Dustless Hardwood Floor Sanding
The Benefits Of Dustless Hardwood Floor Sanding
by Chris Rivard
Having worked around wood and installing and finishing hardwood flooring for most my life, I had learned quite a few things about dustless hardwood floor sanding . For example, I learned that a splinter from Brazilian mahogany or cherry, will become infected by the time I get home. Also mahogany and oak wood dust from sanding this wood also makes me feel sick.
According to OSHA, “Wood dust becomes a potential health problem when wood particles from processes such as sanding and cutting become airborne. Breathing these particles may cause allergic respiratory symptoms, mucoul and non-allergic respiratory symptoms, and cancer.”
About 10 years ago, I started looking into better ways to collect and reduce wood dust on my job hardwood floor job sites, a number of huge advancements have been made in the dust containment field and I wanted to be part of them. Hardwood floors are a popular choice in New England and eliminating airborne dust was an important goal for my company.
At I made first simple changes to protect myself from dust like wearing dust masks and then later I purchased and started connecting all my installation tools to Festool vacuums with auto start functions. I even modified dust hoods for my chop saws so they would grab more dust from every cut.
Soon afterward I got serious about eliminating dust from my sanding operations and purchased a Pro Vac E300 from Gladtech which is now Dustless Technologies. The advantages of the dustless systems are sometimes overlooked by many homeowners. There is no comparison when comparing dustless hardwood floor sanding system compared to sanding the old fashioned way.
Wood dust is unhealthy to breath and God only knows what chemicals are in the old high voc floor finishes that gets sanded down prior to refinishing an old floor. I’m humbled by the homeowner who appreciates a dustless floor sanding system and perplexed by those that don’t. Anyone who has had their wood floors sanded and refinished by the old method knows how much of a pain the dust and smell can be.
Refinishing your hardwood floors can now be a stress-free easy procedure, without the dusty mess and fumes. Dust free floor sanding equipment uses special hoses, filters and connections to special vacuum machines that capture 99.9% of the dust created.
The next time you consider sanding your floors – think dustless!
About the author:
Chris Rivard owns and operates Eco-Options Hardwood, a partnership with over 25 years of experience in hardwood floor installation and refinishing.
Chris attended college at UMass Lowell with an associates degree in design. I quickly decided that I needed to get into a more “hands on” occupation. I had worked as a carpenter all through college and had a friend that could teach me hardwood flooring. Driven by what I saw in Hardwood Flooring Magazine, i took up the offer to learn hardwood from my good friend Mark at Marks Hardwood Floors of North Andover, ma. I am happy to finally be at a point where I can combine my design experience and love for colors with hardwood floors.
