Taube Wilson on sat 13 sep 97
Hi,
I am planning to purchase a portable HEPA air cleaner for my studio.
The front runner right now is the Honeywell Enviracaire (model 105?? -
the one that is large enough for a 20' X 22' area). It goes for around
$200 at Hechinger's and Home Depot.
My studio is the basement of my house. The room is about 20' X 25',
but only about half of that is used for my clay stuff. It gets
incredibly dusty. I have a wheel but no kiln.
Can anyone recommend an air cleaner? What features should I look for?
Thanks!
Taube ("Toby") Wilson
thwilson@hotmail.com
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Louis Katz on sun 14 sep 97
=3C/NOFILL=3E
------------------
I use an Enviracaire 135 in my bedroom to keep pollen, mold and other
allergens to a minimum. I like it. For this use it recieved good marks
from Consumer Reports. I am not sure how it would work in a studio
situation. I would suggest that you find a way to wet clean in your
studio more frequently to keep the dust down and provide exhaust for
operations that can't be done without dust.
Bill Dailey has a series of small rugs from filthy to clean that he
wipes his feet on as he leaves the studio. He ritually wipes on each
of the rugs. When we visited his studio his stairs were clean.
About a year ago I started to have worse and worse allergy symptoms. I
covered my mattress with a cover, started allergy shots (hair of the
dog) treatments, and got my air cleaner. I supect that the air cleaner
has done the most good although I will never know for sure.
Louis
Unruly JuliE on mon 15 sep 97
I have a potter friend who uses the Enviracaire by Honeywell in her
studio. She said some of her students were alergic to dust, and they
had no problems in her studio (by no means dust free!).
I plan on getting one of these for my studio also.
JuliE
Bonbritany@AOL.COM on tue 19 sep 00
Hi,
I've been lurking for several weeks and have really been enjoying all of your
wisdom and humor. I have recently begun teaching Ceramics at a 3-year art
school (Ceramics is an elective at this school and required by all first year
students) - this is my first time teaching ceramics and the previous teacher
recommended joining ClayArt *immediately*...and she was right!
So, now I have a question for all you experts out there. The school doesn't
have a lot of funds...and the studio badly needs upgrading...one of the first
things I'd like to add (besides the lights, which are being worked on!) is an
air cleaner. I saw a HEPA air Enviracaire cleaner by Honeywell on sale for
$150 (down from $250) and wondered if that would be OK for ceramic dust and
particles or would it be worthless. Any suggestions would be greatly
appreciated...and please keep in mind that funds are very low.
Thank you...
Debi Rudman
NJ
Visit my Canine Art Website at
http://www.craftsreport.com/showcase/ceramics/functional.html
scroll down to DJL Design
John Hesselberth on wed 20 sep 00
Bonbritany@aol.com wrote:
>So, now I have a question for all you experts out there. The school doesn't
>have a lot of funds...and the studio badly needs upgrading...one of the first
>things I'd like to add (besides the lights, which are being worked on!) is an
>air cleaner. I saw a HEPA air Enviracaire cleaner by Honeywell on sale for
>$150 (down from $250) and wondered if that would be OK for ceramic dust and
>particles or would it be worthless. Any suggestions would be greatly
>appreciated...and please keep in mind that funds are very low.
Hi Debi,
The HEPA type filters, like Honeywell, will filter out ceramic dust;
however that is not where I would put my money first. The size you are
looking at, though, is only recommended for medium size rooms so do pay
attention to that if you decide to buy one.
If funds are tight, first focus on 1) not generating dust where people
work and/or cleaning it up off surfaces where it does accumulate and 2)
direct protection of the people who do work with dusty materials. If it
is in the air where the air cleaner can get it, it is also in the air
where people can breathe it and lungs are VERY good filters for ceramic
dust.
So first make sure that all potentially dust generating activities (e.g.
glaze mixing, clay mixing, greenware sanding, etc.) are done in a well
ventilated area that, preferably, is isolated from your main studio
space. Second make sure you have HEPA-type dust masks for anyone who
will be working with dry powdered ceramic materials. These are not the
dust masks sold in your typical hardware store--they are virtually
useless for ceramic dusts. Get something like the Willson respirator
with the P100 cartridge (Grainger part nos 4RF49, 4RF50 and 4RF51 for
small, medium and large respectively). They are about $27.00 each.
