16 Gallon 5.0 Peak HP NXT Wet Dry Vac (HD1640)

I have a Rigid 16 gallon/ 5hp shop vac that I've owned for about 15 years. They sell different types of filters, some are HEPA rated. I've used it for my construction business, work shop and home use. I don't have stairs in my house, but I've used the shop vac on the roof to Blow leaves and suck up debris. I just pop off the wheels so it doesn't roll off the roof. Plus it sucks up liquid spills and has more suction than any home vacuum cleaner. It has a 2 1/2" diameter hose to suck up large pieces and broken glass, something you wouldn't want to use a regular home vacuum for.

Thousandaire here. I’m your competition and have the Festool ecosystem. The Hepa vacs are compact and relatively quiet. They do an excellent job of dust collection when tools are attached. I used my ETS125 sander to prep a wall for repainting and there was almost no dust on the floor to clean up after. Added bonus: The tool plugs into the vac for automatic start/stop and there’s a Bluetooth accessory for remote starting. The little MIDI has become my go-to vac for quick cleanups. For reference I have the MIDI, the 36 (bigger version for saws and dust intensive activities, a Bosch 14 gal Hepa with the auto filter clean feature (thumps the filter at regular intervals), a DeWalt shop vac (the newer silent series), and two Ridgid 16 gallon shop vacs for general construction debris. All my regular shop vacs have Hepa filters and I run fleece (not paper) bags. I buy the fleece bags on Amazon. The fleece bags work so much better than paper bags and they can be filled all the way without degradation. When I change them, the filters and inside of the vacuum container are virtually dust-free. The only downside is the vacs get very heavy when the bags start to fill.

Rigid vacs....I have a big 16 gal one that ive had since 2005....only had to replace filter and the on/off switch. I also have a 4 gal Rigid for smaller areas and jobs.

Go to the pawn shop and get a construction vac (wet/dry vacuum). Never have to worry about suction, never have to worry about the mess to be picked up, bag or canister, works on any surface. Usually it'll be a Home Depot Rigid, so attachments and bags will be easy to find. And if you're really lazy, you can go a year or more without emptying. Like you might need to change the filter first. Oh! And it uses HEPA filters.

Miele. But if I had the room for it, I’d love to have a vintage Electrolux or a Hoover just for show. Edit: of course a RIGiD NXT shop vac as well. This is one case where the Home Depot house brand gets really good reviews. I also a VersaMatic left over from a previous place, which I don’t use. Not sure if they’re still made? Or maybe no longer imported into US? They’re great if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, which I don’t anymore. It’s a “hotel vacuum”. A skinny upright that can slide under furniture.

I have a whole house, a Miele, and a shop vac. FWIW, here's how I use them: 1. Whole house, I just stopped using - the Miele is just easier 2. The Miele is fantastic for a few reasons: (1.) for bare floors the extra wide, maneuverable head is awesome - it literally takes me 50% of the time any other vacuum ever has. (2.) For carpets the motorized brush that can flatten to easily get under couches & beds is, again, fantastic. Saves another 50%. (3.) And it's got some funky attachments like a super long crevice tool (like 4 feet!) that's bendy, so you can easily get behind stuff. (4.) Plus it's VERY quiet and has HEPA filters with easy to swap bags. If you value time & ease, the Mieles are WAY worth it. 3. The shop vac is a Rigid 5hp that I put HEPA filters in and removed the wheels, so, yes, I have to carry it around but for the jobs I use it for, that's ok. It's for the dryer, ceiling fans, above curtains, ceilings, window sills, doorways, ceiling lights, big dry spills, etc. I have another tool-box size Rigid that's permanently set up as a wet vac, but because it's toolbox size it's easy to clean up after spills. Two examples are I recently spilled powdered psyllium husk - what a mess! But my dry-setup Rigid took care of it in all in <5 min. This next example is ... horrid. I was making cold brew on our center island countertop in a large Kerr pickling jar as I've done for years. Well, I guess the jar decided it was time and suddenly just ... broke. Coffee & grounds immediately went all over; and yes we have cabinets in our center island so coffee went in all of them, the drawers, everything inside of the drawers, all over chairs, floor, etc. Total and instant disaster! Luckily I have that small toolbox Rigid wet vac always ready to go so was able to quickly vacuum up the water part before it seeped too far into anything. Next I used the dry vac to get all the wet grounds up including in all the drawers & doors, floor, walls, etc. Of course I had to toss & replace the hepa filters and wash out the hose and attachments but it was worth it. TLDR: I recommend a good high quality indoor vac in combo with the shop-vac(s).

I currently have several but my Milwaukee m18 pack out vac gets the most use. It’s pricey but awesome. After that, ridgid makes really nice ones. Go for about 5hp and the smaller hose for general house cleaning.