Air Freshener for Stinking Work Shop?

Al Launier

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Bedford, NH
Ho Boy, I did it yesterday. I was ripping a piece of CDX plywood on my TS against the fence to reduce the thickness & I was about halfway through the length when the blade/plywood really started to overheat. Now, before I go any further I have to admit that I was derelict & knew better & the blade (Carbide 60T) was gummed up & I shouldn't have used it, but I did, I wanted to complete the cut so I forced it on: what a dummy! Anyway, the burning stench was overwhelming. I tried to exhaust the odor with fans from my workshop, around & up a flight of stairs to the garage. Too little, too late.

My wife came home, she had to go to the finished lower level & check out (as in admire) the new furniture we just purchased throughout the area. This area is right next to the workshop & is separated only by a door. Whammo! She immediately blew a fuse & I've been on the receiving end ever since. Even a nice Valentine's card didn't lower the volume.

So, what's a guy to do? Keep a spray can of air freshener, or incense (LOL), on hand for such "emergencies"? Now, I know you guys are all pros, but some of you must have made a mistake or two during your careers to cause the air in your shop to foul, and I'm not referring to a natural expulsion of odiferous vapor fragrance either.

If you have found air freshener to work, which variety worked best? Not looking for something sweet & purty, just a neutralizer - maybe something like a grilled hamburger. LOL

I need to salvage Valentines Day if you know what I mean.
 
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None of the above Al, you just have to stop and fix the problem at the first hint of smoke as it isn't going to get better on it's own just worse... Or get a separate shop building which is the best solution but you still have to stop and fix things...


Garry
 
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Ooops! Only solution I have is maybe grill a hamburger on a george foreman grill in the shop or close to the new furniture??:whistling::scram:

Sorry had to say it, hope you can save Valentines Day!! :thumb:
 
I'm not sure that even Frebreeze is going to help you in that situation. Separate shop would be the best step, perhaps a charcoal filter in one of the air scrubbers.
 
Anyway, the burning stench was overwhelming. I tried to exhaust the odor with fans from my workshop, around & up a flight of stairs to the garage. Too little, too late.

So are we to understand that you don't have any windows in your basement shop at all?

I have one window in my shop, so I open that one, put in a fan blowing out, and open the other window on the other side of the basement to allow fresh air to come in.

...art

As well, of course, is a sincere "I'm sorry" to LOML.
 
No windows at all.

For air filtration I'm using a 2-speed 20" Sq. fan with a 20" Sq. filter duct taped to it. I added two 12" additional fans in the stairwell to supplement the 20" fan that serves the TS.

Brent, I'll try the odor absorber you suggested. I'll place it right next to the door so she gets a strong whiff if she opens the door. LOL

However, the bottom line is to do it right to begin with.
 
We've all made mistakes and we've all learned from them. I always learn form things that I have to work hardest for or suffer the most from. I would say with the level of pain associated with this one, the lesson will stick pretty good :). I could offer some things you have already figured out like, 10 minutes to clean the blade or changing to a usable one is a fraction of the time you are no spending and so forth . . . :blah:

Is SWMBO in favor of your woodworking hobby? If so, I wouldn't think you wouldn't get too much push back on addressing some dust collection and air handling upgrades. You have actual weather where you live and I only hear about such things on the radio so I will let others discuss dust collection methods for your area. Good luck and . . . there's always next Valentine's Day. She should have forgiven you by then(?).
 
Al i dont have as much snow now as you but i do get cold temps,, and have made your mistake once maybe two weeks ago:) so back to the smell and how to fix it. i would get your self one of those air cleaners like darren mentioned or make one, take and use a carbon filter next to the intake and a regular filter outside of that to catch the dust and not fill your carbon filter so fast,, they are easy to make if you can get a old furnace fan from somewhere.. also you could look into getting a outside vent set up as well with a fan pushing air out.. i have a 32x 32 area that has one of the air cleaners and even when its bad it doesn't take much over a hour to clear it out..i am not pushing it outside just taking and cleaning it.. i do hav4e a exhaust fan setup in the finish room so i dont have to inhale finish fumes all day as well.
 
Make a batch of cookies, or brownies... anything with chocolate. That usually puts me in good odor regardless of the ambient odor :D

I'd agree that having zero outside venting sounds problematic/scary especially when doing any finishing. Even in an attached garage with a nice big open door I have to be a bit careful when using the fumier finishes to not let them get into the house (loml is extra sensitive though, so one whiff and she's like WHAT IS THAT.. even when I can't even really smell it).
 
