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Any tricks for emptying/cleaning central vacuum?
QUESTION: I emptied our central vacuum cannister for the first time last nite. Ours is
the cannister type, with 2 latches that snap on the unit. Getting the
bottom part off was easy and wasn't the problem, but I noticed that there
was some sort of bag or filter in the upper part of the cannister that was
also covered in dust. I hit it once and dust flew everywhere. I tried to
put a trash bag around the unit and hit the filter from the outside, but
that didn't work too well.
Could anyone explain actually what that bag/filter is inside (is it really a
filter?) and does anyone have any tricks for easily cleaning it?
ANSWER: It probably depends on the type of vacuum...
On mine, a Beam, the "bag" has a weight sewn in the center. I wrap a bag
around the outside of the housing, holding it tight with one hand, then
grab the weight thru the bag I'm holding and shake. Wait a few minutes
for the dust to settle in the bag, remove it, put the bottom can back on
and that's it...
While I don't have personal experience with central vac systems, what
you described sounds EXACTLY like the innards of a Shop Vac. The big
stuff falls to the bottom of the can, and the dust gets caught by the
filter bag.
With Shop Vacs, the filter bags are made of paper, slide over a
foam-rubber cylinder and are held in place by a heavy duty rubber
band. They're disposable and are sold in multi-packs at the hardware
store.
Don't know if your bags are meant to be cleaned and re-used or tossed
out, but the mechanism sure SOUNDS the same. And yes, the process of
changing the bag can be quite messy, depending on what you've been
vacuuming up.
In my central vac, the "paper bag" is what has all the dirt
INSIDE it, and is disposed of dirt and all. (There is a hard, disk
shaped secondary filter also, for any dirt that got past the bag; that
is cleaned and re-used, however since I have exterior discharge I
don't much care whether the 2ndary filter performs well.)
In your case, I'd say you put the g-bag around it, remove it, and
either replace it our shake it out, outdoors.
Maybe you could switch to the kind that I have!
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