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Having been involved in the development of the “Clean Room” business in Ireland a number of years ago…I would have my doubts if you would achieve any real/measurable benefits from the Pentex unit.

The only true way to reduce the fumes and dust particulates in your shop in any major way would be to ensure that the air pressure is higher in the shop than outside and to filter the incoming air…..that’s the short version of “Clean Room” technology.

In general the major source of particulate contaminant in your “Home” or the “Work Place” will be dead skin which we shred……I know it sounds dreadful but it is a fact.

I will do a search later and see if I can find a site that will explain “Clean Room” technology better….don’t be put off by the terminology “Clean Room” it is just a terminology to explain a method of keeping a work area clean
 
http://www.asd-online.com/eng/eng_jsmindex.htm?cleanroom.htm
This site/link gives a good indication of the type of air flow you need to achieve …just picture that your shop is a box which need to have the air filtered coming in and ….you will need an air in and out flow to archive the best results…..for your purpose for get about the Class 10 to Class 100,000 terminology….these are standards that the Pharmaceutical and Electronics industries use to measure the efficiencies of there clean rooms…..I would think that a good filter from a air conditioning (AC) unit should be ok…though as AC is not a big thing in Ireland I would need to look at the specification of the filter…

http://www.coastwidelabs.com/Technical%20Articles/Cleaning%20the%20Cleanroom.htm
This is another good site……don’t get put off by the level of engineering required…you will only need something much less complex…….bottom line is that you need to control the flow of air in and out of your shop.

Do you want to describe you shop…..i.e. size, number of areas/rooms…..where the doors are, are they closed or open…do you have an AC or air handling unit, if so where is it, what is on the ceiling, is tiles or solid sheet, what type of heating have you, is radiators or a blow system, what equipment is in the shop…perhaps the dust is not all coming from outside…..

I hope this gives you something to work on….I do know that I read a few years ago that a framer in New York City put in a clean room…..it is one of the things a framing business could do if they are doing “Preservation” framing…though I’m not sure if the clean room would need to meet Federal Standard 209

Typical particles in semiconductor class 100 room air
Source…………….. Percent
Human………………46%
Dust-Free Clothing…8%
Cleaning Materials....4%
Photoresist Pieces….12%
Silicon, Quartz……….22%
Other………………….8%
Total………………….100%

Now just think about all the stuff around a framing shop

This is another good site… http://www.mvent.com.ph/references/cleanroom.htm
What is a clean room.

Enough for now….
 
This was posted on the “Conservation DistList” which came in today 29th May 2004……it would appear that you are not the only one concerned by airborne particles……

Rgs

Dermot
______________________________________________________________________
“Source Conservation DistList”
Date: 25 May 2004
From: Jean Tetreault <jean_tetreault@pch.gc.ca>
Subject: Air purification systems

Donald Farren <dfarren@concentric.net> writes

>Does anyone have experience with relatively small, free-standing air
>cleaners (of the sort that Sears sells)? They are advertised as "99.97%
>effective in removing most airborne particles, including pollen, smoke,
>mold spores, and pet dander". Question: How effective are they in
>trapping fine dust particles, like "book dust"?

Filters having efficiency of 99.97% are designated as HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters. They will trap almost everything having a diameter equal or bigger than 0.3 micrometer.
For particles having a diameter lower than 0.3 micrometer, they will be still very well trapped too (> 90%). However, you have to realize that you will be in competitive mode between, particles that the air cleaner can catch and the particles that can be deposited into your collection without been trapped by the cleaner. Obviously, it will reduce the dust deposition on your collection. Big lints from staff and visitors may still fall down the floor without been captured by the air cleaner. Airtightness of the room, ventilation power of the air cleaner and the size of the room are parameters that will affect the efficiency of the air cleaner. More detail can be found on the
book: "Airborne Pollutants in Museums, Galleries and Archives: Risk Assessment, Control Strategies and Preservation Management." For more information on this book see <URL:http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/links/pollutants/index_e.shtml>

Jean Tetreault
Senior Conservation Scientist
Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road Ottawa
Ontario K1A 0M5, Canada
 
Fantastic stuff Dermot.

Not that I can understand a word of the technology! I think I'll have to open the window and let some fresh Scottish air clear my head before I tackle those technical links listed in your posts.

Alan
 
I forgot to mention the system we use in our shop.
We open the shop door at the front then open the window at the back and if we can both stand upright then we know we can start work.

Alan
 
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