Skeptical about claim relating to working with fiberglass insulation

[Ladewig]

On one of the home handyman shows on the DIY network, a contractor said that the best way to wash up after installing fiberglass insulation was to take a cold shower rather than a hot one. He claimed that the cold water closed your pores and thus made it easier to remove fiberglass particles.

Is that true?

 

[plumjam]

OK, someone volunteer to strip naked, go roll round between the eaves for ten minutes, then go and have a cold shower. We're all ears.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

On one of the home handyman shows on the DIY network, a contractor said that the best way to wash up after installing fiberglass insulation was to take a cold shower rather than a hot one. He claimed that the cold water closed your pores and thus made it easier to remove fiberglass particles.

Is that true?

I really don't know the answer to your question, but it sounds wrong to me. If you get fibers in your pores, it seems to me the best way to wash them off would be to make your pores open. I suspect you don't actually get fibers in your pores, so it makes no difference.

On a derail. . .

I've been doing some insulation in my old house. I've become a big fan of the very expensive, spray-in poly-foam. I've learned that fiberglass batting R-values are often misleading. They're only valid in optimal conditions (no moisture, no wind penetration, no compression at all), and even then, the R-value drops as the temperature drops. The closed cell foam I've been using gives you approximately R-7 per inch, seals things up (no air or moisture penetration), has acoustic insulation properties and even some structural properties. It is very expensive though.

 

[Steelmage]

I remember years ago, workers working on our company's roof told me that they take a hot shower first, then a cold shower when doing work with fiberglass.

 

[fuelair]

I really don't know the answer to your question, but it sounds wrong to me. If you get fibers in your pores, it seems to me the best way to wash them off would be to make your pores open. I suspect you don't actually get fibers in your pores, so it makes no difference.

On a derail. . .

I've been doing some insulation in my old house. I've become a big fan of the very expensive, spray-in poly-foam. I've learned that fiberglass batting R-values are often misleading. They're only valid in optimal conditions (no moisture, no wind penetration, no compression at all), and even then, the R-value drops as the temperature drops. The closed cell foam I've been using gives you approximately R-7 per inch, seals things up (no air or moisture penetration), has acoustic insulation properties and even some structural properties. It is very expensive though.

Could you translate very expensive to say 3"per sq. ft. cost in $?

 

[fuelair]

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35439

American Lung Association on fiberglass contact, etc. Short version: for cleaning skin warm water shower with plenty of soap.

 

[geni]

On one of the home handyman shows on the DIY network, a contractor said that the best way to wash up after installing fiberglass insulation was to take a cold shower rather than a hot one. He claimed that the cold water closed your pores and thus made it easier to remove fiberglass particles.

Is that true?

What cold water should do is increase the viscosity of oils in the skin makeing it harder for fibers to stick to them.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

What cold water should do is increase the viscosity of oils in the skin makeing it harder for fibers to stick to them.

But warm water (with soap) would wash the oils off taking the fibers with them.

The fibers are not in your pores. They are embedded in your skin like tiny slivers. The best thing to do is cover up and prevent them from getting to your skin in the first place.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

If you are going to work with fiberglass, at least know what the hazards are.
Biologic effects of exposure to fiberglass (52 pg pdf file, 1,878K)

In summary, a decent dust mask, eye goggles, cover exposed skin and wash the clothes you worked in because they will have fibers on them as well.

 

[Ladewig]

But warm water (with soap) would wash the oils off taking the fibers with them.

The fibers are not in your pores. They are embedded in your skin like tiny slivers. The best thing to do is cover up and prevent them from getting to your skin in the first place.

Indeed, if I ever work with it again, I use a tyvek suit and face-covering respirator.

.............

Thanks for the quick answers.

 

[trvlr2]

Tyvek suit, respirator, gloves, warm shower followed by cold shower, all good ideas.
The trick is to not get it worked into your skin. Wash it off ASAP.
A regular washcloth is not fine enough to effect large scale removal; I have used panty-hose and natural sponge to get most of it off. Lots of lather, lots of water.
Do not wash your work clothes with your wife's panties, or your own. Two washings are better than one.
Welcome to the itch!

 

[jasonpatterson]

Oddly enough, I just had a conversation about this with a coworker on Friday. He had worked in a fiberglass insulation factory in college and said the exact same thing (Don't take a hot shower, take a cold shower and scrub hard.) He gave the same entirely bogus sounding reasoning, though honestly, it would seem like someone who worked with the stuff would have at least tried a hot shower now and again. I do realize that confirmation bias is huge in these sorts of things, but it would be interesting to find out.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Could you translate very expensive to say 3"per sq. ft. cost in $?

Let's see--the last price I paid was about $650 per kit (it comes in two tanks, and the hoses actually mix the two things right at the nozzle) which was for either 600 or 660 board feet. Assuming it was 600, that'd be the same as 200 sq. ft at 3" thick, so that's more or less $3 per sq. ft. at 3" thick.

I got that price when buying two kits, but IIRC, the only price break was that it made shipping free (instead of about $100 since it comes as a hazmat because the tanks are pressurized).

ETA: The kit comes with a bunch of extra nozzles, a tyvek coverall, goggles and gloves.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Oddly enough, I just had a conversation about this with a coworker on Friday. He had worked in a fiberglass insulation factory in college and said the exact same thing (Don't take a hot shower, take a cold shower and scrub hard.) He gave the same entirely bogus sounding reasoning, though honestly, it would seem like someone who worked with the stuff would have at least tried a hot shower now and again. I do realize that confirmation bias is huge in these sorts of things, but it would be interesting to find out.

It's easy to see why people would develop a myth about this. Hot water increases the itching and cold decreases it.