I'm putting in here a response that I made to Andy (CaptA) in his developing thread on dust collection: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?p=491644#poststop
"And since you said, "My biggest concern is my lungs. I simply do not breathe as well as I used to." I also urge you to always use an N95 rated dust mask also (they will have two head straps, not just the one elastic strap that the basic and useless, nuisance mask has). My lungs are very sensitive due to earlier abuse from a college summer job (coal dust), early life smoking and asthma. If I forget my mask, I will end up coughing for a couple of days after time in the shop creating dust."
I think dust masks (and hearing protection for that matter), merits constant discussion just for that reason. And I've learned more that might be helpful. After a major asthma attack last year that had me in the emergency room, I found myself researching again about asthma to bring myself up to date. (It had been years since my last serious attack and I caused this one myself by stopping the daily doses of the prophylactic hydrocortisone spray -- it's pretty expensive even with insurance. What I had failed to account for is my increasing sensitivity with age and the various things like woodworking that my triggerasthma if I don't maintain the daily prevention.)
Asthma triggers include dust, cold air, and (new news to me at the time) ozone. And that includes the ozone produced in my hot tub by the ozonator that helps keep the water safe. No wonder that (especially in winter) I tend to have asthma-like coughing spells every time I use the hot tub! That discovery sent me off looking for activated charcoal face masks (like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Acti...qid=1410282244&sr=8-2&keywords=charcoal+masks
) .
Activated charcoal filters out ozone. And yes, for use in the hot tub -- the hot tub is a major help in managing pain from my aching muscles and joints. The mask works and I don't have to give up the benefits of the hot, massaging water!
But that got me thinking about how those masks might work in my shop because they are also N95 rated. I have found they are great and that I much prefer them to the bulbous white masks that you get at Lowes or wherever. To me, they seem to work better. As a side benefit, they also help with the minor fumes from shop finishes and chemicals that we may have cause to use. (Though, it you are doing major work with chemicals or fumes, you should be wearing a true chemical mask. Available from Lowes or Amazon for less than $25.) Those fumes as well as most aerosol sprays can be another asthma trigger.
I also use these masks for mowing my new lawn and for working with mulch or other dust/pollen generators -- again, asthma triggers.
For those like me who wear a smaller hat size (no one can accuse me of being big-headed
), the masks all fit better if you tie off a small loop in the straps to shorten them.
I hope this might help someone else.
Rich
"And since you said, "My biggest concern is my lungs. I simply do not breathe as well as I used to." I also urge you to always use an N95 rated dust mask also (they will have two head straps, not just the one elastic strap that the basic and useless, nuisance mask has). My lungs are very sensitive due to earlier abuse from a college summer job (coal dust), early life smoking and asthma. If I forget my mask, I will end up coughing for a couple of days after time in the shop creating dust."
I think dust masks (and hearing protection for that matter), merits constant discussion just for that reason. And I've learned more that might be helpful. After a major asthma attack last year that had me in the emergency room, I found myself researching again about asthma to bring myself up to date. (It had been years since my last serious attack and I caused this one myself by stopping the daily doses of the prophylactic hydrocortisone spray -- it's pretty expensive even with insurance. What I had failed to account for is my increasing sensitivity with age and the various things like woodworking that my triggerasthma if I don't maintain the daily prevention.)
Asthma triggers include dust, cold air, and (new news to me at the time) ozone. And that includes the ozone produced in my hot tub by the ozonator that helps keep the water safe. No wonder that (especially in winter) I tend to have asthma-like coughing spells every time I use the hot tub! That discovery sent me off looking for activated charcoal face masks (like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Acti...qid=1410282244&sr=8-2&keywords=charcoal+masks
) .
Activated charcoal filters out ozone. And yes, for use in the hot tub -- the hot tub is a major help in managing pain from my aching muscles and joints. The mask works and I don't have to give up the benefits of the hot, massaging water!
But that got me thinking about how those masks might work in my shop because they are also N95 rated. I have found they are great and that I much prefer them to the bulbous white masks that you get at Lowes or wherever. To me, they seem to work better. As a side benefit, they also help with the minor fumes from shop finishes and chemicals that we may have cause to use. (Though, it you are doing major work with chemicals or fumes, you should be wearing a true chemical mask. Available from Lowes or Amazon for less than $25.) Those fumes as well as most aerosol sprays can be another asthma trigger.
I also use these masks for mowing my new lawn and for working with mulch or other dust/pollen generators -- again, asthma triggers.
For those like me who wear a smaller hat size (no one can accuse me of being big-headed
), the masks all fit better if you tie off a small loop in the straps to shorten them.I hope this might help someone else.
Rich
