When you think about vacuum cleaners you know they pick up dirt and other debris off the floor, they have bags that have to be emptied once in awhile and they are handy to have around. Most people do not think much about commercial vacuums, especially ones like the Hepa vacuum cleaner.
The kind of vacuum cleaner used for household purposes will not be effective with chemical spills, asbestos, industrial and construction debris. This requires a vacuum that is especially designed for this purpose. What you might not realize is that a regular vacuum puts particles, allergens and other things back into the air and is breathed by the person doing the clean up. While this is not especially dangerous in your home it is on an industrial site.
This industrial vacuum has a sealed-in filter, which is not found in the household model. This keeps the contaminants contained, even when the vacuum is being emptied. As a result, if you are the person doing this kind of cleanup, there is no danger of breathing harmful fumes or other materials.
Professionals, who work in cleaning up construction and other materials, often test their vacuum cleaner by using a laser particle counter. This machine measures the amount of particles in the air to make sure there is no leak. Leaking contaminants can make you very ill when used in chemical and asbestos waste cleanup.
These industrial machines are not only used for chemicals, asbestos and other construction materials but for mold as well. When professionals are called into your home because of mold contamination, this is usually the type of machine they will use. It not only protects the user but also prevents the mold spores from moving into other parts of the home.
There are models of the Hepa vacuum cleaner especially designed to pick up wet or dry materials and others that specify wet or dry only. On large construction sites there are often large holding tanks and motors rather then a vacuum bag such as you use at home. If you are engaged in any kind of clean up that involves dangerous materials it is important to have the right equipment to do the job in a safe and clean manner.
