Improving air quality in my small workshop
starideda
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hello,
I’m still setting up my workshop in the basement (14 x 7.5 ft). It’s pretty small, but it’s the only place I can do woodworking (see sketch).
Since I’m at the end of the hall, I have a small window (3 x 2 ft) that I can open to let fresh air in. The problem is that there are no intake windows or doors as they are far away and closed.
Since I just started a couple days ago, I’m not sure if I have an air quality issue or not. Hard to say, maybe use some CO2 meter? I do notice that the air is little bit thick, but still, we had some hot days with rain today, so it is hard to tell.
Or maybe I’d be better off setting up a fan to circulate the air out the window? I can put the fan in my workshop, not in the corridor.
I don’t have any machines, so the dust isn’t really an issue. I do everything by hand, so of course there is some dust, but not a huge amount of it.
Thanks.
Replies
Depending on the humidity of the outside air the fan in the window might not help. When someone says basement shop I think dehumidifier and a simple box fan to start. If you can attach a hose to it and have it run whenever needed that is ideal. Drying the space out can make a world of difference.
Shortly after I starting working with hand tools, I bought a Dylos particle meter to measure various hand tool operations. It’s been 7 or 8 years since I did this so the specifics are fuzzy. Before I started, I had good air quality in the shop. Using hand planes, the air quality remained good. Using rip and cross cut saws, there was a little dip in air quietly but nothing concerning. Using sand paper by hand did noticeable increase particulates in the air so I generally avoid sanding.
+1 for the dehumidifier. As a bonus some airborn dust will collect on the coil and drip into the collection container. A fan in the window will pull makeup air from somewhere... find out from where to make sure you're not making things worse.
sounds like there are 3 possibly separate concerns--air quality, humidity and CO2. I would get an air quality meter over a CO2 meter. air quality, particularly 2.5 PM particles are the ones that are bad for your health. I bought a less expensive one on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QVKBS66/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and I often use it semi-quantitatively to guide whether to wear a dusk mask or not or to turn on the air cleaner. i.e., my baseline reading is usually 16-19; above 20 I turn on the air cleaner and wear a dusk mask, whatever I'm doing (usually sanding; band saw re-sawing and cutting grooves on the table saw or router table sometimes, and MDF material). turning the air cleaner on makes the PM number go down so even if the sensor isn't absolutely accurate, the trend numbers seem to make sense.
for humidity, buy a thermometer with a humidity sensor and address accordingly. for CO2, if you are near a busy street, don't open the window.
Well, I actually do not do any sanding. Basically planing and of course sawing here and there, but I do not mind using mask when doing it.
My biggest fear is not that I will have particles in the air but that I do not have enough (fresh) air.
I will measure humidity in the basement but I can not say that is it humid. It is relatevely new building (10 years old), basement is made of concrete and it is really dry down there.
So basically I do not want bad air or lack of oxygen which could harm me. Especially when I am doing rough work with a lot of planing so I get sweaty very fast.
I can not put any fan directly at the window since it is part of the corridor and not my basement unit. I could put something temporarely on the windows or at the door to my unit.
Unless the area is hermetically sealed or you have utilities burning fuel, I can’t imagine that you have to worry about CO2 buildup.
The chance that you will suffer from a lack of oxygen or too much CO2 is beyond remote unless there is something down there with you burning fossil fuels very inefficiently. Then your worry would be CO.
Emphatically agree, lol.
Also...if your not using any powered machines or even sanding you arent going to have any dust fine enough to be an issue to your health.
I did some measurements today. CO2 concentraction is between 700 and 800 ppm. Sometimes I got very high measurements but not sure what can be the source, maybe car driving by and exhaust fumes coming into shaft where the windows is opened.
Normally we would have between 400 and 500 ppm at our balcony (second floor).
I feel better when I am near the window. That means positioning my workbench as close to the door as possible and opening the door completely, as well as the window.
I guess some kind of fan would help boost the movement of the air. However, I am not sure where to position it and not to make the problem even worse.
Humidity is normal, about 45%.
Put a fan in the window exhausting out if you're worried.
Put a second fan in the corner to circulate air if you still feel like it's muggy.
A dehumidifier or AC unit (same thing, just no reheat coil) will lower the humidity and also help the mugginess. Personally, I'm uncomfortable with anything more than 20% humidity. I'm a big wuss about it, though.
I have never heard of any normal room in any building, no matter how closed off it seems, having a c02 concern.
Maybe it is just me, and maybe there is not much of CO2 there (under 1000 ppm is considered OK) as well as humidity around 45% but I feel that the air is stale.
Would a simple ceiling fan help? It would help the movement of the air in such small space I hope.
Do you have HVAC in the basement? Ductwork?
No.
Remove the wall where the door is, you get a larger work area and a window!