Need ventilation advice- lungs hurt

[Cardinal Knife]

31 minutes ago, Scrambler82 said:

Was that a Chicken Coop ?

Why, because chicken and rat/mouse XXXX is very toxic to the human body, maybe you were breathing in some of it.

Just guessing here, kind of looks like a Chicken Coop.

If you go in the Coop again, and feel funny, get out and call the doctor, do the test...  Then think about cleaning out the Coop.

 

yes it was a chicken coop at one time way before we acquired the property.  I have spent time in there on a few occasions but it never bothered me until I ran the forge.  We hosed it down at one time, but looking back I doubt it did much good, as one other poster pointed out, I did not do the walls or roof, basically just hosed the floor with water and no antibacterial whatsoever.

[Cardinal Knife]

On 2/2/2016 at 0:08 PM, Scrambler82 said:

To me, if there can be a problem it will pop up when you least want it to.

Wash everything, spray with a 50/50 mix of bleach and water, paint the walls and ceiling (roof) white and the floor leave it as is after cleaning.

I lived with Pigeons all my life, never like it in the Coop, but my father would sit there for hours watching them and sneaking a cigarette or two, maybe just wanted to get away from the wife, I always felt my lung feeling funny so I would leave.  

Dont take any chances, it looks like a great shop area, good size and well lighted, clean it up and paint it up.

Medical alert.... 50/50 is dangerously too strong....

maybe I should take up smoking while I'm in there, lol

[the iron dwarf]

if using bleach remember that the active ingredient is sodium hypochlorite which can make chlorine gas, chlorine gas was used in WW2 in the trenches to kill people by causing lung damage so dont breath the fumes when using bleach

 

https://www.gov.uk/.../hpa_sodium_hypochlorite_general__info_v1.pdf

[notownkid]

That is a nice set up of barns love to have them all I've only got 4.  The garage sounds better and if the doors are the problem and I'm guessing they are swing out?  I put sliding/rolling doors in my new show just for that reason.  a lot cheaper then an overhead which depletes your headroom.  If the old doors aren't that great not that hard to throw together a new set with 2x6 and some plywood or cheap pine.  Certainly less likely to have same problems as a chicken house. 

 

plus it's away from the other buildings in case of  fire extension. 

[Quench.]

I read the whole thread.  What a nice selection of buildings you have...   If it was me, would want to know if it is a physical reaction to what was in the building before, or if you have some weird air stagnation/circulation problem causing CO or CO2 buildup around your working area.  Even if you move your forge to another building, you will no doubt want to use that building for something else.

You can be fit and still allergic to something you never knew about.  You can be fit and still get knocked down by the nasty microorganisms that stick around for years, waiting to pounce.  Could be from chickens or chicken feces or anything else coming in with the chickens.  Could be from mold.  Could be from bats or bat feces.  If it is medical-related, lungs hurting within minutes seems like an allergic reaction.  The microorganisms would be a delayed reaction (days to years).

Someone mentioned lungs hurting from asthma.  Someone mentioned lungs hurting from CO2.  Which is it?  You can't guess.  You need to know what the problem is before you can attack it.  Maybe, when you cleaned/hosed out the building, you uncovered some nasty stuff that just needed to dry out to become airborne.  That seems like the easier theory to try first.

Electrical cords are cheap.  Get a long one from the house.  Put a small electrical heater in the building.  Put a fan in there to circulate the heated air.  Get a book or your favorite i-device, and sit in there for 30-60 minutes and see if you have any symptoms.  If not, it's maybe the forge.  But if you have symptoms without the forge running, you have your answer, because the electrical heater is producing zero CO or CO2.

If its something nasty in there, I can't say what to do.  But your health is much more important than anything, even a building.  Some of those microorganisms are really bad.  Scrambler said what I was thinking, which is bleach.  But while bleach kills pretty much everything, that can include you, if you use it without enough ventilation.  I don't know if you can spray down the whole inside with some kind of respirator which can deal with bleach fumes.  I doubt it.  And then your eyes would need to be covered too.  Spray though the windows, maybe.

Good luck.

[John Galt]

On 2/2/2016 at 8:47 PM, JHCC said:

By the way, a coupe is a car, a coup is a revolution, and a coop is a building for chickens.

Har!! Beat me to it!!

[Kal]

After reading through the whole thread, I didn't notice if any one suggested that a few more windows on the other side of the coop may help.  You had mentioned that there was not much air moment inside.  Cross venting may help move the bad stuff out even when you're not using it.

[Cardinal Knife]

On 2/3/2016 at 7:42 AM, Quench. said:

I read the whole thread. ....  Spray though the windows, maybe.

Good luck.

Quench- Thanks for the advice.I'm on day four and my symptoms are beginning to subside.  I'm gonna give a bit of background.  My respiratory system seems to be hypersensitive in comparison to others.  At my workplace we use some nasty stuff once in a while including, glass primers, fiberglass resins, spray epoxies and gelcoats among carbon fiber manufacturing.  I had a bout with a category 4 gelcoat while spraying a carbon fiber mold about 6 months ago.  My respirator had been open and unsealed a few times prior to this job, and deep down I knew I should wait till the following day for a new respirator, but my Dad was eager to get going, so I ventured on.   Well sure as $h!t I could smell the fumes and was in the spray booth for about an hour. The symptoms I acquired were the exact same as I have now, burning chest, that turned into runny nose, sneezing, post nasal drip that turned into a cold (or what feels like a cold).  If I use rattle can of spray paint for a couple minutes I can literally feel my nasal passages restrict a bit, nothing horrible, I'm usually fine within 10-20 minutes, but it conveys the message that I am hypersensitive.   Since that episode with the gelcoat I ordered myself, and the others here at work, higher end 3m masks with replaceable organic vapor cartridges, which now are available at the ready.