Then make sure you have an adequate number of sponges, mops and buckets
and make sure surfaces are wet cleaned daily. Do not clean the studio
with a vacuum cleaner unless it exhausts outside. I've always found
people clean better if they don't have to search for a sponge and/or use
ones that are crumbling apart. Have good, big ones all over the place.
Then, if you still have money left, you might consider an air cleaner. I
do have one myself, but only after I had done the other things above.
Good luck. It is great that you are considering the safety of your
students first! John
John Hesselberth
Frog Pond Pottery
P.O. Box 88
Pocopson, PA 19366 USA
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com
"It is, perhaps, still necessary to say that the very best glazes cannot
conceal badly shaped pots..." David Green, Pottery Glazes
Barbara Gingell-Farris on sun 1 apr 01
At NCECA this week, there was a company claiming to prevent silicosis with
it's air cleaner. I'm wondering what research/opinions are out there on this
product or type of product. What else is out there in the way of systems
that will keep a college environment clean (after the sponge, of course)?
Thanks,
Barbara
Cat Jarosz on mon 2 apr 01
Dear Barbara,
I also saw and tried to talk with the man selling those air cleaners. He
is not a good salesman... I tried to help him sell me one but he kept going
off on a rant about ions and his little demo box with smoke in it....
geeze dude just tell me what it will do for me health wise and what I
need to know about filters or maintenance ... Not some over my head
psycho babble on physics or what ever he was talking about .... you
couldnt stop him either... I was soo hoping to ask around in the clay art
room about this contraption to see if anyone else was able to get any imfo
about this machine preventing silicosis as $320. (nceca price ) to save
your lungs is a bargain ... and I'll pay the extra now if anyone could
be kind enough to explain this machine to me in layman terms .....
So does anyone remember this booth and have the company name and
point of contact plus if you were able to stand thru his speech and
pull out the parts you needed to know about this cleaner please contact
me or post to list as this would be one cool tool to have in your studio
.... Cat
Louis Katz on mon 2 apr 01
Nice article a few years back in consumer reports on air cleaners. I am sure
someone with more knowlege will pipe in but ionizing air cleaners don't work on
clay to the best of my knowlege.
Louis
Cat Jarosz wrote:
> Dear Barbara,
>
> I also saw and tried to talk with the man selling those air cleaners. He
> is not a good salesman... I tried to help him sell me one but he kept going
> off on a rant about ions and his little demo box with smoke in it....
> geeze dude just tell me what it will do for me health wise and what I
> need to know about filters or maintenance ... Not some over my head
> psycho babble on physics or what ever he was talking about .... you
> couldnt stop him either... I was soo hoping to ask around in the clay art
> room about this contraption to see if anyone else was able to get any imfo
> about this machine preventing silicosis as $320. (nceca price ) to save
> your lungs is a bargain ... and I'll pay the extra now if anyone could
> be kind enough to explain this machine to me in layman terms .....
>
> So does anyone remember this booth and have the company name and
> point of contact plus if you were able to stand thru his speech and
> pull out the parts you needed to know about this cleaner please contact
> me or post to list as this would be one cool tool to have in your studio
> ... Cat
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Rikki Gill on mon 2 apr 01
Hi cat, He is Doug Van Sickle dvspotr@mac.com I too am very interested,
since I have some pulmonary problems [minor I hope] already. Please post to
the list. Rikki
-----Original Message-----
From: Cat Jarosz
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: Monday, April 02, 2001 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: air cleaners
Dear Barbara,
I also saw and tried to talk with the man selling those air cleaners. He
is not a good salesman... I tried to help him sell me one but he kept going
off on a rant about ions and his little demo box with smoke in it....
geeze dude just tell me what it will do for me health wise and what I
need to know about filters or maintenance ... Not some over my head
psycho babble on physics or what ever he was talking about .... you
couldnt stop him either... I was soo hoping to ask around in the clay art
room about this contraption to see if anyone else was able to get any
imfo
about this machine preventing silicosis as $320. (nceca price ) to save
your lungs is a bargain ... and I'll pay the extra now if anyone could
be kind enough to explain this machine to me in layman terms .....
