Types of Vacuums that Efficiently Clean Construction Sites

Construction sites can be messy and treacherous, mainly when the conditions are humid or dusty. It’s no wonder that industrial vacuums have become an essential tool for construction workers.

Specially designed to handle high-pressure, high-paced work environments, they optimize performance while minimizing the risk of injury and damage to equipment. Fortunately, there are a variety of industrial vacuums on the market today. Each has its own set of pros and cons based on your needs.

Understanding your options is the first step toward purchasing the perfect vacuum for you and your crew. Below we’ll explore the different types of vacuum available for construction sites, their benefits, and some examples of each type.

Whether you’re looking for a specific feature or want to know more about each type before making a decision, this guide can help you narrow down your options and make an informed choice about which construction equipment is best for you.

Commercial Vacuum Cleaners Vs. Industrial Vacuum Cleaners

A commercial vacuum cleaner is typically used to clean industrial or commercial areas, such as warehouses, factories, and offices. The industrial vacuum cleaner is designed for industrial applications, including construction sites.

Industrial vacuums are much more powerful than commercial vacuums, often having up to ten times the suction power. This makes them ideal for cleaning large, industrial-sized messes.

An upright vacuum cleaner, designed for industrial purposes, tends to be lightweight and easy to maneuver. The wet and dry dirt canisters are separated for a commercial backpack vacuum to prevent clogs and reduce cleanup time.

They also have larger filters to retain more dirt and debris. Additionally, industrial vacuums are often outfitted with HEPA vacuum filters and anti-static hoses to ensure the air quality is kept clean and safe for workers on site.

Best Commercial Vacuum Cleaner For Industrial Use

When it comes to the best commercial vacuum cleaners, there are many different types on the market, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

The industrial standard is the upright industrial vacuum cleaner, which features robust construction and a powerful motor with up to ten times the suction power of a regular commercial vacuum cleaner. These industrial vacuums are designed to handle large industrial messes efficiently, and their HEPA filters help ensure a cleaner workspace.

A canister vacuum with semi-automatic filter cleaning is another excellent industrial-grade vacuum cleaner for industrial purposes. These vacuums are powerful, feature a large filter bag or canister, and have a variety of attachments to make cleaning a breeze.

What Is An Industrial Vacuum?

A vacuum cleaner has two parts: the “dirty” side that collects dirt and other debris and the “clean” side that filters and expels it. The difference between industrial and residential vacuums is the amount and types of dust and debris the machine can handle.

Residential vacuum cleaners are designed for typical household dirt, dust, and crumbs, but commercial-grade vacuums are designed for much messier environments.

For example, construction sites and industrial manufacturing plants create more dust and debris than normal household cleaning. Industrial vacuums are designed from the ground up to handle this mess.

They can handle large debris and high volumes of dust while maintaining optimal filtration. Typical residential vacuums rely on a bag, which you must change once it’s full. Industrial vacuums, on the other hand, are bagless. This means the machine has a cyclone filter, a vacuum filter, a filter bag that catches debris and dust, and a blower that expels it.

This allows the industrial vacuum to clean continuously while minimizing the need to stop and empty the dirt.

Dry Coating Vacuums

When dust, debris, or other materials collect on an industrial surface, it’s called a “coat.” Coatings can increase the cost of production by clogging up production lines and creating a safety hazard for employees. Dry coatings are made up of small, dry particles. This type of coating is found in industrial manufacturing, mining, and agriculture.

It has a high potential for ignition and can become explosive due to the presence of organics. Dry coating vacuums are designed to handle dry coatings. They efficiently collect dust, chips, and other small, dry particles with minimal pressure drop. This makes them well-suited for applications where dust is heavy and frequent.

Dry coating vacuums are often large-capacity machines, meaning they can hold a lot of materials at once. This is important when working with dry coatings because you’ll need a large-capacity machine to collect the excess at high speeds while maintaining a low-pressure drop.

Wet Coating Vacuums

Wet coatings are fluids or liquids that contain small particles, such as metal chips. They come from metal manufacturing and parts washers. Wet coatings can clog filters, damage pumps, and short-out blowers.

