When cleaning a barrier filter, comprising a plurality of filter elements, of
woven fabric of felt, arranged to separate particles out of a polluted gas, the filter elements are cleaned, separately or in groups, by pressurized air pulses, the frequency, the
maximum pressure and the duration of which are varied in order to minimize, by an adjustment, the total emission of dust. The frequency and / or the
maximum pressure and / or the duration of the cleaning pulses are varied for a group or a plurality of groups of filter elements. After each cleaning pulse, the maximum value for the instantaneous emission of dust, the emission peak, is determined and the emission peak is used, after cleaning a certain group of filter elements, for selecting the frequency and / or the
maximum pressure and / or the duration of the cleaning pulses for this group of filter elements during continued operation.