So does anyone remember this booth and have the company name and
point of contact plus if you were able to stand thru his speech and
pull out the parts you needed to know about this cleaner please contact
me or post to list as this would be one cool tool to have in your studio
.... Cat
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Cl Litman on mon 2 apr 01
I'd also love to hear some feedback about this type of gadget. They said
it's a combo of an ozone generator and an ionizer. Supposed to generate
ions that bond with particles in the air and make them heavy enough to
fall down - leaving one with sponging and mopping to do but removing the
particles from the air.
Do they work?
BTW, the company agreed to honor that NCECA discount for about a month.
Cheryl Litman - NJ
LitmanC@aol.com
cheryllitman@juno.com
On Mon, 2 Apr 2001 12:13:53 EDT Cat Jarosz writes:
> Dear Barbara,
>
> I also saw and tried to talk with the man selling those air
> cleaners. He
> is not a good salesman... I tried to help him sell me one but he
> kept going
> off on a rant about ions and his little demo box with smoke in
> it....
> geeze dude just tell me what it will do for me health wise and
> what I
> need to know about filters or maintenance ... Not some over
> my head
> psycho babble on physics or what ever he was talking about ....
> you
> couldnt stop him either... I was soo hoping to ask around in the
> clay art
> room about this contraption to see if anyone else was able to get
> any imfo
> about this machine preventing silicosis as $320. (nceca price
> ) to save
> your lungs is a bargain ... and I'll pay the extra now if
> anyone could
> be kind enough to explain this machine to me in layman terms .....
>
> So does anyone remember this booth and have the company
> name and
> point of contact plus if you were able to stand thru his speech
> and
> pull out the parts you needed to know about this cleaner please
> contact
> me or post to list as this would be one cool tool to have in your
> studio
> ... Cat
>
>
_________________________________________________________________________
_____
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
> subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Joyce Singer on fri 5 jul 02
I am very concerned about clay dust in my small studio 18' X 12'. The =
air cleaners I see advertised for pottery studios are all very expensive =
and for much larger areas. I wondered if someone has used the room air =
cleaners such as Honeywell or Whirlpool make. Does anyone know of a =
small air cleaner that can filter clay dust?=20
Joyce Singer
John Vandermeulen on sat 6 jul 02
Joyce,
you might try the woodworking supply places. They have a range of aircleaners (sawdust!).
JHV
Joyce Singer wrote:
> I am very concerned about clay dust in my small studio 18' X 12'. The air cleaners I see advertised for pottery studios are all very expensive and for much larger areas. I wondered if someone has used the room air cleaners such as Honeywell or Whirlpool make. Does anyone know of a small air cleaner that can filter clay dust?
>
> Joyce Singer
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Donald Goldsobel on sat 6 jul 02
I purchased a "contractor"rated shop vac with a HEPA filter. works like a
charm. It is too powerful in some respects because it can suck up a sheet of
plastic or a cut off wire. It eliminates dust!!!
Donald Goldsobel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joyce Singer"
To:
Sent: Friday, July 05, 2002 6:08 PM
Subject: air cleaners
I am very concerned about clay dust in my small studio 18' X 12'. The air
cleaners I see advertised for pottery studios are all very expensive and for
much larger areas. I wondered if someone has used the room air cleaners
such as Honeywell or Whirlpool make. Does anyone know of a small air
cleaner that can filter clay dust?
Joyce Singer
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
John Hesselberth on sat 6 jul 02
>
> Joyce,
> you might try the woodworking supply places. They have a range of
> aircleaners (sawdust!).
> JHV
Please don't do this. Systems designed for sawdust will not even come
close to taking out the fine dusts we are dealing with. They are worse
than useless because they will just blow around our dusts and keep them
perpetually in suspension--all the better for you to breathe them in and
absorb them in your lungs.
The first approach that should always be taken in ceramic dust control
is good studio housekeeping. This should include regular damp
mopping/sponging of all surfaces where dust accumulates. Of course it
should go without saying that stopping the generation of dust is even
better, e.g. never sand greenware in your studio or perform other
dust-raising activities--do them outside.
Then as a backup only, I use a HEPA household air cleaner. The specs on
HEPA filters are such that they will remove most of the dusts we worry
about--I also use a HEPA mask when I am mixing glazes.
But remember, if it is in the air so it can be collected by a filter, it
is already in your lungs also.
