Whatever you do stay away from your wife's carpet vac with expensive and some with hard to clean filters! And yes I sucked up some miniscule embers and set the bag on my Stanley shop vac a few year back. It was smoking, got it outside in time to get the bag out . Anyway, beyond my wise advice on carpet vacs....... , my husbands company has a commercial metal ash vac. I was watching the household version of the metal ash vacs during Black Friday sales for a few years but never bought one, I just make sure the stove is totally cold first. Seems like a safe way to clean from what I read. Just like I appreciate my coffee pot safety guard when it turns off after so long, or my clothes iron turning off if I were to leave it face down for too long (though I have not tested that thankfully). Amazon.com : ash vacuum
