[smokin pots]

As hard as I try to keep my studio space around me clean it just always seem to be a mess!
I wipe down my splash pan after every throwing, helps me keep an eye on how much water I throw with and
is the only way I have found to keep up with a clean wheel. Yes, its a never ending daunting task, and I would
like to know how others have found to keep ahead of the mess. Tips to share?
Juli

[Pres]

smokin pots, on 31 January 2012 - 09:00 AM, said:

As hard as I try to keep my studio space around me clean it just always seem to be a mess!
I wipe down my splash pan after every throwing, helps me keep an eye on how much water I throw with and
is the only way I have found to keep up with a clean wheel. Yes, its a never ending daunting task, and I would
like to know how others have found to keep ahead of the mess. Tips to share?
Juli

I keep the floor around my wheel clean(very clean), then after trimming sweep up using a janitor type broom and dustpan combination that I can recycle the clean trimmings with.

[smokin pots]

Pres,


Do you mop the floor around the wheel daily? Is that how you are keeping it clean, or do you put newspaper down, and throw them away daily?
Juli

[Christine]

smokin pots, on 31 January 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

As hard as I try to keep my studio space around me clean it just always seem to be a mess!
I wipe down my splash pan after every throwing, helps me keep an eye on how much water I throw with and
is the only way I have found to keep up with a clean wheel. Yes, its a never ending daunting task, and I would
like to know how others have found to keep ahead of the mess. Tips to share?
Juli

My wheel is in a small alcove in my studio and I've lined this area with heavyweight plastic - sadly, this is my only "tip", and not much of one at that as I have to wipe down the plastic anyway! I try to make myself think of cleaning up as being part of the creative process so as not to resent it quite as much and when that doesn't work, I make myself do it for my own safety. I wet-cloth wipe every surface and tool I use after each session and use a water-filled spray gun on the floor before mopping up in order to keep dust at a minimum ..... I really wish there was a short cut and will keep my eye on this post with a hopeful heart!

[Mark C.]

I long ago gave up the keep the throwing wheel clean war
I weekly sweep shop floor (painted wood) with commercial green waxed floor sweep which picks up small clay dust particles
I trim os another dedicated trim wheel which also cleans easy once a week
Mark
here is the throwing room

Attached File(s)

•  Throw2.jpg (143.37K)
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[neilestrick]

Technically, we should never be using a broom in our studios, even with sweeping compound. The smallest clay/silica particles, the ones that actually get into your lungs and do damage, can stay airborne for hours. The best thing is to always sweep up trimmings while they are still moist, and wet mop to clean the floor. Always use a damp sponge or cloth to clean tables. Personally, I never clean my wheel or tools. I just empty out the splash pan when it gets full, and dip my tools in water before each session to loosen up the dired clay. My students, however, are required to clean the wheels every time they use them. I have 11 Thomas-Stuart (now Skutt) wheels in my studio, and very little clay makes it onto the floor with those large splash pans.

[Pres]

smokin pots, on 31 January 2012 - 01:27 PM, said:

Pres,

Do you mop the floor around the wheel daily? Is that how you are keeping it clean, or do you put newspaper down, and throw them away daily?
Juli

Concrete floor in the garage. Sweep up very clean, no mop just sweep and shop vac. Trimmings come off usually on the left side, and they get swept up before they get bone dry. The broom and dustpan collects most all of the clay easily. The thing is called a lobby broom and dustpan.

[teardrop]

I'm probably in the minority here (again), and some folks may say "it isn't a studio without a wheel".....but as someone who plans to (at least for the time being) focus on slab-construction I have decided that I'm not going to bring a wheel into my home just yet.

Thanks for reminding me why. (If I need to throw I'll go make a mess at the college...LOL)

[TJR]

I have a Brent wheel, but I did not buy the small splash pan. At the time they were $35.00 and I didn't have the cash. I built my own splash pan that fits the base of the wheel. I clean it twice a year at open house time[clean as in take it off and wash it in the sink[. It is made of wood and is Varithaned. [sp?].
I take all the trimmings out the next day when they are bone dry and put them in a 5 gallon slop bucket-when full, I slake them on a plaster batt.
I wet mop my floor when it needs it, about once a week. I also mop after glazing. I do not sweep. I have a hand broom and dust pan to pick up all the clay bits from the floor. I throw these away, as I have found staples in my clay and tiny bits of wood etc.
The beauty of having my own studio is that I don't have to clean my wheel every time I throw.
I always wash my throwing tools after every session. This is pschycological-gives me a fresh start next time.
Hope this helps.
TJR.

