[ksasser]

Just wondering how often your studios get cleaned....mopped, dusted etc. Also, do any of you run a HEPA filter in your studio? Thanks!

[JBaymore]

To help kickstart answers to this thread..........

http://ceramicartsda...-working-clean/

http://ceramicartsda...r-small-studio/

http://ceramicartsda...d-try-sponging/

http://ceramicartsda...t-studio-water/

best,

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

[Chris Campbell]

I only do hand building so do not have the mess of throwing to deal with ... what I focus on is prevention. I work with soft clay to build things, I clean up dry work with a wet natural sponge. I sand wet bisque with a wet piece of sandpaper. If I need to dry sand something I do it up close over a bucket of water... wearing an approved safety mask. I clean up everything I possibly can with a sponge and water. I let the water sit overnight to settle then cover my drain with an old towel and pour off the water until I only see the solids. Throw it in the dirt part of my yard. I'm in North Carolina so my yard is mostly clay anyhow.

[Jeri]

Yes, I run a HEPA filter in my home studio, and I clean up daily with damp mop and sponges, and a dust mop for cleaning up trimmings from the floor. I save my throwing water and start using it for the next batch of reclaim. I keep a bucket of fresh water with a small amount of soap for washing my hands, and another with clear water for rinsing and a bucket for 'dirty water' collection for when I'm glazing. If it turns out that I am going to throw out the throwing water, I do so in the dirt of my yard. Here in New Mexico, we're mostly sand, so we can use the clay in the soil!

Now, the studio where I rent space... I have no idea what they practice. Judging from the floor, I highly doubt it's seen a mop, ever. There are brooms and masks (the kind that make you look like your from outer space) so I'm sure the floor is at the least swept. As for their air filtration system, I have no idea. If the 'studio' area is up to standard, there is no way of telling.

I just know that on the days I'm playing there and not at home, I clean my area, and always leave it better than I found it.

[Prokopp]

I think most clay dust in the air comes from dirty floors, and foot traffic. I try to mop my floor at least once a week during the warm months, then rinse it out with a hose.

[wolfie50]

ksasser, on 09 March 2012 - 07:56 AM, said:

Just wondering how often your studios get cleaned....mopped, dusted etc. Also, do any of you run a HEPA filter in your studio? Thanks!

My studio is fairly new...so I'm trying really hard to clean at the end of my day. That includes wiping things down with wet sponges and mopping the floor. I read a blog not so long ago when the pottery said she finds it difficult to enter a dirty studio and feel inspired. I sort of feel the same and besides, I am a messy potter so leaving things would be a disaster!

[T II]

wolfie50, on 12 March 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

ksasser, on 09 March 2012 - 07:56 AM, said:

Just wondering how often your studios get cleaned....mopped, dusted etc. Also, do any of you run a HEPA filter in your studio? Thanks!

My studio is fairly new...so I'm trying really hard to clean at the end of my day. That includes wiping things down with wet sponges and mopping the floor. I read a blog not so long ago when the pottery said she finds it difficult to enter a dirty studio and feel inspired. I sort of feel the same and besides, I am a messy potter so leaving things would be a disaster!

I've been taking classes but everything was full this semester. Not having access to the university’s equipment I have been slowly setting up a studio adding what I need as I need it. I've started to reclaim clay. I expected it to "sour” but I’ve got a ball of clay that is almost black. My question is will this discoloration dissipate as things go along?

[Matt Oz]

T II, on 12 March 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

wolfie50, on 12 March 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

ksasser, on 09 March 2012 - 07:56 AM, said:

Just wondering how often your studios get cleaned....mopped, dusted etc. Also, do any of you run a HEPA filter in your studio? Thanks!

My studio is fairly new...so I'm trying really hard to clean at the end of my day. That includes wiping things down with wet sponges and mopping the floor. I read a blog not so long ago when the pottery said she finds it difficult to enter a dirty studio and feel inspired. I sort of feel the same and besides, I am a messy potter so leaving things would be a disaster!

I've been taking classes but everything was full this semester. Not having access to the university’s equipment I have been slowly setting up a studio adding what I need as I need it. I've started to reclaim clay. I expected it to "sour” but I’ve got a ball of clay that is almost black. My question is will this discoloration dissipate as things go along?

