Paul Borian on wed 28 apr 10
Although I clean table tops and mop several times each day, there is
still a lot of dust in the air in my studio. Last night I turned out all
the lights and shined an led flashlight toward the ceiling, and in the
beam of light I saw lots of dust - far more than I expected, considering
often I clean. I have no idea how much of that dust is actually silica
or if it even matters, but it seems like I have to do something.
=3D20
The cheapest approach, as others suggested last time I brought this
topic up, is just a fan to vent air out of the studio. I could buy an
attic ventilation fan and mount it on the ceiling and send the air
through the attic above via some ducting, then out the roof. Winter
would be a problem because it would cool the studio down but I could
cross that bridge when I come to it.
=3D20
I was unable to get info on how to build a filtration system so I guess
that is out - I would not know what parts to use, especially the
filters, and where to get them.
=3D20
The only other option I know of is the one that bailey sells, about
$2000 for the smaller unit that would probably work fine for the size
studio I have. Has anyone used this?
=3D20
Are there other systems available that work for clay dust?
I know there are a lot of in-house filters you can buy but I don't know
how they would work for our purposes.
=3D20
Any info at all would be appreciated because I think I need to do
something soon. It's not just me in the studio - there are lots of cats
and dogs as well! That was actually the first thing that got me
motivated to start mopping constantly since they are always hanging out
on the floor & I didn't want them breathing all the dust.
=3D20
Thanks!
Paul
jonathan byler on wed 28 apr 10
if you do that in ANY room, you will see a lot of dust in the air. it
is just there. pollen, dead skin, dead dust mites, bits of dog fur,
dirt tracked in on your shoes, etc. etc. I doubt you could see silica
dust if you wanted to anyway, at least the stuff that causes problems
with people's lungs. if you don't want dust in your lungs, you are
going to have to stop breathing.
unless you are experiencing health problems because of the dust,
ignore it. billions of other people live in air that has this same
dust in it and they all more or less survive. if you vent to outside,
you are going to have to draw air in from somewhere, and you will
probably be drawing more dusty air into the building, and wasting a
lot of energy in the process of doing it.
if you clean and mop as you say, and don't go out of your way to
create massive clouds of dust, I doubt you have anything to worry
about. if you are concerned, before spending a bunch of money on air
filtration, I would call an industrial hygienist and have them measure
the air quality for the stuff that matters. and then ignore the rest.
On Apr 28, 2010, at 9:51 AM, Paul Borian wrote:
> Although I clean table tops and mop several times each day, there is
> still a lot of dust in the air in my studio. Last night I turned out
> all
> the lights and shined an led flashlight toward the ceiling, and in the
> beam of light I saw lots of dust - far more than I expected,
> considering
> often I clean. I have no idea how much of that dust is actually silica
> or if it even matters, but it seems like I have to do something.
>
>
>
> The cheapest approach, as others suggested last time I brought this
> topic up, is just a fan to vent air out of the studio. I could buy an
> attic ventilation fan and mount it on the ceiling and send the air
> through the attic above via some ducting, then out the roof. Winter
> would be a problem because it would cool the studio down but I could
> cross that bridge when I come to it.
>
>
>
> I was unable to get info on how to build a filtration system so I
> guess
> that is out - I would not know what parts to use, especially the
> filters, and where to get them.
>
>
>
> The only other option I know of is the one that bailey sells, about
> $2000 for the smaller unit that would probably work fine for the size
> studio I have. Has anyone used this?
>
>
>
> Are there other systems available that work for clay dust?
>
> I know there are a lot of in-house filters you can buy but I don't
> know
> how they would work for our purposes.
>
>
>
> Any info at all would be appreciated because I think I need to do
> something soon. It's not just me in the studio - there are lots of
> cats
> and dogs as well! That was actually the first thing that got me
> motivated to start mopping constantly since they are always hanging
> out
> on the floor & I didn't want them breathing all the dust.
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Paul
Snail Scott on wed 28 apr 10
On Apr 28, 2010, at 9:51 AM, Paul Borian wrote:
> ...I saw lots of dust - far more than I expected, considering
> often I clean...
In my experience, the biggest contributor to dust
in the air is...
Cleaning!
Especially sweeping. Even when done carefully,
it kicks up a lot of fine particles. This may sound
like heresy, but I sweep as seldom as possible
(about twice a year). When carving swarf and clay
crumbs build up to a level that's hard to roll stuff
across, I use a shovel technique with the dustpan
and a board (no bristled brushes or brooms), and
only at the end of the day, preferably just before a
day spent out of the studio. It looks filthy, to be sure,
but my lungs notice the difference. More on the
floor; less in the air.
