[Tedro]

I was diagnosed with COPD last year from what the doctor guessed soldering. The fumes never bothered me so I did not do anything about them.

 

[Moontan13]

Eyestrain can cause headaches.

 

[rodentmacbeastie]

I work with many hazardous products. Solder is no different to anything that is bad for you. If you are thinking it is only minor and won't kill you, you may be right. However, it could greatly affect the quality of your life. Just using a fan is no good unless you have air exchange out a window. Without a window it will diffuse into the air and reduce the levels, but increase the area to include your wife and kids. It is a cumulative group of toxins that may include lead or not. These toxins remain in your body for a long time and every time you breath it, you add more that stay. I use a chemical mask on heavy days or cold winter months. This is the only way to protect yourself unless you use a air make-up/exaust system. Air make-up/exaust systems protect everyone in the house as well, not just you.

A simple project that should cost less than $50 and if you do a lot of soldering or even hobby painting, may save your quality of life. The idea is to buid a 30"wx24"hx24"d(approx.), wood or acrylic table top exaust box like a spray booth. You put an exaust fan ported out a window on the back side and 6" from the back use a furnace filter to diffuse the suction. You can mount lights on the inside and hooks on the outside for tools. How much airflow is up to you, variable is great as well. Close the door in the room you are working to create a negative pressure zone so that the fumes want to go out the exaust and not out the door. Air from under the door will create the needed air make up in the low pressure area to stop the fumes from leaving the room to contaminate the rest of the house. Seal around the exaust at the window opening as best as possible to stop the fumes from coming back in, keep you warm in the winter, and stop the pressure of the room from fluctuating too much. When was the last time $50 made fun things safe?

 

[lacrossebowe8]

I hadn't really thought about soldering being harmful, maybe i should be doing something

 

[rds]

Quote:

Just using a fan is no good unless you have air exchange out a window. Without a window it will diffuse into the air and reduce the levels, but increase the area to include your wife and kids.

Yeah, I should mention that my fan mod is not a substitute for proper ventilation. It is just to keep the solder fumes out of your face.
In my situation the back of the fan is about 10 inches from an open window.

 

[Moontan13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lacrossebowe8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hadn't really thought about soldering being harmful, maybe i should be doing something

By itself it's probably not too bad, but combined with everything else in modern society? Best to take precautions whenever possible. Silver soldering worries me the most. In several jobs I've had, silver soldering had to be done under a hood, and the fluxes were extremely toxic.

How about using a salvage range hood with some flex duct to go outside a window? It shouldn't be difficult to rig one up with a stand and power cord.

 

[qusp]

I work downstairs under the house its an open area and the breeze comes through quite well, I just use a fan to blow it away and out through the slats to join up with the rest of the worlds pollution.

I solder on average 4-5hrs a day, so I better really think about a proper solution to it; but really I actually like the smell and the areais extremely well ventilated with noone else around to be effected.