Documenting: My SDA-1c upgrades from start to finish

That made me raff, never had a bonafide chile cheese dog.

Chili cheese dog from Rutt’s Hut in jersey.
It’s worth a trip. They call their dogs rippers.
Was my mom & pops hangout when they were dating.

You’re not a vegetarian, you eat hot dogs.
Define bona-fide regarding chili cheese dogs….

I dunno man, as a previous contractor, I would expect the client to request compensation for an incident like you describe. I certainly hope you approached the issue

I’m sorry to hear that, really sucks!

I was thinking the compressed air outside also.
Does concrete dust react to water same as concrete? If so, I’d be blowing off as much as possible before taking a wet cloth to it.

Any lawyers in the family that could help?

Air compressors will spray moisture and lubricating oil. Not recommended for electronics. At least not without a de-ionizing dryer installed in-line. ESD standards dictate those for a minimum. You'll also need a grounded air line as compressed air can build up a static charge. There's a reason that you don't see electronics repair techs using air compressors.

Those reasons are why "canned air" exists. It's dry, static free and non-conductive, made specifically for electronics.

https://www.officesupply.com/technology/computer-accessories/cleaning-maintenance/air-dusters/cleaning-duster/p788559.html?ref=pla&scid=scbplp788559&sc_intid=788559&msclkid=c3ab209179a1166b7280471ebb74f062

Using a leaf blower is a sure fire way to damage something. Unless you have a significant way to create enough displacement, kicking up a cloud of dust just to evacuate it with a simple air transfer is harder than you think and there will still be particles that are light enough to get kicked up by the massive amount of air a leaf blower will displace quickly but too heavy to remain suspended in air long enough for an evacuation system or air scrubber to be able to extract. In other words, it won't work.

Your best bet is to invest in an ESD Anti-Static Vacuum Cleaner meant for cleaning electronics.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/metrovac-datavac-esd-safe-anti-static-pro-series-vacuum-blower-120-volts-4-5-amps-70-cfm-model-117-117513-mdv-1esd-104687?srsltid=AfmBOoo6APxF1ZYPPgsSTiZXg3DMWhhidZtz30If8b7EwF_iZU1vW7byjG8&gQT=1

This is your best bet because not only will it prevent the vacuum itself from frying sensitive electronics with the static fields it generates but masonry dust can and will build up a static charge in the vacuum line and an ESD vacuum will have a grounded lead to dissipate that charge through the grounding system instead of your sensitive electronics. The vacuum will remove all of the dust without introducing static electricity or moisture.

If you're doing all these "mods" to electronics, you should have one of those anyway.

plastic_avatar wrote: »

Thank you for the ideas, @msg

I wondered about putting an air mover in the room, vented outside, and using a leaf blower to stir up as much loose dust as I can to be vented into the world.

Air compressor outside, for the stereo, printers, and all the exposed electronics on shelves is a good idea. I'm guessing I have to wait until May to do it =(

Is it paint dust from sanding or demo or something, and not overspray?

It's a combo of concrete dust from sawing and jackhammering our foundation, plus paint/mold ground off of the block walls.

It's thick, powdery, and inside everything. It ruined 10 rolls of filament because it's like it's magnetized and stubborn to remove by wiping and compressed air in a can, and it's legitimately in nooks and crannies like you wouldn't believe.

Hoover Dam. That sucks.

Oooh, that Air Mover idea sounds good for mass reduction. Worth a shot.
I know this likely goes without saying - but earplugs/muffs, respirator, and close fitting goggles, while you're doing that, right?

As if "magnetized"-y...
I wonder if it's static. If so, you could do a quick test if you can get your hands on a Milty Zerostat used to de-stat vinyl records. You wouldn't want to use it on a broad scale - there are better tools for that - but it could help you determine whether it static or not. Hit your filament with it and then try to air dust it, and see if it comes off more easily. Or if that's just ruined-ruined, try it on something else that you're finding to be resistant to removal.

Side note: It seems many people don't sunderstand how you work a Zerostat properly. It's not supposed to click. You're supposed to pull and release the lever slowly. If it clicks, you're moving too fast.

From your comments about it being thick and powdery - this definitely sounds a lot more serious than a piece of gear loaded with dust under the cover.

From your original post, I thought maybe the contractors had barrier up, and then it failed at some point while they were working.

Either way, I can appreciate your state and concern. Even if there is some compensation or plan to rectify, I sure AF wouldn't want anyone disgrunted working anywhere near any sensitive or fragile gear, tools, or materials.

As for compressors - you seem pretty handy, so I'm presuming you already have a compressor, but if not, you can get a small portable one from Home Depot. I purchased a couple of those at previous jobs for cleaning out computers, laptops, servers and networking gear. Just don't go max pressure, and definitely consider the inline moisture filter. I forget where I got mine. Either Harbor Freight, or Chinazon. The ones I got have beads that change color (supposedly) when moisture-saturated.

Honestly, it's easily preventable.

If the dust got distributed through the house via the duct systems, some plastic cling wrap and magnetic vent covers would have worked wonders.

They are essentially just sheets of magnetic paper that you would use to print stuff on to make, like, fridge magnets or a magnetic sign for a car/truck.

They are all over Amazon.

https://a.co/d/3Aryi3M

I've used them with great success when I had the floors sanded. I covered the vents in the kitchen and bathroom with cling wrap and then used the magnetic covers to hold the cling wrap in place. Clean up was a breeze and no dust on anything in the other rooms that weren't being sanded.

However, if you have dust all over your house via the ductwork then, it'd be prudent before you start trying to clean everything else to have a ductwork cleaning company clean your ductwork. Especially if there is mold in the particulates that have settled everywhere.

And they don't know that concrete dust travels when operating saws and jackhammers and grinding walls? They can't help a homeowner out by informing them that there could be a problem and a solution needs to be arrived at?

Concrete dust doesn't travel as much as drywall mud sanding dust but I shudder to think what would happen if drywallers didn't drape off the work room. I know from personal experience that the stuff goes everywhere being lightweight flour like dust.

Seems to me that the boss is not claiming that his rookie? employee didn't make a mistake.

I have a room full of vintage stereo equipment and most of the units had about 50 years worth of crud inside when I purchased them. My approach to cleaning was to use a good quality paint brush in one hand to loosen the dust/dirt, while at the same time holding a shop vac with the other hand "very close" to the area. Make sure to install a good quality bag in the vac, rated for drywall dust. I'd rather extract the dust with a vac than potentially blowing it deeper in the unit with compressed air. I will admit that I have on occasion used the compressed air cans (along with the shop vac) to gently blow out areas that I couldn't get to with the paint brush.

Another option...

https://youtu.be/LBysew5VYyw?feature=shared

That sucks, I'm doing a bathroom at my house and since it's so cold I'm cutting the marble in the garage. It's driving me insane since the dust is settling on all the cars and I can't wash them even with heated water in -6

I can't imagine that happening indoors.....

That’s good to hear.