As far as sitting in there for even 30 minutes- yikes!  I've been reading on this bird dust crap and it scares the hell out of me.  I think I may move the forge to my other garage that has never housed animals , work for just 20 minutes, and see if I have the same reaction.  I may just doomed to wear a respirator either way for the rest of my life.  Like I said, they bother other people to have on their face, but I can wear one for hours.  It feels like a nice security blanket to me.

 

[JHCC]

3 hours ago, Cardinal Knife said:

 

Yeah, existing respiratory conditions can really mess you up. Moving to the other garage is probably the smartest thing you can do!

[Ernie42141]

You may be acutely allergic from prolonged exposure to fumes. I would still clean the building as the same spores etc. Get on your clothes which enter the house.

I think a move is the best shop option as well.

As a chronic and acute allergy sufferer think about seeing an allergist and get a full workup. You may have not yet encounter that thing which could put up into anaphylaxis

Good luck

[JHCC]

And don't try to burn off any chrome or zinc plating!!!

[Cardinal Knife]

22 minutes ago, JHCC said:

And don't try to burn off any chrome or zinc plating!!!

yah, been reading about that too.  I would weld anything when I was younger, surprised I made it through.

[natenaaron]

1 hour ago, Cardinal Knife said:

  My respiratory system seems to be hypersensitive in comparison to others.

As far as sitting in there for even 30 minutes- yikes!  I've been reading on this bird dust crap and it scares the hell out of me.  I think I may move the forge to my other garage that has never housed animals , work for just 20 minutes, and see if I have the same reaction.  I may just doomed to wear a respirator either way for the rest of my life.  Like I said, they bother other people to have on their face, but I can wear one for hours.  It feels like a nice security blanket to me.

 

Get out of that shop.  If you have a weakened respiratory system why take the chance.  I love my respirator.  I buy a new one every summer whether I need it or not.

[Cardinal Knife]

Just now, natenaaron said:

Get out of that shop.  If you have a weakened respiratory system why take the chance.  I love my respirator.  I buy a new one every summer whether I need it or not.

I'm sure you already know this but if not, those respirators, once unsealed, are only good for an average of a few hours to a few days depending on what your using them for.

They still work for dust of course.

[Culver Creek Hunt Club]

59 minutes ago, Cardinal Knife said:

I'm sure you already know this but if not, those respirators, once unsealed, are only good for an average of a few hours to a few days depending on what your using them for.

They still work for dust of course.

The respirator is reusable. The canisters have a life as you indicated. 

[Cardinal Knife]

13 minutes ago, Culver Creek Hunt Club said:

The respirator is reusable. The canisters have a life as you indicated. 

yes, thanks

[natenaaron]

2 hours ago, Cardinal Knife said:

I'm sure you already know this but if not, those respirators, once unsealed, are only good for an average of a few hours to a few days depending on what your using them for.

They still work for dust of course.

I replace the carts on a very regular basis, generally after each job if it involves spraying of anything.  I replace the mask once a year.

[j.w.s.]

My guess would be the excess ammonia and organic sulfur (sulfur dioxide gas is rather poisonous and used as an industrial cleaner) left from years of waste. And for gods sake, don't hose it with bleach! Bleach + ammonia = chloramine vapor! Chances are there's some fun molds playing around in the wood there too, some of which will cause reactions with just a few minutes of exposure. I'd say it's not the propane but what the heat is doing to the atmosphere within the coop. A slight temperature change will change the fluidity of gasses drastically and stir up whatever is causing your reaction. Pour a concrete floor, treat and seal the walls properly, insulate, drywall, add an extractor fan or two, run some plumbing, 100amp electricity, perhaps a wifi extender and enjoy a really nice shop once it's taken care of.  

J

 

[SLAG]

old barn and forge, mention histoplasmosis to your doctor. Histoplasmosis is a systemic fungus disease that is rare but it is found in the Mississippi river valley & the St. Lawrence river valleys. (read places like Montreal and also St. Louis). Rare it is but it is very serious.

The fungus (Histoplasma capsulata) is found in places like barns, growing in chicken manure. The fungus may be rare and dead but the spores, are viable for decades. They fly into the air when the ground & old manure are disturbed. It is remotely possible that you inhaled it, got infected and the quick  reaction when you returned to the barn/smithy, was an immune response.

Your doctor can test for the disease, It is unlikely that you have it. But checking for it is important because it can be very serious. The faster you find out the better the prognosis  The chances are that you do not have the fungus, but checkit out. Most doctors, in North America, are not familiar with this disease. I realize that you are probably not in the Mississippi valley, but why take a chance? I am not spouting crap. I worked with the organism (at the Royal Victoria Hospital, of McGill U}., years ago. Lived in Montreal for decades, and recently moved to St. Louis.

Good luck & happy smithing for many years to come.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

SLAG.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slag here ,half the post disappeared. sorry for that