In reverse-air bag houses, the bags are fastened onto a cell plate at the bottom of the bag house and suspended from an adjustable hanger frame at the top. Dirty gas flow normally enters the bag house and passes through the bag from the inside, and the dust collects on the inside of the bags.

Reverse-air bag houses are compartmentalized to allow continuous operation. Before a cleaning cycle begins, filtration is stopped in the compartment to be cleaned. Bags are cleaned by injecting clean air into the dust collector in a reverse direction, which pressurizes the compartment. The pressure makes the bags collapse partially, causing the dust cake to crack and fall into the hopper below. At the end of the cleaning cycle, reverse airflow is discontinued, and the compartment is returned to the main stream.