How to Clean a Horse Barn Aisle Without the Dust: Broom vs Leaf Blower vs Vacuum

Rod Michelini is the founder of OneUp Cleaning. We sell the Elgee and Powr-Flite machines named here and don't sell leaf blowers, brooms or manure vacuums, so where one of those still makes more sense for your barn, this page says so.

A horse barn vacuum is the least dusty way to clean a barn aisle, because it pulls hay, shavings and dust into a bag or filtered bin instead of throwing them back into the air. A broom works if you dampen the aisle first. A leaf blower is fastest, but only with horses out for at least two hours.

That's the short answer. The rest of this page covers which vacuum handles loose hay and which one handles the fine powder, because no single machine does both perfectly.

Broom vs leaf blower vs barn vacuum: which raises the least dust?

The vacuum wins on dust, the blower wins on speed and the broom wins on price. Here's how the three compare on a typical concrete or rubber paver aisle:

Equine vets are blunt about the blower. A dvm360 conference paper on stable air quality calls blowing out aisles one of the most "iniquitous practices", and an AAEP convention session said using blowers anywhere around horses is "terrible for equine respiratory health". The same dvm360 paper adds that vigorous sweeping stirs up dust too, so your broom isn't off the hook.

Why barn aisle dust matters more than it looks

The dust that hurts your horses is the dust you can't see, because particles smaller than about 5 microns travel past the nose into the lower airways. The AAEP session also warned that a stable can look spotless and still carry harmful dust.

According to the dvm360 paper, even a well-kept barn with every door open can reach 1.0 mg of respirable dust per cubic meter. That's more than three times the 0.3 mg level that causes airway trouble in people.

Here's the honest part: your cleaning tool isn't the biggest dust source in your barn. The AAEP session ranked hay first and bedding second, and University of Florida extension vets recommend low-dust bedding and fewer sweeps while asthmatic horses are inside. A vacuum stops your aisle from adding to the load, but it won't cure a horse that coughs on dusty hay.

Sweeping a barn aisle: when a broom is still the right call

Picture the evening shift on a 200-foot aisle. You've picked every stall, and the concrete is covered in shavings trails, chaff and the fine gray powder that settles on everything, so you grab the broom. Ten minutes later, a haze hangs at nose height over horses eating their dinner.

The fix costs you nothing. Sprinkle the aisle with a watering can before you sweep, as the dvm360 paper recommends, and the fine dust clumps on the floor. In a small barn, that damp sweep is all you need.

Sweeping has a price, though. On the Chronicle of the Horse forums, six horse people say it raises less dust than blowing but eats the most labor. One barn owner found it took as many staff hours to sweep the aisle as to clean the stalls.

Rubber pavers make your job harder still. Three forum users describe paver or rubber mat aisles that a broom or sweeper can't fully clear, and one owner called a paver aisle "impossible to sweep" without hours spent on every crack.

Blowing out the barn aisle: how to do it if you have to

Plenty of well-run barns blow their aisles every day, and pretending otherwise won't help you. On the Chronicle forums, 12 different people describe blowing their aisles under careful conditions, while 12 others describe dust settling on tack, waterers, stall fronts and anything hanging on a stall door.

The difference lies in how they do it, so if you blow your aisle, follow the rules the careful barns use:

1. Turn every horse out first, and keep them out for at least two hours, since the dvm360 paper found particle levels stay higher for up to two hours after cleaning.
2. Dampen the aisle with a watering can before you start.
3. Use the lowest setting, keep the nozzle low and work outward from the middle.
4. Open the doors at both ends so the breeze carries dust outside rather than into the stalls.
5. Skip gas blowers indoors, because they add combustion particles to the dust.
6. Wear a dust mask, since you're standing in the thickest part of the cloud.

If a horse in your barn has asthma or heaves, the University of Florida guidance is to keep sweeping and blowing to a minimum while it's inside.

What is the best horse barn vacuum?

For most barns, the best barn vacuum is a walk-behind litter vacuum like the Elgee Power-Vac, backed by a filtered vacuum sweeper if fine dust is your main complaint. What lands on your floor decides which one you should buy first.

Walk-behind barn vacuums: the Elgee Power-Vac

Elgee builds wide-area vacuums for a short list of jobs, and horse barns are one of them. Its stable page starts from the same problem this article does: brooms and small vacuums are slow and "stir up dust clouding the air", which isn't healthy for staff, riders or horses. Elgee's answer is one machine for your stalls, tack rooms, aisles and alleyways.

The Elgee Power-Vac Lithium-Ion costs $4,139 and pulls straw, wood shavings and dry manure through a 30-inch intake into an 11 cubic foot bag. Elgee rates it at 40,000 square feet an hour, 12 times faster than a broom and rake. On paper, that's about four minutes for a 12 by 200 foot aisle, before your turns and bag changes.

