A professional mold removal co was going to charge me $4000 to do the job. Once I did my research I realized I could do it myself with the right equipment (and process). This shop vac was a critical element to the success of the project. This was one of the highest rated & most affordable true HEPA vacs I could find. I know I made a good call getting it.It works so good that I am continuing to use this as my primary vacuum on new LVP. I did clean it out with an antifungal spray & change the bag. Good as the day I took it out the box.

I purchased this vacuum recently (Feb. 2015), so haven't had it very long. I bought it for use in my cellar, where I use a tablesaw and other power tools for woodworking. Thus far, I have been very pleased with this vacuum - the cellar is 24' x 28', so the cord and hose length are more than ample to my needs. The unit seems to be solidly made and durable, with nice attachments made of good plastic, and on a smooth concrete floor it has given absolutely no problem with tipping. I can see that, on a more uneven surface or if you moved it about harshly or in the wrong fashion, that could be more of an issue. I am impressed with the fit and finish, especially the hose attachment to the canister, which is a screw fit, not friction. And it certainly has strong suction and moves plenty of air - but the exhaust does not shoot out in a hard stream stirring up the same dust clouds that you are trying to deal with - a problem with a previously used shop vac. The noise seems reasonable especially considering the power - certainly quieter than the 3 hp I had used previously which had the high pitched vacuum sound that we all love so well.....The only problem I had was having the bag pop off its stub a little bit. There is a flexible sealing membrane that fits over the inlet, but it didn't hold on strongly enough. There is a sliding cardboard handle (apparently used to pull a sealing flap over the hole in the bag for disposal ) with a small V in it along one side. I found that if I put the bag on and gently pulled on the tab, the V apparently secured it against the inlet. I don't know if that was what was Supposed To Happen, but it seemingly worked.Before stumbling across that method, I had called Cleva, and was very pleased with their customer service. The woman who answered thought there might possibly be a flaw in the supplied bag, and immediately said she would send a new one, hassle-free. It looks the exact same, but the notch seems to do the trick. If that is What You Are Supposed To Do, it would be nice for VacMaster to say so in the instructions.In the short time that I have had and used it, I would very much agree with an on-line reviewer who said that it is the best value for a machine of its quality and HEPA certification. It likely isn't perfect, but it really is very nice and certainly the best buy I could find after searching the Internet for 2-3 weeks. I've been using a broom for the big piles of sawdust and planer shavings on the floor, and this vacuum for the dust and other surfaces that never used to get cleaned, like board piles and overhead pipes and joists and sawhorses- the cellar is much more pleasant and healthier to be down in, after just a little time using this vacuum.I am very happy with my purchase, consider the $200 well spent and have already offered it to a friend to try out.