They can also cause electric motors to overheat and start a fire. Wet coating vacuums are designed for cleaning wet coatings. They include filters that are resistant to small metal chips. They also have large impellers. 

Impellers are the rotating part of the vacuum that pulls materials into the machine. They are often shielded to prevent damage from chips.

These vacuums can be used for various applications, but they are particularly well-suited for cleaning up wastewater or fluids. They can also clean wet materials that dry vacuums can’t handle, such as food waste.

Continuous Discharge Dust Collector (CDDC)

CDDC is a type of wet-coating vacuum designed for continuous discharge. It’s used to collect large amounts of dust. The central component of a CDDC is a large, circular cone called a hopper. The hopper is covered in a perforated screen. The hopper sits above the vacuum and acts as a dust collector.

As particles are sucked into the vacuum, they are funneled into the hopper. Once the hopper is full, the air pressure inside the machine becomes too high to continue collecting dust. 

Canister vacuums are designed to handle large loads of industrial dust and debris. They use multiple filters and cyclones, which makes them more efficient than traditional vacuums.

The machine opens a valve, and the dust falls out of the hopper and into a container or bag below. This type of vacuum is best suited for high-volume applications where dust accumulates even while you’re trying to clean it.

Cyclonic Vacuums

A cyclone is a device that filters dust and debris by spinning it around in a circle. Cyclonic vacuums use cyclones to filter and expel materials. They are a type of wet-coating vacuum that uses cyclones to filter liquids.

Cyclonic vacuums are efficient machines that are often used in industry settings where a large number of liquids must be filtered and expelled. They can handle large amounts of liquids because they use cyclones, which have a larger effective surface area than filters.

This means they are more efficient at filtering liquids. Industrial cyclonic vacuums may be single-stage or two-stage machines. A single-stage machine has a single cyclone. A two-stage machine has two cyclones. Each cyclone is connected to a vacuum filter.

The first cyclone filters the material and sends it to the second cyclone. The second cyclone separates the liquid from the dry material and expels the liquid.

Rotary Disc Coupled (RDC) Vacuums

RDC vacuums are wet-coating machines. They use discs to filter liquids and solids. RDC vacuums are typically single-stage machines with a single cyclone. While they are not as efficient at filtering liquids as cyclonic vacuums, they are also less expensive to manufacture.

They are generally more powerful than cyclonic vacuums and can handle a wider range of materials. RDC vacuums are often used in applications where a large volume of liquids, like oil or water, must be filtered and expelled.

They are also used in applications with a high amount of fine dust, such as in paper or plastic manufacturing. A good vacuum cleaner for industrial use quickly and efficiently cleans construction sites.

Industrial Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaners

Wet/dry vacuums are versatile machines that can handle a variety of materials, including liquids, dry dirt, and small particles. They are also useful for cleaning up wet materials that dry vacuums can’t handle, such as food waste.

They are often cheaper than other industrial vacuum cleaners and are a good choice for light-duty industrial cleaning. Wet/dry vacuums can be used for wet material, such as cleaning up spilled liquids, or dry material, such as dust and dirt. They can be very efficient at collecting large amounts of material.

These vacuums have filters but often don’t have the same level of filtration as cyclonic or RDC vacuums. This means that they will clog more quickly and require more frequent cleaning.

Multi-Purpose Industrial Vacuums

Multi-purpose industrial vacuums are one of the most versatile options. They are designed to handle many materials and applications, making them perfect for light-duty industrial cleaning.

They are inexpensive compared to other industrial vacuums, but they still have the power and versatility to handle almost any industrial cleaning job. They are often able to collect both wet and dry material and have filters that can be easily cleaned.

Key Takeaway

The automotive industry is a harsh environment, and industrial vacuums are important for keeping it clean and safe.

If you’re a contractor or work at a construction site, there’s a good chance you’ve used a vacuum at some point. And while you may already know what a vacuum is, you may not be familiar with the different types of vacuums on the market.

Industrial vacuums are designed for high-volume, heavy-duty use. They are different from residential vacuums in a few ways.

Residential vacuums are designed for normal household dirt, dust, and crumbs, but industrial vacuums are designed for much messier environments. With industrial vacuum cleaners, you can keep your workspace clean and free from dust, dirt, and debris quickly and efficiently.