Here's what that one machine takes off your list, going by Elgee's own description:

• The broom and dustpan. It picks up the sawdust, straw, grain and manure chips on your concrete, wood, rubber mat or paver floor.
• The leaf blower. Debris goes into the bag instead of the air you breathe, and the battery model runs with no exhaust in a closed barn.
• The wheelbarrow trips. You unzip the bag to empty it, so there's no wheeled cart to drag down the aisle behind you.
• The corner and cobweb work. The optional 10-foot hose reaches your corners, ledges and tack room cobwebs.
• The magnet sweep for horseshoe nails. Elgee offers a magnetic bar attachment that picks up nails and other metal as you go.

If your aisle has rubber mats, one boarding-facility owner quoted on Elgee's stable page has the same setup: mats that collect wet sawdust, manure and long hay. That owner calls the Power-Vac "significantly quieter and cleaner than a blower." It also saves at least 30 minutes of labor a day. On the forums, 12 different people describe walk-behind aisle vacuums like this one cleaning their barns quickly and saving hours of hand labor.

Now the honest part, and you'll find it on Elgee's own page too. Its specification says the bag controls dust but isn't recommended for fine or powdery dirt, because it's built for litter rather than powder. Three forum users who own this kind of vacuum confirm that the bag lets some fine dust through, so empty yours outdoors, upwind, wearing a mask, and finish off any gray powder on your floor with a damp sweep.

Vacuum sweepers with a filter

If the gray powder is your real enemy, look at the Powr-Flite Quasar 26 at $2,799. Its brush sweeps debris into a 9-gallon bin while a vacuum filter traps 99.7% of particles at 3 microns, well inside the size range that reaches a horse's lower airways. It runs at 67 decibels and covers up to 26,000 square feet an hour, so your 12 by 200 foot aisle takes about six minutes.

A gym owner in Texas has bought the Quasar from us twice for his facilities, and it's the same machine we recommend for dry-cleaning rubber gym floors. For wider aisles, the Powr-Flite PS900BC at $3,649 sweeps a 36-inch path under its own power.

One catch applies to every brush machine, including these two: long hay stems wrap around spinning brushes. Six forum users describe light sweepers that tangled, wore out or disappointed in a barn, so fork out long stems before you run one.

Shop vacs and push sweepers for small barns

For a small barn, a shop vacuum with a bag and a fine filter does a good job, and six forum users run one on their aisles. One owner swapped a leaf blower for a 6-gallon shop vac with a HEPA filter, and although vacuuming takes twice as long per pass, that owner now cleans once a day instead of blowing twice.

Your drawbacks are the hose and the cord: three users say narrow hoses plug on straw and long hay, and one found that an 18-foot cord won't reach down a 170-foot aisle.

For smooth concrete, the manual Powr-Flite PS320 at $295 sweeps a 32-inch path with no cord, battery or fuel. Fork out long hay first and it keeps your aisle tidy between deeper cleans.

What vacuum can pick up hay?

A walk-behind litter vacuum. Forum users say these machines swallow loose hay, straw and shavings as long as they're dry, and Elgee fits a shaft guard so string and wire can't wrap around the impeller. Brush sweepers and shop vacs both need long stems forked out first.

A low-dust routine for cleaning your barn aisle

This order keeps dust out of the air you breathe and off your horses:

1. Turn the horses out.
2. Fork up manure clumps and long hay, as five forum users do before any machine touches the floor.
3. Vacuum cobwebs and ledges first, top down, so whatever falls gets picked up next.
4. Vacuum the aisle end to end, slowing down over rubber pavers.
5. Damp-sweep whatever's left in corners and paver grooves.
6. Empty the bag or bin outside, upwind, wearing a mask.
7. Wait two hours before you bring the horses back in.

With a Power-Vac and its hose, steps 3 and 4 are one machine, and the broom only comes out for whatever fine powder is left. Follow it for a week and you'll notice the difference on your tack trunks and stall bars before your horses do.

What a barn vacuum won't do

A barn vacuum cleans your aisles, stall floors, feed room and tack room, but it doesn't muck. Elgee lists stalls among the Power-Vac's jobs, yet manure clumps and wet spots still come out with a fork first, and pasture manure needs a towed manure vacuum, which we don't sell.

It also won't groom your horse, since grooming vacuums are a different machine, and it won't fix dusty hay or bedding. Soak or steam your hay and switch to low-dust bedding, and your vacuum can finish the job.

Frequently asked questions

How do I reduce dust in a barn?

Start with hay and bedding, because the AAEP ranks them as the largest sources. Then ventilate, clean your aisles with a vacuum or a damp broom, and save dusty chores for when your horses are turned out.

Can I use a shop vac in a horse barn?

Yes, for a short aisle or a small barn. Use a bag and a fine filter, and pick up long hay first so the hose doesn't plug.

Will a barn vacuum spook my horses?

Rarely for long. Elgee built the Power-Vac to be quiet enough not to spook horses, and the Quasar runs at 67 decibels.

Not sure which horse barn vacuum fits your barn? Send your aisle length and width, floor type and how often you clean through the contact page, or call (855) 601-5678, and you'll get a straight answer. Every order is covered by our 30-day return policy, so you can confirm the fit in your own barn.

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