Air Filtration for Woodshop Dust

Airborne wood dust isn't just a byproduct of production — it's a serious risk to employee health and shop safety.

Without proper removal, fine particulate can irritate lungs, reduce visibility, create slippery surfaces, and increase long-term respiratory exposure for woodshop teams.

Most shops already run dust collection at the tool. The problem is what the hood doesn't catch — the finest fraction escapes the capture zone, stays airborne for hours, and settles across the shop long after the machine stops.

CleanLeaf units capture wood dust before it recirculates throughout the shop. With high-efficiency filtration and airflow designed for particulate-heavy environments, they help maintain clearer air, protect employee health, and reduce dust buildup on equipment and surfaces.

With proper unit placement, our systems exchange the air in your shop 8-10 times per hour — reducing particulate by up to 99.7% with every pass until the space is performing at its best.

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8-10x

Air exchanges per hour

>99.7%

Particulate reduction per pass

40+

Years building air cleaners

Real-world results

Woodworking Facility Case Study

Capturing Airborne Dust Beyond Source Collection

A woodworking shop struggled with airborne dust that lingered in the space despite existing source collection. See how a single OX1100 changed what stayed in the air.

Read the full case study

Your Dust Collector Isn't Missing Anything It Was Built to Catch

Source collection and ambient filtration solve two different halves of the same problem. Most shops have only one of them.

What You Already Have

Source Collection at the Tool

Captures chips, shavings, and coarse dust at the point of cut
Highly effective inside the hood's capture zone
Handles the volume that would otherwise bury the shop floor
Limited to the machines it's ducted to
Fine particulate escaping the hood becomes room air

What Ambient Filtration Adds

Whole-Shop Air Cleaning

Removes the fine fraction that stays suspended after the cut
Covers hand sanding, assembly, and every un-ducted operation
Keeps working through cleanup and after the shop goes quiet
Reduces what settles on equipment, stock, and finished work
Runs alongside your collector — no ductwork, no reconfiguration

The fraction that lingers

Coarse dust drops out of the air in seconds. The finest particulate — the part that reaches deepest into the lungs and settles on every surface in the shop — can stay suspended for hours, which is why a shop with good collection at every machine can still be hazy at the end of the day.

What's Circulating in Your Shop

Four issues account for most of what a woodshop's air does to its people and its equipment.

Respirable

Fine Airborne Dust

The fraction small enough to escape the hood and stay suspended is also the fraction that reaches deepest into the lungs. It's the part collection misses.

Particulate

Sanding & Finishing Dust

Orbital and hand sanding produce the finest particulate in the shop, often at benches with no extraction at all — right where someone is leaning over the work.

Odor & VOC

Finish & Solvent Fumes

Stains, lacquers, and polyurethanes release compounds that hang in the shop long after the coat goes on, especially in enclosed finishing areas.

Shop Safety

Settled Dust & Visibility

Dust on the floor makes surfaces slick, dust on machines fouls bearings and switches, and haze in the air makes it harder to see what you're cutting.

How It Works

CleanLeaf and Blue Ox units hang from the ceiling or structure and run independently of your dust collector — no ductwork, no changes to your existing hoods or blast gates, and nothing taken away from the collection you've already invested in.

Units work together to create a circular air pattern through the shop. As air flows through the high-efficiency filters, particulate is reduced by up to 99.7% per pass — then handed off to the next unit, which reduces it further.

This cycle continues until the space reaches a clean air standard, with the air exchanging up to 8-10 times per hour depending on your configuration.

Running after the tools stop is where much of the value is. The fine fraction stirred up during a working day doesn't settle out when the machines shut off — it keeps circulating. Leaving units running through cleanup and after hours means the shop starts the next morning clear rather than picking up where it left off.

Placement makes the difference. Units positioned to establish a continuous circular pattern pull air across the shop rather than pushing it around a single machine. Key factors include shop square footage, ceiling height, which operations are un-ducted, and where sanding and finishing happen.

Each unit has a specific catch and throw distance that determines optimal spacing. Our team can help you design the right configuration for your shop.

No Ductwork Works With Your Collector Easy Plug-n-Play Low Maintenance Runs After Hours

Air Cycle — Per Pass Through the System

Shop Air

→ Air Enters the System

↓ Stage 1 — Pre-Filter

Stage 1

Coarse dust & shavings captured

↓ Stage 2 — Primary Filter

Stage 2

Fine sanding & respirable dust removed

↓ Stage 3 — Carbon Stage

Stage 3

Finish & solvent odors adsorbed (if equipped)

↓ Filtered air returned to the shop

Clean Air

✓ Clearer air, less settling

Units cycle air up to 8-10× per hour and keep working after the tools stop — clearing the fine fraction that would otherwise still be circulating when the shop opens tomorrow.

Recommended Systems for Woodshops

Choose based on shop size and whether finishing happens under the same roof. All models use standard-sized high-efficiency filters to keep running costs low.

Dust & Particulate

For shop floors, machine rooms, and assembly areas where airborne wood dust is the whole problem — the starting point for nearly every woodshop.

Small–Medium Shops

OX1100

1,100 CFM

Dust & Particulate

OX1100

Maximum bag filter capacity for the best particle capture at this unit size.

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OX1100 — Dust & Particulate, Small to Medium Shops As Featured in Our Case Study

The unit from our woodworking case study, and the right first purchase for most shops. With no carbon or HEPA stage taking up space, it devotes maximum filter area to particulate — and the washable foam pre-filter handles the heavy load a woodshop generates, so the bag filter behind it lasts considerably longer.

