Ventilating your workshop.

Welding fumes are hazardous to your health.  We all know that. But we seldom do anything about it. Years ago, a gray or brown haze would waft over  the space of most welding shops and the smell of 6010 burning would fill the air.   This still happens in small shops and areas where ventilation hasn't been provided.

I am constantly reminded of the damage that can be done every time I blow my nose.  Just a few minutes of welding will fill my nostrils with soot, in an enclosed space. I shudder to think what my lungs look like after a session of all day welding.  I know my throat can fill raw and irritated at the very least.  Ventilation costs are high, if you go the standard route of fume extractors and respirators.

IF you can go this route you should. But admittedly it is not in everybody’s budget or capability to do so. At this point, I’d say, something is better than nothing.  A fan simply placed in the area to circulate fresh air while you are welding helps. A low cost “ventilation” system may be a shop vac hooked up to a small funnel hood.

Or another one that works well, is a kitchen vent hood that exhausts outside is mounted over the welding area.  As the old saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way. This is true when it comes to taking care of your health. If you start doing anything to protect yourself from welding fumes, it is better than no protection at all.