An apparatus for conditioning the polishing pad of a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system including an apertured conditioning disk that is formed to support a plurality of brush bristles in any desired configuration. The bristles are utilized to lift out debris and contaminants that have been lodged within the deep pores of polishing pads, particularly "soft" polishing pads (or polishing felts) that include relatively deep pores. The apertures in the conditioning disk are used to allow for the efficient evacuation of the effluent created during the conditioning process. The apertures may also be used to introduce conditioning fluids as the bristles are brushing the surface to assist in the conditioning process. The utilization of the apertures to evacuate the effluent (via an attached vacuum source) overcomes problems associated with the prior art by immediately removing the dislodged material from the pad surface before it has an opportunity to be re-incorporated into the polishing pad.