Make a batch of cookies, or brownies... anything with chocolate. That usually puts me in good odor regardless of the ambient odor :D

I'd agree that having zero outside venting sounds problematic/scary especially when doing any finishing. Even in an attached garage with a nice big open door I have to be a bit careful when using the fumier finishes to not let them get into the house (loml is extra sensitive though, so one whiff and she's like WHAT IS THAT.. even when I can't even really smell it).

boy i can agree with that one ryan i think mine was a blood hound in a previous life now if i could just train her to sniff out truffels or something valueble:)
 
...ripping a piece of CDX plywood on my TS against the fence to reduce the thickness & I was about halfway through the length when the blade/plywood really started to overheat. ...the blade (Carbide 60T)...Not looking for something sweet & purty, just a neutralizer...

1. Wrong blade! A 60 tooth blade is not ever meant for ripping, and burying it in the edge of a piece of plywood is even worse. A rip blade typically has about 24 teeth. and they're set differently than a crosscut blade. In a pinch, a 40 tooth combination blade can be used, but even that is a compromise.

2. No jar or spray of air freshener is gonna get rid of that smell. Don't EVEN believe those Febreze ads! Other than good ventilation, about the only thing that's likely to work is one of those (expensive!) ozone generating air cleaners.
 
Well Al I tested one of my mugs in the microwave. I can tell ya the best way to get the smell out is time. About two weeks worth.:doh::thumb::thumb:
Oh and KaLea was not real impressed with me burning a mug in her microwave.:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
A buddy's dad was an RCMP Staff Sergent, he often had to go into homes where someone had passed and then sat for a while, yeah, not the nicest odor to deal with. He had two sure hit solutions.

1) get the electric stove's element red hot then sprinkle cinnamon over the thing, the cinnamon powder will pop and burst into flames and the smell will really cover a lot of bad smells.

2) get a tin can, a good sized coffee can works well, put a couple of good sized scoops of coffee grounds into the can, the grounds you used to make coffee in the morning are fine, they don't need to be fresh. Heat up the can over a hot plate, or a torch and get the grounds to the point where they start to smoke, you don't want them to actually catch fire, but smoke a fair bit, not crazy billows of smoke, but smoke, this will kill almost any odor in an enclosed space.

I smoke cigars on occasion down in the Dungeon, it's the only place I'm allowed to smoke them, but sometimes the smell gets a bit much, even with ventilation, I have some incense sticks that I burn, but this is more of a maintenance thing than a fix a big problem thing.

Good luck!

Oh yeah, if you have smoke detectors in your shop, disable them before you try either of my methods.

Cheers!
 
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Well, as in a number of previous posts, you fellas really jump right in with helpful suggestions. As noted, I am using a 2-speed, 20" Sq. fan with a basic filter that is taped to the fan & is supplemented with two 12" fans to draw/push the air from the shop around a corner & up a stairwell to the garage. The filtered fan is positioned downstream of the TS (~1952 10" Sears Roebuck) to catch the dust (no dust collection feature on the saw) & it appears to do a pretty good job. Actually, I have to periodically vacuum the filter to remove the sawdust that is collected on its face, but the fan, by itself, doesn't do anything for odors except re-distribute it throughout the shop. LOL However, with the added 12" fans the "burn" odor was effectively exhausted to the garage.

So now, I'm going to follow Larry's advice & install a charcoal filter between the basic filter & the fan to help with future odors. Plus, I'm going to get some "Natural Magic Odor Absorbing Gel that Brent suggested to "comfort" the lady of the house. I'm also going to be less lazy & change the blade for the cutting at hand.

By the way, I read another thread about cleaning gummed up saw blades where Lestoil was recommended. I didn't have any on hand to clean the blade that was used during the burn incident, so I used "Simple Green" letting it soak for a couple hours & then used a brass bristle brush on the blade. The gummy goo had already begun to float off by then & I hardly had to scrub to remove the goo that remained on the teeth (suspect an hours soak would have worked well too). The blade looks like new!!! So, if any of you have Simple Green on hand try that, it really works well. The Simple Green leaves a somewhat pleasant scent in the shop that tends to mask other odors: much better than burnt wood & much better for the wife!
 
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