[Mark C.]

I should add that when I sweep with floor sweep I'm wearing a mask and run my Delta 50-875 1300 CFM 3-Speed Ambient Air Cleaner
and leave the studio for the day while the air cleaner does its work.This is usually Sunday evening
These air cleaners are very nice for clean air studios-one tip is install a pre filter( 1$ at hardware) in front of pricy machine fine micron filter
Mark

[Pres]

Mark C., on 01 February 2012 - 05:06 PM, said:

I should add that when I sweep with floor sweep I'm wearing a mask and run my Delta 50-875 1300 CFM 3-Speed Ambient Air Cleaner
and leave the studio for the day while the air cleaner does its work.This is usually Sunday evening
These air cleaners are very nice for clean air studios-one tip is install a pre filter( 1$ at hardware) in front of pricy machine fine micron filter
Mark

Studio at the HS had one air cleaner-bailey I think, and two downdraft tables. I would use the downdraft tables in the kids summer camp and be able to fast dry slab,coil, pinch and thrown pots in a day for a next day firing. Figured out that with all running I was circulating the total air through a filter 6 times an hr.

[Marcia Selsor]

I throw fairly dry and don't get a splash pan of water. I do save as much trimmings as possible for recycling and sweep or shop vac the floor after trimming.
I mop after glazing.
I had a student come up with a brilliant idea yesterday. He wet a piece of butcher paper to sand his piece. The wet paper caught the sand dust very neatly.
I don't like sanding but students like to do it. Always wear masks when sanding.
Marcia

[JBaymore]

neilestrick, on 31 January 2012 - 10:17 PM, said:

Technically, we should never be using a broom in our studios, even with sweeping compound. The smallest clay/silica particles, the ones that actually get into your lungs and do damage, can stay airborne for hours. The best thing is to always sweep up trimmings while they are still moist, and wet mop to clean the floor. Always use a damp sponge or cloth to clean tables.

BINGO!

Saying this one below again today from what I put in another posting ..........


I'd maybe suggest getting the book "Artist Beware" by Dr. Michael McCann and reading it. Also "Keeping Claywork Safe and Legal" by Monnona Rossol. They should be in every potter's library.



best,

..............john

[JBaymore]

Mark C., on 01 February 2012 - 05:06 PM, said:

I should add that when I sweep with floor sweep I'm wearing a mask and run my Delta 50-875 1300 CFM 3-Speed Ambient Air Cleaner
and leave the studio for the day while the air cleaner does its work.This is usually Sunday evening

WARNING!!!!!!!!

That particular filter unit does not have a filtration system that is suitable for microcrystaline respirable silica dusts. The only one that is approved for that kind of use is a HEPA type filter (or a P-100 type). That type of filter goes into the SUB micron range... not the micron plus level, as is stated on the Delta product literature for that unit. Government standards for HEPA filters for silica dusts say it must remove 99.97% of particles greater than 0.3 micrometer from the air. The fliter that comes with that unit appears to stop nothing below 1 micron. It is the sub micron particles that are of REAL concern.

Please remember that even HEPA filtered active air filters are the last line of defense on silica dust and need to be sized correctly as to the total room air volume and the level of contaminant that is present. Plus the location that the filters are installed is important too.

The first line of defense is preventuion of the material getting into the air in the first place, second is local pickup ventilation at the dust/fume/gas generation source (if that can be done), third is general dlitution ventilation of the entire space. It is only after all of that stuff is already addressed that active air filters aere suggested to pick up the final little "slack" in the rest of the system. This is pretty standard industrial hygiene practice.

If you happen to be IN the studio in the 24 to 36 hours that the sub-micron particles can remain in still air, you also have two OTHER active air filters working..... your lungs. If the filter unit is located on the ceiling, then the dust generated by you working probably is in your breathing zone before it ever reaches the air filter up on the roof.

best,

.............john

[Mark C.]

