Lowfi Posted June 9, 2018 Report Share Posted June 9, 2018 Hi all, I work out of my garage and am accumulating quite a bit of dust. I wet mop occasionally but I'll be honest, it could be much cleaner in there. Years of woodworking has not helped the situation at all. I have small children at home so I would really like to clean up the space and keep the airborne contaminants out of the area. My question is this. What would be the best way to remove dust from the space? My first thought was to hang a HEPA filter from the ceiling (~$200-250) but I am thinking there will be a ton of clogging. I am not a production potter by any means so my use isnt huge, I am just trying to put safety first for once in my life. My second thought was to have a regular old shop vac OUTSIDE of the garage and run the tubing through the wall so that I can vacuum up debris and then any dust that escapes would be outside of my house? Could this possibly work...ie; a regular woodworking dust collection system combined with a hanging HEPA filter? I've looked all over this site and found some members that have pieced together a system from Oneida but I'm just trying to get some more recent examples and clarity. Thank you so much for the help! Cheers! Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted June 10, 2018 Report Share Posted June 10, 2018 mark cortright has the best system i have ever seen, though i have not actually been there. "pieced together" is not necessarily bad, just made by a competent individual to suit an individual need. saying custom made sounds better. that is what yours will be when it is finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 10, 2018 Report Share Posted June 10, 2018 I suggest you run that shop vac system outside and use that to vacuum up the garage space. I'm the guy with the oneida/central vacuum system. The hepa bags get clogged fast so I tend to use non hepa bags as the exist is outside. Clay dust is hard on the motors so keep this in mind. I wrote about this in my post you found.I would run a cheap shop vac as it will be dead in the future if lots of clay goes thru it. Better it than you. I converted also a woodworking airborne dust air handler(Jet and delta makes them) for my studio. It handles the air you breath. It is in the rafters.It has a cloth bag inside it and a few air filters on the front-the inner one is a heap filter. I run this when making dust (glaze mixing) or feel there is dust around . It turns the small studio air very quickly. The trick is to find a heap filter that fits the existing units -they are all about 12"x24"I found the hepa filters online and tape them to the standard filter-Run a regular filter in front of the Hepa filter and change that more often. The outside shop vac system would be the key unit for you as it takes the bulk of the load outside. I wish I had made my system a few decades earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRoads Posted June 10, 2018 Report Share Posted June 10, 2018 In addition to building a vac system, somewhere on the board someone mentioned to never go directly from your shop to your living quarters if that is possible. I now have separate areas and have to walk outside to get to my living area. Really cut down the dust coming in there. Also, I never sweep and use a wet mop instead. (read that here too) Mix glaze in a deep bucket pouring water over it to avoid dust clouds. As for the young children, maybe keep them out of the area for dust safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowfi Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Awesome feedback everyone...this is what I need. I know I seem paranoid but I figured it was something worth being paranoid about (especially with two little kiddos running around). @Mark C. do you have issues with the dust that is vacuumed out blowing back into the studio or anything like that? Im worried that if i suck it out it will just blow back in. Do you use a crappy vacuum or are you using the fancy separator with the metal can still? Thanks all! Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 The dust never comes back in . I'm using a central vacuum system and the dust separator with the metal can-I clean it every 3 months -new bag in vacuum and new bag in can. The fine dust kills the motor brushes-so I change them out-I always have a new rebuilt motor ready to swap out. I suggest you buy a cheap shop vac and use that-mount that unit outside-you could always vent that into a water bucket as well. That will keep the dust to zero outside. fFor me when I see dust outside I change the vac bag. I also keep studio door closed when vacuuming . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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