# Cleaning your Shop with a Leaf Blower?



## Slider20 (Dec 21, 2016)

I've heard people mention that they clean their shop with a leaf blower, they open the door, put a fan pointed outside and go to town with a leaf blower.

I've got decent dust collection and a passive air filter, but inevitably there is fine dust around.

My concern is getting the dust where it should be, is this a good idea?

Any experience.

Here's a pick of my shop if that matters, I have some more picks if needed in my profile.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Just used one today to clean up around the lathe 

I have a little electric one for small messes, and a gasoline backpack blower for when the shop really gets out of hand.

Cheers,
Brad


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I do this all the time. I've got cheap Ryobi battery powered one that works great.. It is especially handy for getting dust off the top of things up high but it also allows me to get dust that can't be reached with a broom or wide vac nozzle without having to move stuff around.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

Absolutely! For me it's the final step after I've trashed, vac'd and swept. Just make sure all the paper, brushes and half empty glue bottles are off of the tables. You'll learn the technique and how to finesse it just like any other power tool.


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## rustfever (May 3, 2009)

The only way to go!


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## TraylorPark (Jan 9, 2014)

I too do it all the time. I've got a little electric one that works great. Even good for all the cobwebs that accumulate in the exposed rafters. I've got an old fan from a furnace that I use for exhaust and start blowing towards it from the back.


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## Slider20 (Dec 21, 2016)

Okay, seems like this method works, I'll give it a go, thanks so much everyone.


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## Woodbum (Jan 3, 2010)

I set my shop fans in the open overhead doorway and open the side doors to the shop ( 2 of 3 bays in a 3 car garage) to get a good cross draft after I have swept and vacuumed as much as I can get. Then I go at it with my Husqvarna gas yard blower. It gets a lot of dust etc. you won't get otherwise and all the extraneous cobwebs too. Lock down the light stuff first so you don't have to chase it down the driveway. Works great-try it!


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## HickWillis (Aug 5, 2016)

I do this, but the other way around kind of. Most of my shop is in my basement, but my table saw is in a large shed outside the house. I usually don't use dust collection since I am in open air. When I'm done using the saw, I use the vacuum attachment on my leaf blower to suck up all the sawdust and then blow everything else to the wind.


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

Yep … same here! I use a small electric blower every so often to clean out my shop. The leaf blower is the ONLY time I have anything electric in the shop … freaks out the neighbors!


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## JRsgarage (Jan 2, 2017)

i like to blow my equipments out with a small air compressor and tend to use it and leaf blower for garage.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Wear a dust mask.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

And here I thought I was the only one with *********************************** dust removal! I sweep first then shop vac the inside of machines and in t-tracks, dog holes etc. on all the tables. Then I open the bay doors and start in the back of the shop and blow it all out. I usually use TS and miter saw out in the driveway and have DC on BS, jointer and planer so it surprises me how much fine stuff finds it way into the nooks and crannies.


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## jimintx (Jan 23, 2014)

> And here I thought I was the only one with *********************************** dust removal! ...
> - HokieKen


Hardly! I learned the technique from the Caddy Shack movie, and have used it often ever since.

I've employed it in the mudroom area of the house as well, when tracked in grit and dog hair puffs have gotten out of control.

Mine is a small electric. For more portability in the space, I've been thinking of adding one that would use the same 20v batteries as my Dewalt hand tools.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Good idea or not, I do it all the time…..it's by far the fastest way to get leafs and saw dust out of the shop. If you've got an air filter, just turn it on for a while after.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Great of you've got a garage door….. I don't!


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

The long axis of my shop runs east/west and we can get some pretty good wind from the west occasionally. I open the window on the Weest and the overhead door on the east and complete dust eradication only takes a couple minutes with a handheld gas leaf blower.


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## Carloz (Oct 12, 2016)

That is the first thing I did when I did not have any dust collection yet. The sawdust was removed instantly from all the tools and the floor. I was happy. However when I came in the next day I saw the tools still relatively clean but everything else in the garage covered with a film of very fine dust. Apparently only part of it escaped through the garage door. My better half gave me some hard time after that I broke up and bough Jet air cleaner and HF dust collector. I have almost no problem with dust now. The place where I work still gets messy but at least the dust does not penetrate into the other parts of the garage.


