Buy H-Class Vacuum Cleaners & Hazardous Dust Extractors

An H-Class vacuum cleaner (the "H" standing for High Hazard) is a specialized, high-security extraction system certified to capture 99.995% of hazardous particles. These machines are a legal requirement for recovering dusts that pose a severe health risk, such as asbestos, lead, and carcinogenic materials.

To meet the rigorous H-Class (Type H) safety standards, these extractors are engineered with specific features to ensure toxic materials remain contained from the work area to the waste site:

• HEPA H14 Filtration: The highest industrial filtration grade, trapping microscopic fibres that standard vacuums would simply exhaust back into the atmosphere.
• Integrated Containment Cap: A mandatory safety feature used to seal the vacuum inlet. This ensures that hazardous materials remain securely inside the machine during transportation, storage, or when the hose is disconnected, preventing accidental cross-contamination.
• Fully Sealed Construction: Every join, seal, and motor housing is pressure-tested to ensure zero particulate bypass, meaning no dust can escape the chassis.
• Airflow Monitoring System: A mandatory audible alarm or visual indicator that alerts the operator if suction speeds drop below 20m/s, ensuring hazardous dust is always captured effectively at the source.
• Secure Waste Disposal: Utilizing "Safe-Change" or "Longopac" bag systems, these units allow operators to seal and remove hazardous waste without any direct contact with the dust.

At MK Floortec, our H-Class extractors are supplied certified ready for use, providing the absolute gold standard in filtration and containment for high-risk industrial, construction, and abatement environments.

The primary difference is the level of filtration and the risk level of the dust. M-Class vacuums are for medium-risk dusts (silica, wood, concrete) with a filtration efficiency of 99.9%. H-Class (High Hazard) vacuums are mandatory for high-risk, toxic, or carcinogenic dusts like asbestos, lead, and mould spores, providing a superior 99.995% filtration efficiency. Additionally, H-Class machines have stricter requirements for "dust-free" waste disposal to ensure zero operator exposure.

Yes. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) and HSE guidelines, only a certified H-Class vacuum (Type H) is suitable for asbestos-related tasks. Using a standard or M-Class vacuum is a breach of health and safety law, as they cannot safely contain microscopic asbestos fibres. Our units are supplied certified ready for use, ensuring you are compliant from the moment the machine arrives on site.

H-Class extraction is required for any substance with a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) of < 0.1mg/m³. Common materials include:

• Asbestos (Licensed and non-licensed remediation)
• Lead dust (Grinding or sanding lead-based paints)
• Carcinogenic Silica (High-intensity indoor concrete work)
• Biohazards (Mould spores, bacteria, and viral pathogens)
• Toxic metals (Cadmium, Nickel, Cobalt)

The audible alarm or visual indicator is a mandatory safety sensor. It triggers if the air velocity drops below 20 metres per second, which means the vacuum is no longer capturing hazardous dust at the source effectively. This is usually caused by a full waste bag, a saturated filter, or a blockage in the anti-static suction hose.

Standard H-Class machines are designed for dry use only. Sucking up liquids can damage the delicate HEPA H14 filter and compromise the machine's safety certification. If you are dealing with damp hazardous waste, you must use a specialized Wet/Dry H-Class model and follow specific manufacturer protocols for moisture-resistant filtration.

A DOP (Dispersed Oil Particulate) test verifies that the HEPA H14 filter and all seals are 100% effective. For high-risk asbestos work, a DOP test is typically required every 6 to 12 months, or whenever the machine has been transported or damaged. While MK Floortec does not perform the testing, we supply the genuine H-Class spare parts and H14 filters necessary to ensure your machine passes its next certification.