Hello T ll, any discoloration left after the clay dries, will burn out when fired.

[T II]

Matt Oz, on 12 March 2012 - 06:15 PM, said:

T II, on 12 March 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

wolfie50, on 12 March 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

ksasser, on 09 March 2012 - 07:56 AM, said:

Just wondering how often your studios get cleaned....mopped, dusted etc. Also, do any of you run a HEPA filter in your studio? Thanks!

My studio is fairly new...so I'm trying really hard to clean at the end of my day. That includes wiping things down with wet sponges and mopping the floor. I read a blog not so long ago when the pottery said she finds it difficult to enter a dirty studio and feel inspired. I sort of feel the same and besides, I am a messy potter so leaving things would be a disaster!

I've been taking classes but everything was full this semester. Not having access to the university’s equipment I have been slowly setting up a studio adding what I need as I need it. I've started to reclaim clay. I expected it to "sour” but I’ve got a ball of clay that is almost black. My question is will this discoloration dissipate as things go along?

Hello T ll, any discoloration left after the clay dries, will burn out when fired.

Thanks Matt, I thought I was to add bleach or something.

[Matt Oz]

T II, on 13 March 2012 - 10:35 AM, said:

Matt Oz, on 12 March 2012 - 06:15 PM, said:

T II, on 12 March 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

wolfie50, on 12 March 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

ksasser, on 09 March 2012 - 07:56 AM, said:

Just wondering how often your studios get cleaned....mopped, dusted etc. Also, do any of you run a HEPA filter in your studio? Thanks!

My studio is fairly new...so I'm trying really hard to clean at the end of my day. That includes wiping things down with wet sponges and mopping the floor. I read a blog not so long ago when the pottery said she finds it difficult to enter a dirty studio and feel inspired. I sort of feel the same and besides, I am a messy potter so leaving things would be a disaster!

I've been taking classes but everything was full this semester. Not having access to the university’s equipment I have been slowly setting up a studio adding what I need as I need it. I've started to reclaim clay. I expected it to "sour” but I’ve got a ball of clay that is almost black. My question is will this discoloration dissipate as things go along?

Hello T ll, any discoloration left after the clay dries, will burn out when fired.

Thanks Matt, I thought I was to add bleach or something.

It's been a while since I had really sour clay, but it did seem to dissipate some once I started using it, I think exposing it to oxygen by stirring or wedging helps.

[ksasser]

Thanks for the info! We have a community studio but there isn't a whole lot of traffic. Everyone is really good about cleaning up after themselves but I was just curious about the how often folks clean their studio floors....what's the norm. So, this has been helpful.

[Marcia Selsor]

I do both hand building and wheel work. If I am shaving large forms I avoid the shavings from accumulating on the floor. I use a shop vac to clean around the tables.
I mop after glazing.
Marcia

[Prokopp]

Now that spring is here, it's time to drag everything out of the studio and wash everything down, perhaps next week.

[Terry]

My studio is 50m from the Indian Ocean and gets pretty dirty on a daily basis just from the sea air. I have a cleaner who comes once a week and wipes EVERYTHING down - its essential. As far as the dust from the clay is concerned - my studio floor is paved with brick pavers painted white with road paint, so I just put the hose in every now and again to clean. My cleaner wipes the wedging tables and I have vinyl cloth - turned upside down - which covers my work surfaces - which we just put into the shorebreak now and gain for cleaning. But I have to agree a messy studio is hard to be inspired in (for me).

[karan]

I mop my floor at home studio every day at the end of my working time. I have a great microfiber mop I love- leaves very little to no residue behind when the pad is rinsed often. Like a swiffer- but better, as I was my pad, and use my own solution (like water) in the bottle rather than a commercial one. Made by rubbermaid...

At school (I teach High School Ceramics all day) I mop at the end of each class, and have the kids do it too... then again a once-over at the end of the day. I try to get stuff up as soon as I see it... or else it gets tracked all over.

Lest you think I am a neat freak... let me assure you I'm not. I'm just particular about not breathing in microcrystalline silica... :-)

ksasser, on 15 March 2012 - 10:06 AM, said:

Thanks for the info! We have a community studio but there isn't a whole lot of traffic. Everyone is really good about cleaning up after themselves but I was just curious about the how often folks clean their studio floors....what's the norm. So, this has been helpful.