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## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

works great for dryin cars/motorcycles after washing,too.
when I detail a car, after getting everything out of the interior, I use the leaf blower to get a lot of the crud out before breaking out the vacuum. pretty wild what can come poppin out from between/under seats.


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

> works great for dryin cars/motorcycles after washing,too.
> when I detail a car, after getting everything out of the interior, I use the leaf blower to get a lot of the crud out before breaking out the vacuum. pretty wild what can come poppin out from between/under seats.
> 
> - tomsteve


TOO FUNNY!! I need to try that on my Jeep … *stand back!*


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## jimintx (Jan 23, 2014)

> works great for dryin cars/motorcycles after washing,too.
> - tomsteve


Oh YES. 
I learned this when I got a nice "collectable" type of car, and visited with other car zealots that taught me about using a blower for drying. It's especially nice to blow water out of the nooks and crannies, and panel seams, and around lights and mirrors!


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

> Wear a dust mask.
> 
> - rwe2156


... and shower afterwards … LOL!


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## Heywood (Jun 8, 2014)

Before you blow out the sawdust, make sure the neighbors have their windows open and just washed a vehicle in the driveway. They will love you even more.


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## jimintx (Jan 23, 2014)

Haha, yep - well, any car in Houston that sits outside will be covered with pollen and other particulates within a few hours, almost every day of the year, unless it is raining. 
Mine sits under a carport so it takes a few extra hours for it to be fully coated.


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## xeddog (Mar 2, 2010)

I use one too, but not as often as I would like. The prevailing winds will just blow it all back into my garage shop. I have to wait for those days when the winds come from the opposite direction. On those days, everyone downwind is NOT my friend that day. The only solace they get is watching me chase down some piece of paper that didn't get stashed or anchored down properly. I have a fairly large leaf blower and I have learned that you don't have to run them full throttle to get the dust out. If I do, there are many things that wind up on the driveway that I have to go after. Screws, small tools, papers, small project parts, etc.

Wayne


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

yep every time im done in the shop i sweep up all i can and the final blow is with a battery powered leaf blower,the only way to go.just curious why you would be concerned about it,sawdust is biodegradable?


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## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

My neighbors down the hall might frown on this method, but it would be interesting to see the reaction  Though I have opened the windows and used my compressor to get rid of dust hanging about on upper surfaces.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Huh - never thought of that….. now I have an excuse to buy a leaf blower and I won't have to spend hours trying to get everything dust free with the shop vac before setting up to spray or even general clean up. Seems like there is always a layer of dust even with the air filter and DC system, shop vac and such.


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## TheGreatJon (Jan 9, 2015)

> Wear a dust mask.
> 
> - rwe2156


Yup. Protect your lungs and then go wild. I do this after almost every major project.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

I have an 18v and 40v blowers…the 18 I have taken the long "snoot" off of oand use it on the machines and the 40 v I use on the floor…..surprisingly it doesn't create a huge dust storm….
It the only way to go!!!

oh, I failed to mention that when I spray I clean the shop up with this method, then turn the heat up to 75 or so and turn the air filtration on and leave for an hour or more then come back and spray my poly…..it flows well because it is warm and the filtration system has cleaned up the particulates, and the floor is clean and no dust is kicked up from walking. It has served me well.
Mike


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## BillyDoubleU (Mar 11, 2017)

After working construction for 3 years doing rough framing the day wasn't done until the house was blown out.

So that was the only dust management system I knew of until recently 

It's the last step of the job IMHO.


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## DanielP (Mar 21, 2013)

I do it. Also use it to clean dust off projects before finishing.


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## ConnectionProblem (Aug 15, 2016)

Personally I prefer to suck up and dispose of the dust and not blow it around.


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

> Personally I prefer to suck up and dispose of the dust and not blow it around.
> 
> - ConnectionProblem


Where's the fun in that? LOL!


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## jimintx (Jan 23, 2014)

To be really thorough, one needs to both blow and suck the dust.


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