Filter Specifications

20×15×1" 35% Washable Foam Pre-Filter 20×15×24" 95% (ASHRAE) 6 Pocket Bag Filter

Airflow: 1,100 CFM · Sound: 48 dBA @ 5' Shop OX1100

Production Shops

OX3000

3,000 CFM

Dust & Particulate Smoke

OX3000

T-pattern airflow covering a wide span from a single mounting point.

Explore OX3000

OX3000 — Dust & Particulate, Production Shops

Cabinet shops, millwork operations, and production floors generate dust faster than a single OX1100 can clear it. The OX3000's T-style airflow draws through inlets on both sides and exhausts from the center, covering a wide span from one mounting point, while a dual set of micro-glass fiber filters stretches service intervals under continuous load. Larger mills can step up to the belt-driven OX3500C or the OX4000 and OX4500.

Filter Specifications

Dual Micro-Glass Fiber Filters T-Style Airflow — Dual Inlet, Center Exhaust 3/4 H.P. Direct Drive Fan

Airflow: 3,000 CFM · Larger shops: OX3500C · OX4000 · OX4500 Shop OX3000

Finish Odor & Solvents

For shops that stain, lacquer, or spray under the same roof as the machines — where the dust problem and the smell problem arrived together.

Finishing Areas

OX1100-CF

1,100 CFM

Smoke Light Odor

OX1100-CF

Bag filter plus a 6 lb. carbon after-filter for dust and finish odor together.

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OX1100-CF — Dust & Finish Odor, Finishing Areas

Sanding dust and finish fumes tend to occupy the same corner of the shop. A shortened bag filter makes room for a 6 lb. carbon after-filter, so particulate capture stays effective while the carbon works on stain and lacquer odor in the same pass — one unit over the bench instead of two solutions.

Filter Specifications

20×15×1" 35% Washable Foam Pre-Filter 20×15×24" 95% (ASHRAE) 6 Pocket Bag Filter 6 lb. Carbon After-Filter

Airflow: 1,100 CFM · Higher airflow: OX3000-CF (3,000 CFM) Shop OX1100-CF

Heavy Solvent Use

OX1100-CC

825 CFM

Heavy Odor

OX1100-CC

Carbon canister configuration for heavy odor applications.

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OX1100-CC — Heavy Odor, Solvent-Intensive Finishing

When a 6 lb. after-filter gets overwhelmed, carbon canisters carry substantially more media and hold their capacity longer. This is the configuration for shops spraying daily, running solvent-based finishes, or working in enclosed finishing rooms where the smell has nowhere to go. Larger finishing areas can step up to the OX2500D-CC or CL2500-CFP.

Filter Specifications

Washable Foam Pre-Filter Pocket Bag Filter Carbon Canister Stage

Airflow: 825 CFM · Larger areas: OX2500D-CC · CL2500-CFP Shop OX1100-CC

Respirable Dust & Health

For shops where long-term respiratory exposure is the reason for the project, and for clean assembly or finish-critical areas within the building.

Sensitive Areas

OX1100-HE

825 CFM

Bacteria, Mold, Mildew

OX1100-HE

HEPA-led build for the finest particulate in the shop.

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OX1100-HE — Respirable Dust, Sensitive Areas

A HEPA final stage captures 99.97% of particles at 0.3 microns — well below the size range that a bag filter alone lets through, and squarely in the fraction that reaches deepest into the lungs. Most shops don't need HEPA across the whole floor; they need it over the bench where someone sands all day, or in a finish-critical assembly area where settling ruins work.

Filter Specifications

20×15×1" 35% Washable Foam Pre-Filter 95% (ASHRAE) Pocket Bag Filter HEPA Final Filter — 99.97% @ 0.3µ

Airflow: 825 CFM · Larger rooms: OX2500D-HE (2,000 CFM) Shop OX1100-HE

Explore All Air Filtration Solutions

Quick Answers to Common Questions

Find quick answers to the most common questions about our services, solutions, and process.

See All FAQs

Air filtration system selection depends on:
• Room size (cubic footage)
• Air changes per hour (ACH)
• Type of contaminants (dust, smoke, mold, odors, VOCs)
• Required filtration level (bag filter %, carbon weight, HEPA, etc.)

Our team evaluates airflow dynamics and contaminant load to recommend a properly sized solution — not just a box with a fan.

Most CleanLeaf and Blue Ox models operate between ~48–66 dBA, depending on airflow setting and unit size.

Lower-speed settings and optional silencers are available for sound-sensitive environments.

Most units are plug-and-play on standard 115V power and include suspension or bracket mounting options.

For larger commercial or industrial applications, we may recommend airflow planning to optimize circulation patterns.

Filter life varies by environment and contaminant load. Typical ranges:
• Pre-filters: 1–3 months
• Carbon media: 6–12 months
• HEPA or high-efficiency bags: 6–18 months

Higher particulate or odor loads may shorten intervals.

Our systems are engineered to capture and control:
• Dust
• Smoke
• Mold and Mildew
• Odors and VOCs
• Fine particulate

Filtration stages may include pleated pre-filters, high-efficiency bag filters, HEPA media, and activated carbon depending on the application.

CleanLeaf offers a 2-year warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship for authorized distributors and end users.

To make a claim, you must get approval first. Approved claims are resolved with a replacement or credit/refund. The warranty is void if the product was misused or used outside its intended purpose.

We also provide ongoing support and access to replacement filters.

Air Filtration for Woodshop Dust