Can I Use a Vacuum Cleaner for Fireplace Ashes?

Standard Vacuum Cleaners

• The quality of vacuum cleaner bags continually change and improve. Clean air through HEPA filtration functions aid vacuums in removing dust from air as well as the floor during a vacuuming session. The deep filtration function may be a sufficient feature for capturing minute fire ash particles. If a vacuum cleaner has this function, try it on a small amount of fireplace ash. If it does well, then this is an option for cleaning up fireplace ash. The last thing anyone would want is for a vacuum cleaner to spew fireplace ashes back into the room, landing as dust on every surface. This is why it is important to test the vacuum before putting it to use.

Ultra-Fine-Dust Vacuum Bags

• A sure way to make a standard vacuum cleaner usable for cleaning fireplace ashes is to use ultra-fine-dust vacuum bags. Locate the make and model of the vacuum cleaner, and check to see if this type of bag is available for it. An ultra-fine-dust vacuum bag prevents minute dust particles from escaping beyond the bag's walls and back into the air in the room.

Using a Wet-Dry Vacuum

• An alternative to a vacuum cleaner is to use a wet-dry vacuum. The dust that collects inside of the wet-dry vac is not as bothersome as the household vacuum becoming filled with fireplace-ash dust. An easy way to prevent the fireplace ash from blowing right back into the room as the wet-dry vac vacuums it up is to outfit it with an ultra-fine wet-dry vac bag. These bags are available at the stores that supply wet-dry vac parts, and they fit over the inside vacuum return. As the air is forced through the bag, it will capture mostly all of its fine particles.

  Another option to the standard wet-dry vac is an ash vacuum. Functioning similar to the wet-dry vac, these are designed specifically for fireplace ash cleanup. A long vacuum hose is attached to a canister that has a built-in HEPA filtration feature.

The Bulk of the Cleanup

• Save yourself the headache of vacuuming up the fireplace ashes and resort to sweeping them up by hand. Slow strokes with a fireplace broom will keep the flying dust to a minimum. After disposing the collected ash, vacuum up the remaining ashes with a vacuum. With less volume to dispose of, any vacuum cleaner is certain to handle a little bit of ash.