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Posted: 2/23/2009 12:54:16 PM EDT
| I usually clean my guns outside, but it's too cold right now. Are there any safety issues with cleaning in my basement? Specifically, vapors from various solvents, etc., in the basement with a gas water heater? How much potential danger is there? |
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Quoted:
I'm just worried about vapors igniting from the water heater. I don’t know what to say about your water heater issue. I personally wouldn’t clean in the direct vicinity of my water heater, but wouldn’t have a problem cleaning in the same room as my water heater either. You’ll have to make that decision for your self. |
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I think it depends on exactly which products you are using to clean with. CLP should be fine, but with other products such as Hoppes #9 ventilation is more important just to be safe. Like Quib said, I wouldn't do it directly next to a gas appliance of any kind.
Quib, what about the mineral spirits and CLP mixture, I haven't tried it yet, but will very soon, does this need to be used in a well ventilated area? |
| Picking up from one of Quibs comments I think you would be having severe adverse physical reactions before vapost built up enough to cause any kind of combustion scenario from your water heater. Id follow your nose and provide ventilation as necessary. I have a daylight basement so I can put a fan in an open window as needed but I prefer the garage. |
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You almost always have a potential fire hazard with solvents if the solvent comes in contact with a flame, this excludes water based cleaners or some of the chlorinated solvents (which are very toxic and have their own hazards and should not be used except under controlled (i.e. lab) conditions). Excluding direct contact with a flame (i.e. one should not store or work with you solvent where they could be spilled on the gas water heater, fire place with open fire etc.) one still has to consider the vapors building up to the point where you can get into trouble (i.e. major fire). A classic case is vapors building up near the floor level or in a corner where the water heater is and then going "pop" and in turn taking you and your house out (maybe before you really know how bad the fumes are). The other classic case is knocking over the solvent pan and then having the fumes build up from the spill and go pop. As the other posters have pointed out, this is addressed by good venting, controlling the amount of solvents exposed and keeping the solvents covered when possible.
If you check the label of the cleaning product(s) and then either their MSDS or the MSDS for the listed chemicals, you will find listed the flash point. You should use the highest flash point solvent possible and never use any solvent (with out extremely good venting, such as a fume hood) near or above the flash point. There is one type of mineral sprites that is very highly refined and sold as a parts washer fluid (have to check very carefully that you are NOT getting a water based product) with a flash point of over 140F. A little lower cost, lot easier to find and a little more risk, is low odor mineral spirits, with a flash point of just over 120 F, depending on brand (note regular mineral spirits has a flash point of 105F) . Standard disclaimers, you still can have a fire below this temperature, use at your own risk, don't use in enclosed places with out sufficient force venting and take care. As a side note acetone, gasoline etc. will have flash points well bellow room temperature and thus should NEVER be used as bulk cleaning solvents and/or in an open container (i.e. when you use acetone to remove nail polish, one is only use drops, so the concentration never gets that high in a room if all goes well). In moderate / warm weather, one can work in an area with very good venting. A close friend works near the door (sometimes partially open), with fans behind him blow the vapor out the door and other fans blowing clean air into the garage (never has fumes building up and does not run vapors through an integral motor fan ... but he use to be Navy Nuke ;-). Myself have a side area on the shop to spray solvents in the open air, use the 140F flash point solvent in the solvent tank in the shop and when I clean inside during the winter tend to use MPro7. Updated to fix the worst of the typo's |
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