The Joy of Metal Clay: My Vacuum????

Today, I want to tell you about the awesome vacuum that I invested in.  It is odd to hear me exited about cleaning but let me explain why.

When I fire base metal clay there is often a soot in the bottom of the kiln from the firing pan.  It is messy and not the easiest to clean. Plus, carbon is dusty.  I have to  (read: should) vacuum my kiln and work area  regularly.  I had little Black and Decker hand vacuum but I could never get it to suck all the soot out of the kiln and its power wasn't great.  Alternatively, I could  lug my canister vacuum down to the basement studio and use its  attachments to accomplish this task.  Let's be honest this did not happen all that often for me. Regarding my studio floor, I worried about all the little fallen items that may get sucked up in into the vacuum never to be seen again (have you ever lost one of your precious CZ's in carpet?).

I had considered purchasing a little craft vacuum that I have seen advertised online to clean out my kiln but what about my floor?  I wondered; "Could there be a multipurpose solution to cleaning out my kiln and my studio area?"  Enter my new baby:  the Dyson Multi Floor Stick vacuum. 

Although pricey (I think $349, Yikes) it has been a great solution for me not only for cleaning out my kiln but all the other vacuuming I have neglected. 

It is light, easy to handle and SUCKS.  In a good way.  The first day I had it I was surprised at the amount of dirt that came out of my carpet.

 

Also, it is bagless.  Therefore, no worries about picking up any fallen beads or findings off  the floor.  Hurray another problem solved. (Not bad for picking up Lego, too)

 It has an attachment that works great to get into my kilns crevices to clear out any soot.

It is cordless and the battery life is only about 10-15 minutes.Given my self-diagnosed attention deficit disorder that is enough time for me to accomplish what I need. The only down side is that it is a little top heavy and you need to hold down the" trigger" (on/off switch) while using it.  If you have hand/wrist problems be aware.  Personally, I have occasional hand issues but I  find that I use it for such a short time I don't have any problems. But this is worth mentioning. 

I don't like parting with my money but this was a multipurpose tool that is useful in the studio but throughout the rest of my home. BTW -my home and car have never been so clean and I rarely use my other vacuum.