Measuring dust with a Dylos air quality monitor

[bobfog]

I think [member=11196]Peter Parfitt[/member] has committed to doing a video for his YouTube channel on a dust/air quality study in the near future.

 

[josephgewing]

My father, Eugene G. Ewing MD, was a General Practitioner in a small town in Nebraska.  His definition - tongue in cheek - of an Expert was someone who was frequently wrong but never in doubt.

Joe 
(also a Family Practitioner)

 

[John Stevens]

In response to Spiff, I could add my own similar story about housecleaning products.  I agree with his caution regarding exposure to wood dust.  I want to make it clear that my post wasn't meant to disparage the practice of collecting dust at the source, but to share my experience that ambient dust collectors seem very effective at removing fine dust particles--in the case of the Jet, better even than the seller claims.  And to share my experience that dust collection at the tool may not do as much to reduce the fine dust particle count as we're sometimes led to believe.

--John

 

[grbmds]

I have never believed that there is a single solution to dust collection in the shop. Instead, the best result comes from coordination of collection at the source, an ambient air cleaner, and personal dust protection (like masks or powered air cleaning masks). For me, the proof is in the lack of dust laying around on the floor, shelves, and machines after a long session of planing, sawing, sanding, or routing.

 

[JimD]

I've had plenty of exposure to relatively high levels of wood dust.  When we cleaned out my old shop, for instance, the air was incredibly dusty.  We were moving and had to get it cleaned out.  Lots of wood scraps I had held onto forever went to the dump, the tools went into storage along with a little of the best wood, and we swept and vacuumed up.  If my hair wasn't already grey it would have looked like it due to the dust.  My hayfever is also not as bad as it used to be.  Maybe I will be more sensitive to wood dust some day.  I plan to keep this shop cleaner so I do not have to do such a terribly dusty cleanup in the future.  The old shop got that way due mainly to bad bags on the dust collector.  They got the big stuff and blew the fine dust all over the shop.  Never again for me.  Near HEPA quality or no dust collection.(by near HEPA I mean quasi HEPA filter for the shop vacuum or a cartridge filter on the DC that is near HEPA specs - HEPA would be better but is often significantly more for a little better filteration plus the rating)

Another idea I initially pooh poohed (how do you spell that?) is taking a leaf blower to the shop periodically.  My old shop wasn't laid out well for that but this one is.  I could start at the back door and blow to the garage door at the other end.  With a dust mask on.  If it starts getting bad, I think I'll do this.  But so far, it seems almost as clean as the house and cleaner than outside.