Moving-air devices often seem to do as much harm
as good, unless they are really excellent.
The only dust-free way to clean is wet, and that's not
always feasible. Better to let it lie than to sweep dry.
-Snail
Edouard Bastarache on wed 28 apr 10
The most hazardous dusts are usually invisible.
If you can not afford a study by an occupational
hygienist (very expensive), you will have to use "GBS" a french
acronym for Plain Common Sense.
Lots has been published on Clayart, check out the
archives.
Gis,
Edouard Bastarache Spertesperantisto
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30058682@N00/
http://edouardbastarache.blogspot.com/
http://blogsalbertbastarache.blogspot.com/
http://cerampeintures.blogspot.com/
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
Steve Mills on thu 29 apr 10
I agree with Snail.
The Health and Safety attitude over here is to avoid ANY form of sweeping
unless you are using damp sawdust to lay the dust before doing so.
Vacuuming is also a no-no unless you have HEPA (*high efficiency particulat=
e
air*) filters installed in the cleaner.
Any thing that moves air is to be avoided because that will mobilise the
extremely fine particles that you CAN'T see, even with a flashlight.
Basically Wet or Damp cleaning is far the best option.
Steve M
On 28 April 2010 15:51, Paul Borian wrote:
> Although I clean table tops and mop several times each day, there is
> still a lot of dust in the air in my studio. Last night I turned out all
> the lights and shined an led flashlight toward the ceiling, and in the
> beam of light I saw lots of dust - far more than I expected, considering
> often I clean. I have no idea how much of that dust is actually silica
> or if it even matters, but it seems like I have to do something.
>
>
>
> The cheapest approach, as others suggested last time I brought this
> topic up, is just a fan to vent air out of the studio. I could buy an
> attic ventilation fan and mount it on the ceiling and send the air
> through the attic above via some ducting, then out the roof. Winter
> would be a problem because it would cool the studio down but I could
> cross that bridge when I come to it.
>
>
>
> I was unable to get info on how to build a filtration system so I guess
> that is out - I would not know what parts to use, especially the
> filters, and where to get them.
>
>
>
> The only other option I know of is the one that bailey sells, about
> $2000 for the smaller unit that would probably work fine for the size
> studio I have. Has anyone used this?
>
>
>
> Are there other systems available that work for clay dust?
>
> I know there are a lot of in-house filters you can buy but I don't know
> how they would work for our purposes.
>
>
>
> Any info at all would be appreciated because I think I need to do
> something soon. It's not just me in the studio - there are lots of cats
> and dogs as well! That was actually the first thing that got me
> motivated to start mopping constantly since they are always hanging out
> on the floor & I didn't want them breathing all the dust.
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Paul
>
--
Steve
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional!
Mike on thu 29 apr 10
I've got a pretty small studio, so I vacuum with a shop vac. Got a drain
extension tube for a clothes washing machine and duct taped to the
vacuum's original tube which makes for a very long reach. Leave the
vacuum outside and vacuum the studio. A low tech, cheap solution if you
don't have a large studio.
Mike
Mike
in Taku, Japan
http://karatsupots.com
http://karatsupots.blogspot.com
Kiln Building Workshop, Oct. 15 - 22
http://karatsupots.com/workshop2010/workshop2010.html
http://karatsupots-workshop.blogspot.com/
(2010/04/29 7:29), Snail Scott wrote:
> On Apr 28, 2010, at 9:51 AM, Paul Borian wrote:
>> ...I saw lots of dust - far more than I expected, considering
>> often I clean...
>
>
> In my experience, the biggest contributor to dust
> in the air is...
>
> Cleaning!
>
> Especially sweeping. Even when done carefully,
> it kicks up a lot of fine particles. This may sound
> like heresy, but I sweep as seldom as possible
> (about twice a year). When carving swarf and clay
> crumbs build up to a level that's hard to roll stuff
> across, I use a shovel technique with the dustpan
> and a board (no bristled brushes or brooms), and
> only at the end of the day, preferably just before a
> day spent out of the studio. It looks filthy, to be sure,
> but my lungs notice the difference. More on the
> floor; less in the air.
>
> Moving-air devices often seem to do as much harm
> as good, unless they are really excellent.
>
> The only dust-free way to clean is wet, and that's not
> always feasible. Better to let it lie than to sweep dry.
>
> -Snail
>
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