Handheld vacuum to clean up around hearth

[jayVI]

Anyone use a small handheld vacuum to clean up around the hearth? We have an insert in the living room and I end up with wood, dirt and ash around the hearth. I bought a little dust brush from HD but it seems to do a poor job of cleaning up.

Do you have a favorite? I was looking at the Black and Decker Pivot 20v. Dyson also came to mind but seems expensive for the purpose. We have a nice miele when we want to vaccum the whole house.

Not looking to clean out the ash IN the insert, but is it safe to clean around the insert with a regular vacuum? presuming you are not vacuuming up coals?

Thanks!

 

[Sawset]

A couple embers, however small, and it's toast.
Used a small dust vac for a while, until I noticed a small hole in the filter. Danger Will Robinson.
I try to keep ash in the stove or ash pan, sweep up with a broom, and on the few occasions ash gets loose, a wet rag to clean up.

 

[Bad LP]

I will only use the cordless vac when there has been ZERO activity at the insert for at least 6 hours. I will use it anytime between the wood hoop and the ember mat. It always gets a quick use around the front entry. We have a dirt drive and a rather expensive wood floor after the tiled areas.
Dyson is worth the money IMHO.

 

[PistolPeets]

I have a Dyson V6. It's one of the older models and was about $200 over a year ago when I got it. I use it on all the floors and it has a short nozzle for sucking up dirt/bark/ash from the hearth and floor in front of the stove. I've never sucked up anything hot with it but I don't burn 24/7 either. The battery died just short of one year and was covered under warranty and was replaced by Dyson. I'm a fan. And If this one goes up, I'd gladly get another.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Anyone use a small handheld vacuum to clean up around the hearth? We have an insert in the living room and I end up with wood, dirt and ash around the hearth. I bought a little dust brush from HD but it seems to do a poor job of cleaning up.

Do you have a favorite? I was looking at the Black and Decker Pivot 20v. Dyson also came to mind but seems expensive for the purpose. We have a nice miele when we want to vaccum the whole house.

Not looking to clean out the ash IN the insert, but is it safe to clean around the insert with a regular vacuum? presuming you are not vacuuming up coals?

Thanks!

Bought a really small shop vac for exactly this purpose. Not cordless, and usually use it for blowing stuff off, but it works great for the purpose you are describing.

As others have mentioned, avoid live embers.

 

[Miggss]

I bought a handheld makita vacuum that runs off the 18 volt battery from my drill. Works awesome for a quick clean up around the hearth. Definitely careful about any live embers though.

 

[blacktail]

I have a small shark handheld. It works ok. Definitely be conscious of vacuuming embers. Mine gets used around the front of my insert before I start my fire after work usually. One complaint about the shark is that it blows dust out the first couple seconds after cleaning the filter, so I just turn it on outside when I put the filter back in.
I also have a bissell "multireach" cordless for the floor. It doesn't do well getting dog hair out of the rug, but it's acceptable at cleaning up wood debris.

 

[Socratic Monologue]

Our older Dyson was getting pretty worn out after a few years; we use it a lot, for almost everything. We retired it to part time duty in the basement and got a V7, which is the oldest model in their current lineup but still a great vac. They're really easy to empty, so if you're concerned about embers you might simply empty it after use.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

A little hand vac is super convenient for small cleanups. I have an old Hover hand vac and it works well. I had been frustrated in that it would lose suction fairly quickly after I had cleaned the small, washable filter. I started to shop around a bit for a new one and then it hit me - ash is super fine and will clog a filter very quickly. Not just my little Hover, but any hand vac.

So, I now do more sweep up and then use the hand vac - much better. I'll use it all day on small wood debris around the stove, but I won't try to clean up much ash with it. It is quite perfect to pick up that little bit of ash that really cleans things up.

I didn't figure out the whole filter thing until I picked up a small ash vac to use for bigger cleanups. Before I bought it, I took a look inside of it - wondering, "What is the "magic" of an ash vac?" Well the answer is a GIANT filter! That filter is probably about 50 times larger than the little filter in my hand vac, so it takes 50 times longer for it to clog up and need to be washed.

 

[DodgyNomad]

I like the little Ryobi one vac. That's an inexpensive platform, they have a ton of different tools, and the batts are pretty cheap. Work well.

 

[jayVI]

I like the little Ryobi one vac. That's an inexpensive platform, they have a ton of different tools, and the batts are pretty cheap. Work well.

Thanks everyone. Might still get the little B&D, as I mainly just want to get the wood debris that end up on the floor.

 

[Sawset]

I have a black and decker. Nice unit. Charge it up, lasts 25min or so, something like that - enough to vac a lot of areas in the house. I do use it around the stove for getting into places hard to clean. I avoid ash though, don't want the worry of having a lint firestarter sitting around.

 

[BigJ273]

I keep a small ASH VAC on the back step. I use it to vacuum around the stove and hearth area. I would never use a regular vacuum for this. Inevitably you WILL vacuum up a small ember, which WILL cause a fire in a regular vacuum. Ash vacs only run around $70. Well worth the investment. Certainly less than the insurance deductible. Trust me, I’ve been there and done that. Not fun.