Regards,
John
On Saturday, July 6, 2002, at 09:31 AM, John Vandermeulen wrote:
Steve Mills on sat 6 jul 02
To me the problem with room air cleaners and the like is that by their
nature they move air, and if there is clay dust in the moving air then
we're asking for trouble. The best solution is still (boringly) good
housekeeping, keeping surfaces clean, washing clay laden towels and
aprons etc. frequently, and sweeping with damp or oiled sawdust. My
workshop has a concrete floor with no membrane under it, so is
permanently damp, this helps, but makes me lazy! My aprons are plastic
so they don't hold dust and I can sponge them down, which also helps.
Now if I could find a towel that remained damp but still dried my hands
I'd be really happy! :-)
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Joyce Singer writes
>I am very concerned about clay dust in my small studio 18' X 12'. The =
>air cleaners I see advertised for pottery studios are all very expensive =
>and for much larger areas. I wondered if someone has used the room air =
>cleaners such as Honeywell or Whirlpool make. Does anyone know of a =
>small air cleaner that can filter clay dust?=20
>
>Joyce Singer
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Susan on sun 7 jul 02
I too am concerned with silica dust being suspended in the air I breathe. I
was thinking of getting a hepa filter air cleaner and only run it at night
and when I am not in my studio. I've seen one that recycles the air 20 times
per hour and removes .1 micron particles in the air.
http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/productview.jhtml;$sessionid$WGZP0
RA53E04DQFIA2KCGWQ?sku=BL100#
I wonder what your opinion is. Would moving the air when I am not around
cause more health issues if one uses it at night in addition to sweeping and
cleaning damp during the day?
susan
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Re: air cleaners
>
> To me the problem with room air cleaners and the like is that by their
> nature they move air, and if there is clay dust in the moving air then
> we're asking for trouble. The best solution is still (boringly) good
> housekeeping, keeping surfaces clean, washing clay laden towels and
> aprons etc. frequently, and sweeping with damp or oiled sawdust.
terry sullivan on sun 7 jul 02
I may have missed it in this round of discussion about studio dust, but
it seems no one has mentioned one very easy way to get clay dust out of
the studio safely. This is using a vacume system that exhausts outside.
This was discussed in an earlier round on this topic.
First time I saw this simple solution was at Linda Blossoms place in
NY. She got one of those central vac. units used for residential use,
mounted it inside up on an exterior wall with the exhaust to the
outside. It's easy to run pvc vac tubes all over the studio ( just like
would be used in the walls of a house ), and then have a 10-20 ft.
flexable hose with the appropriate end for the job.
I know this isn't the whole solution to sub micron air polution in the
studio but it's a major part.
Other pieces to the solution:
Don't mix clay and glazes in the studio. Do it outside or at least in a
separate room with tons of air exhaust, and in either case, ware a high
quality dust mask.
Get a large commercial wet/dry vacume and use it to clean up the wet
floors and then rinse it outside or into a settling tank. Have a
commercial mop and pail. Wet clay is not a dust problem.
Final comment: Although I use caution regarding clay and other dusts;
I'm not at all convinced that it's really all that much of a potential
health risk. Sure, some chemicals and materials are, but plain ole
clay ?
Clay is one of the most common materials on the surface of the earth.
That, and lots of other "earth" mineral / materials, is blowing around
constantly. We breath it all our lives. We all know lots of ceramists
who pay little attention to clay and dust in their studio and work who
have done so for many decades and show no indication of it adversely
affecting their health ( Peter Volkos, Phill Cornelius, Paul Soldner to
name a few ). I'm not saying it isn't true or a significant problem.
Just may not be all that "significant" if modest precautions are taken.
My two cents,
Terry Sullivan
flatrockclay on wed 13 oct 04
Who really knows which if any of the new air cleaners on the market are
worth the money. There are the ionizers, the filters, the electric filters
and any number of ones I have no knowledge of. Other than the multi
thousand dollar filter ones, what ones will help in the pottery studio with
the issues we deal with such as silica and not bacteria. I haven't been
able to get what I feel are straight answers from sales people on the
subject. HELP. Thanks, Kelley
http://www.flatrockclay.com
Flat Rock Studio
Clay Supplies & Gallery
479.521.3181
2002 S School, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Thirty spokes are made one by holes in a hub
By vacancies joining them for a wheel's use;
The use of clay in molding pitchers
Comes from the hollow of its absence;
Doors, windows, in a house
Are used for their emptiness;
Thus we are helped by what is not
To use what is.
11 - Lao Tzu
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