Cleaning combustible dust from height is not the same job as ordinary high dusting. The method has to capture the dust rather than disperse it, and the equipment has to suit the material.
Compressed air and brushing down are the two methods most likely to cause harm. Both take settled dust and put it into the air, which is the exact condition a dust explosion needs. Blowing down a dusty rafter converts a manageable layer into an airborne cloud in seconds.
Vacuum extraction does the opposite. The dust goes into a sealed container and leaves the building with us.
Our primary method is a high reach vacuum system: carbon fibre telescopic poles carrying a vacuum head, connected to an industrial HEPA-filtered extraction unit at floor level. HEPA filtration matters because fine particulate passes straight through an ordinary shop vacuum and back into the room.
Heads are changed to suit the surface: soft brushes for structural steel and ductwork exteriors, narrower tools for conduit, cable trays and pipe runs, and flat tools for ledges and beam tops where accumulation is heaviest.
Some metal dusts react with water, which rules out wet methods entirely. Some materials carry a static charge readily, which is itself a recognised ignition source. The right equipment and method depend on what your facility actually produces, and that is established before anyone starts work rather than on the day.
Where a ceiling is beyond ground-based reach, we use powered access up to 75 feet, operated by licensed boom operators under a site-specific hazard assessment. Working from a lift is a last resort rather than a default, because staying on the floor is safer and less disruptive.
A camera mounted at the pole head lets us inspect accumulation from the ground before we start and confirm each surface afterwards. For combustible dust that verification is the point: you end up with documented evidence of what was cleaned, which is what an inspector or insurer will ask for.
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