JBaymore, on 03 February 2012 - 02:21 PM, said:

Mark C., on 01 February 2012 - 05:06 PM, said:

I should add that when I sweep with floor sweep I'm wearing a mask and run my Delta 50-875 1300 CFM 3-Speed Ambient Air Cleaner
and leave the studio for the day while the air cleaner does its work.This is usually Sunday evening

WARNING!!!!!!!!

That particular filter unit does not have a filtration system that is suitable for microcrystaline respirable silica dusts. The only one that is approved for that kind of use is a HEPA type filter (or a P-100 type). That type of filter goes into the SUB micron range... not the micron plus level, as is stated on the Delta product literature for that unit. Government standards for HEPA filters for silica dusts say it must remove 99.97% of particles greater than 0.3 micrometer from the air. The fliter that comes with that unit appears to stop nothing below 1 micron. It is the sub micron particles that are of REAL concern.

Please remember that even HEPA filtered active air filters are the last line of defense on silica dust and need to be sized correctly as to the total room air volume and the level of contaminant that is present. Plus the location that the filters are installed is important too.

The first line of defense is preventuion of the material getting into the air in the first place, second is local pickup ventilation at the dust/fume/gas generation source (if that can be done), third is general dlitution ventilation of the entire space. It is only after all of that stuff is already addressed that active air filters aere suggested to pick up the final little "slack" in the rest of the system. This is pretty standard industrial hygiene practice.

If you happen to be IN the studio in the 24 to 36 hours that the sub-micron particles can remain in still air, you also have two OTHER active air filters working..... your lungs. If the filter unit is located on the ceiling, then the dust generated by you working probably is in your breathing zone before it ever reaches the air filter up on the roof.

best,

.............john

John
Thanks for that info as it does only do 1 micron-checking into a hepa filter for it-looks like I can just drop one in
Cannot be to careful-with dust
Mark

[Joanie]

teardrop, on 01 February 2012 - 09:30 AM, said:

I'm probably in the minority here (again), and some folks may say "it isn't a studio without a wheel".....but as someone who plans to (at least for the time being) focus on slab-construction I have decided that I'm not going to bring a wheel into my home just yet.

Thanks for reminding me why. (If I need to throw I'll go make a mess at the college...LOL)

I do have a wheel but 99% of my work is done by slab. To me, it is just more fun.

[Riorose]

I have my housekeepper come every other week to scrub everything down!

[celia]

I love all these ideas because I don't have running water in my studio. I have to hike around our house and uphill to find a garden hose.
The smartest thing I've done is save my fancy friends' dry cleaning bags and use them to line the semicircular open surface on my Lockerbee kickwheel. I don't use a lot of water throwing, but even so, there are blops and especially trimming bits when I trim. After work I can just peel up the bag and tip any mess into my reclaim barrel.
I save coffee canisters and their lids and use a different canister for each of my clay bodies' throwing water, so I never have to clean out a water bucket. Just snap on the lid.
Instead of canvas covered boards, I work on fabric topped shelf liner (a Contact product), using a different strip for each of my clay bodies. This stuff is about three feet long by 18 inches wide (I wish they made it wider but they don't) and it rinses right off under the hose and dries quickly. It's beautiful finish for handwork. Again, I can roll up any trimming bits and carry all that mess to the reclaim cans after a day's work. (I tried to find litho fabric locally but couldn't get it for free, so I quit looking.)
I wipe up dropped clay at once. Once a week I pour clean water on the floor and suck up any dirt with a shop vac.
Still, mess and dust accumulate.
I want one of those cleaning ladies!!

[JBaymore]

celia, on 04 February 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

I want one of those cleaning ladies!!

Just make sure that the cleaning lady is clearly informed of exactly what they are cleaning up in advance and have documentation of that fact........ so that they don't come back years later and sue you for any developing health issues... real or not real.

If you are a business, this thought gets more complicated. If they are classified as an employee of the business, there are some significant OSHA standards that you will need to comply with or you open yourself up to some REAL potential issues. As an independent contractor doing occasional cleaning work....... check with your lawyer for status of this (I haven't a clue).

best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

Mark C., on 03 February 2012 - 03:01 PM, said:

Thanks for that info as it does only do 1 micron-checking into a hepa filter for it-looks like I can just drop one in

Mark,

Did you find out if a HEPA filter addition is available for that particular unit?

best,

...................john