# how do you stop saw dust from tracking into the house



## xrayguy78 (May 17, 2013)

hi guys

new poster, long time lurker.

I've just bought a new home with a garage that enters into the house. How do i stop from tracking saw dust from the garage into our house.

any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

thanx guys and gals. Love this site

r


----------



## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

take your shoes off


----------



## rossboyle52 (Dec 31, 2012)

Blow the dust off with either an air compressor or vacuum it with the shop vac (or dust collector with hand vac. port) and take off your shoes before entering the house. I keep a good pair of acorn slippers just inside the entry door to the house. I always wear a shop apron and ball cap in the shop to minimize the task of blowing the dust off of me.


----------



## coachmancuso (Feb 10, 2013)

Make sure you clean up after each session in the garage. Some sort of dust collection system, that will cut down on a lot of dust getting on you !


----------



## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

The air compressor and blowing off is probably the best. Always a tough problem.

Build things for your wife so she doesn't mind cleaning up. ;-)

Welcome to LumberJocks


----------



## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

good Dust collection


----------



## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Shop shoes and a shop shirt. Good luck explaining how those shavings got in the washing machine though 

You could also use tack mats. They arent cheap but we use them at work when we work in hospitals.


----------



## sgv (Mar 21, 2013)

Go to local paint store they have a 3foot buy 3foot (dirt catcher) it is slightly sticky, it comes with 15 sheets, you can get replacements to go on the main body, I have used this for years, my shop went into a carpeted aria not a spec got on it  
P.S. it is a 3m product


----------



## mcgyver (Apr 11, 2013)

place a piece of out door carpeting in front of door. blow your self off before you leave shop then walk across carpet catches what is on your shoes. rougher the carpet the better.


----------



## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

Why? It's not like you're walking in dog poop and tracking it through the house. It's sawdust - the manly man's potpourri and just between oak/walnut/cherry you can match any decor - no need for any of those fancy exotics. So you track in a bit on the kitchen floor, so what? Sawdust sops up spills better than cat litter so think of it as a kitchen cleaning aid. Sawdust between the cushions in the couch? Well you know cedar shavings repel moths. So let the sawdust settle and you can thank me when you're not replacing that sofa in two years. And did you know walnut shavings can kill a horse if ingested? Well I do a lot of work with walnut and in the seven years I've lived here I have NEVER been attacked in the hallway by wild horses. Not once. I could probably get a discount on the home insurance if i asked. So why would you want to NOT spread it throughout the house? Heck - take the door to the garage off its hinges and let the air flow freely. Maybe you could even poke a hole in that wall and vent the dust collector into the living room. You wouldn't need to rent a fog machine at your next big party - just go out and run a few pieces of pine through the drum sander and presto - your guests are dancing in the worlds biggest snow globe!


----------



## dannelson (Nov 28, 2011)

Easy one with what you probably already have, take a towel, carpet scrap, or other and wet it with water, not soaking wet just damp wipe feet . Place another dry scrap in front of it and wipe again . Wa la . We do this all day long in the construction site in the hospital that were working at .


----------



## RibsBrisket4me (Jul 17, 2011)

Bought a pair of cheap clogs from Wal_mart for 10 dollars. I leave them by the door to the garage, wear them in the shop and outside, they do not come into the house.


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I wear clogs sometimes. They are kind of addictive. Mine
are Super Birkis (Birkenstock) and they last for years and
years.

Putting on an apron or lab coat any time you run a machine
is a good idea too.


----------



## LokisTyro (Apr 19, 2013)

Mechanics jumper(the best option in my opinion if you're in/out of the house a lot and they are reasonably priced through surplus stores), change of clothes and shoes or work clothes. I rarely use compressed air for saw dust. It blows most dust off but some of it into my clothes because I don't always wear Dickies or similar work clothes. I usually wear some sort of hat that stays in the garage too if there's saw dust floating around.

Dust collection is a superb idea if you don't have any (probably the best idea). It's fairly easy to build up a cyclone style system if you have a shop vacuum. Rig that up with a muffler cabinet. Then build an air filtration unit using a box fan and some furnace filters if you don't have a filtration unit. There are better options than that, like building one.

Carpet was mentioned. If your garage isn't a controlled environment there's a chance you will start growing mold or mildew underneath. It happened under a couple carpet samples I used by doors but not under the car/truck floor mats that I use. The floor mats usually have little nubs under them to keep them in place in the car so they have room to breathe on the garage floors here. I'm not against carpet, but I thought anyone who reads this and is in a similar situation can be aware. Some of those nasties can never be removed from your body so it's best to avoid them or prevent their growth.


----------



## EPJartisan (Nov 4, 2009)

Since I drive… I use my car with the windows down… yes my car is filthy.
And you can always tell when I have been working with Ipe.. it sticks to everything.


----------

