So you think you want to clean that oil oven or oil boiler yourself. You’ve seen the service guy do it and you really didn’t think it looked that hard. He sticks the hose of his shop vac into the chamber and all the soot spreads everywhere! Wow, what did he have that you don’t have there?

When cleaning an oil-fired appliance, you must remember that the dust created by the unit is very fine and will pass directly through the filters that are standard on most shop vacuums. You’ll have to go to the store and find some special equipment to catch all that fine black gunk. It is very easy to find if you know what to look for.

Most vacuums have a foam filter over a cage that holds the ball on wet/dry vacs or the cage that holds the foam filter only on dry vacs. When you go to buy your new filters, look for the filter paper and the ring that holds the filter paper on the cage. This filter is actually your second stage of defense. To really help, you need to get your first stage.

The first stage is a paper filter bag that is installed over the inlet to your tank. These bags come in different sizes depending on the size of your vacuum. Take the bag and carefully install it on the tank making sure the mouth of the bag is seated securely in the tank inlet. This bag will catch most of the dust and make it very easy to contain and dispose of as well.

Now you are ready to clean your oil oven or boiler like a pro. As long as you keep everything dry, you’ll be fine. Moisture or water will burn a hole in the bag and filter, ruining any chance of properly filtering the air intake. Also remember that you are filtering through a fairly fine medium and it will get clogged up pretty quickly. You may need to change the bag and filter a couple of times to complete a job.

One last thing for you. If you plan to use the shop vac your wife uses for her daily cleanups, you may want to rethink this. After you’re done with it and you’ve got black soot all over the spout, you’ll be sleeping in the doghouse if your wife is going to use it and ends up with some black on something nice of hers. You are warned. Do not blame me for anything that happens to you as a result of not heeding this warning.