Dustless-Drywall-Sanding
Using A Drywall-Vacuum-Sander

Dustless-drywall-sanding is possible... or should I say you can significantly reduce your dust. I'm not sure you can sand drywall, even using the correct equipment, and achieve a dust-free environment. 

Professionals have many options when it comes to sanding drywall. One option is to not worry about it, especially if they are working on new construction. They can simply employ a shop-vac and clean up after they're done. But...

• floors,

• carpet,

• drapery,

• furniture,

• or you HVAC system

when you're done sanding. As a handyman, I find myself in this situation often. To reduce the clean up (which could take as long than the sanding itself) I use a simple random-orbit-sander with a vacuum attachment.

 There are several drywall vacuum sanders on the market. A professional combo will cost you up to $1000! You can find others that are more reasonably priced. Some sanders are proprietary when it comes to the vacuum hook-up so do your home work. 

Take Home Depot's "Ridged" sanders, they only work with the Ridged vacuum. Other sanders will use a standard hook-up that can be used with the Shop-Vac. 

Shop-Vac's come in many sizes and prices. You can get one larger than the ridged shown above or a small portable model. This set-up works great for me since I can use if for sanding many other projects other than drywall. Systems for doing drywall are available but it's more for the drywall professional who needs it everyday. 

Another method is to use a sanding attachment such as the one shown here. It's called a Dust Hog and it's available at All-Wall a drywall tool supply store. If you ask me which one is better, they both have thier pros and cons but if you already have a vacuum and don't want to spend the money on a sander... this is the way to go for small, dustless-drywall-sanding jobs.

Drywall dust will clog your vacuum's filter faster than normal vacuuming so be sure to clean out the filter after you finish your project. Make sure to wear a dust mask for this task as the dust isn't something you want to be sucking into your lungs. Paper filters can be cleaned but I have a special filter that's made to be cleaned over and over. It cost a little more but it's really easy to keep clean especially if you have compressed air... but you can simply bang it on the inside of a trash can if you don't have a compressor.