Sometimes while attempting to clean crevices with a vacuum, suction alone just can't get everything clean. One solution to this problem is to used canned compressed gas to knock the dust free, but this just puts the dust back in the air. A much better solution would combine the use of compressed gas to dislodge dust with a vacuum cleaner to immediately remove the dust from the air.

The most cost effective way to achieve this would be to modify a typical duster brush attachment in order to allow mounting of a compressed gas can on it. The compressed gas nozzle would be placed inside the attachment in order to provide a jet of air, while the bristles of the duster would contain any dislodged dust after the initial blast until the vacuum can remove it.

This attachment should not cost more than a few dollars to manufacture, and could easily be compatible with most vacuum cleaners. Possible enhancements could include making the brush attachment transparent or using the vacuum motor to create the small amounts of compressed air needed.
-- ftzdomino, Jan 17 2005

Typical duster brush http://store.yahoo....ice/deldusbrus.html
This is the type of brush which could be easily modified [ftzdomino, Jan 17 2005]

Canned Air http://catalog.belk...t=&Product_Id=22589
Typical compressed gas or "canned air" which would mount onto the modified brush attachment. [ftzdomino, Jan 17 2005]

(?) Illustration http://www.e-normou..._air_attachment.png
This isn't quite to scale or final, but should give a picture of the basic idea. The green object is commercially available canned air. The red hatched area would be the nylon bristles, and the white portion would be the plastic body, connecting to the vacuum cleaner's hose by the angled section on the left. [ftzdomino, Jan 19 2005]

Coaxial Vacuum Cleaner Coaxial_20Vacuum_20Cleaner
Conceptually Related [half, Jan 19 2005]

Firstly and foremostofall, great idea [+]. Secondly:

//The most cost effective way to achieve this// would be to have re-routable exhaust that, instead of shooting out the back of the vacuum, can be re-directed by flipping a valve pipe back down to the front. I don't think it would work well to use the vacuum motor as a compressor.
-- contracts, Jan 17 2005


(+) Would the suction automatically pause while the "canned air" is on?
-- robinism, Jan 18 2005


The vacuum should not need to pause, as the momentum of the air coming out of the canned air nozzle should be sufficient enough to dislodge dust even with the vacuum present. The air nozzle ideally would end about half an inch from the end of the nylon bristles. Adding a vacuum pause would greatly complicate this device and possibly allow some particles to escape into the air. A drawing should explain it further.
-- ftzdomino, Jan 19 2005


It just seems like the insucking and the outblowing would cancel each other out. Maybe if the end of the canned-air tube was flush with the end of the bristles...?
-- robinism, Jan 19 2005


I like it! The occasional blown skirt wouldn't be so dissatisfying to outweigh the obvious benefits.
-- reensure, Jan 19 2005



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