# Irritation from ceiling tiles



## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

that sounds more like rockwool, asbestos, or the old nasty fibreglass ceiling tiles ? you need to use prevention - after the fact isn't going to do much for you (30 pack beer/bag weed/bottle of tequila/wild turkey)


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## sstlouis03 (Jun 23, 2011)

Try rubbing down you arms with a pair of pantyhose, old wise tale I think, I've tried it dont remember if it helped much but anything is worth a shot.

When your done put em back in your ol' ladies drawer, oughta be a chuckle when she wears them again.


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## Arc'n'Spark (Jul 21, 2011)

Shower with the water hot as you can stand it, scrub hard, then rinse with ice cold water. Oh yeah, and drink lots of bourbon during and after this process.


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## svh19044 (Jul 1, 2008)

Take a nice HOT shower! 


Just kidding, do NOT do that. Try taking a cool shower and rinsing with soap. If you already took a hot shower, it's too late to do pretty much anything.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Yeah, I get irritated whenever I have to work in tile ceilings, too. 

-John


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## 347sparky (May 14, 2012)

Big John said:


> Yeah, I get irritated whenever I have to work in tile ceilings, too.
> 
> -John


 
Me too, especially when the grid is racked a bit and not square.


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## Sparkypyro (Nov 2, 2011)

svh19044 said:


> Take a nice HOT shower!
> 
> Just kidding, do NOT do that. Try taking a cool shower and rinsing with soap. If you already took a hot shower, it's too late to do pretty much anything.


Do this, hot water open your pores allowing the fibers to go deeper. Pantyhose work but you need to do it when you come down from the ceiling. If you wait til you get home you have already pushed the fibers in deeper. I looked this up a few years ago.


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## 347sparky (May 14, 2012)

If I get insulation on my arms I usually take some duct tape and pat down the itchy spots.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

I guess it is wise to say the next time you should wear a mask and some eye protection to say the least. I surely hope it wasn't asbestos. If that's the cause there should be some liability issues that need to be addressed.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

I can roll in ceiling tile and fiberglass insulation and it does nothing to me. If I get a whiff of dust while I'm up there I'm breathing with an elephant on my chest.

Cold water rinse without soap. Then shower when you can. 1% Hydrocortisone cream stops the itch.


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## niteshift (Nov 21, 2007)

Sounds like at least a dust mask, eye protection, long sleeves and tape the cuffs.:thumbsup:


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## Awg-Dawg (Jan 23, 2007)

An insulation guy told me to put baby powder on before you work around insulation.

If nothing else you smell good.:thumbup:


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

I just walk it off.


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

I learned rather quickly at the beginning of my apprenticeship that whether I'm crawling underneath or on top of a building (crawlspace or attic) then I absolutely must wear, at the minimum, a respirator, gloves, goggles, and long-sleeve shirt.

Even 5 minutes unprotected in an attic leaves me with an itchy, coughing, scratchy throat for the rest of the day. I also blast out huge gnarley boogers hours later. I wear contact lenses too, so the goggles are necessary to keep me from scratching my eyeballs out.

Even when it's 100 degrees up there and I'm sweating my nuts off, I wear that stuff. I'm miserable either way, might as well be able to breathe when I'm all done too. For crawlspaces, I've come across so many weird types of mold and rodent poop infested with hantavirus that I don't even consider it an option to go without protection.


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## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

erics37 said:


> I learned rather quickly at the beginning of my apprenticeship that whether I'm crawling underneath or on top of a building (crawlspace or attic) then I absolutely must wear, at the minimum, a respirator, gloves, goggles, and long-sleeve shirt.
> 
> Even 5 minutes unprotected in an attic leaves me with an itchy, coughing, scratchy throat for the rest of the day. I also blast out huge gnarley boogers hours later. I wear contact lenses too, so the goggles are necessary to keep me from scratching my eyeballs out.
> 
> Even when it's 100 degrees up there and I'm sweating my nuts off, I wear that stuff. I'm miserable either way, might as well be able to breathe when I'm all done too. For crawlspaces, I've come across so many weird types of mold and rodent poop infested with hantavirus that I don't even consider it an option to go without protection.


I'm with you on that dude. Just ask gold.


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## Arcs65 (Aug 12, 2012)

It sounds crazy, but I had a old timer tell me to try plain old vinegar. I'm a firm believer in it after trying it. I carry a bottle in the work van, cause you gotta get it before its works it way in deep. No rubbing or scrubbing. Just pour it down your arms & it dissolves it. you do have to deal with the smell, but hey ya gotta pick your battles!


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

Arcs65 said:


> It sounds crazy, but I had a old timer tell me to try plain old vinegar. I'm a firm believer in it after trying it. I carry a bottle in the work van, cause you gotta get it before its works it way in deep. No rubbing or scrubbing. Just pour it down your arms & it dissolves it. you do have to deal with the smell, but hey ya gotta pick your battles!


I dont see how vinegar can disolve glass but if it works for you, good stuff.


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## MollyHatchet29 (Jan 24, 2012)

Ceiling tiles, drywall and insulation eat me alive. I wear Tyvek suits. I didn't the other day, and it only took me 1.5 minutes to regret that decision. I had a really nice one I kept from working at DuPont, but heck if I didn't rip the leg since the size smalls swallow me whole. I guess I need to eat a cheeseburger or three. :/


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## union347sparky (Feb 29, 2012)

My company works at an office building a lot with fiberglass tiles and 2 layers of rolled fiberglass batting on top. I dread the jobs there when I have to get above the ceiling. After the first one I learned to wear long sleeves, gloves, and safety glasses. I don't know why it's like that, I've never seen anything like that anywhere else. Unfortunately I found nothing to get rid of that Fiberglass itch except time. :-(


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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

LARMGUY said:


> I can roll in ceiling tile and fiberglass insulation and it does nothing to me. If I get a whiff of dust while I'm up there I'm breathing with an elephant on my chest.
> 
> Cold water rinse without soap. Then shower when you can. 1% Hydrocortisone cream stops the itch.


You remind me of a guy that once stated that fiberglass insulation didn't make him itch. Then some of his (friends?) got a hold of a pair of his shorts and rubbed the crotch with fiberglass insulation. After that, they called him Scratch!!:laughing::laughing:


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

...Cold Water...


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

It's already been said, but must repeat. DO NOT take a hot shower. Or at least not at first. Use cold to rinse off all you can before opening your pores with hot water.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

KLovelace29 said:


> Ceiling tiles, drywall and insulation eat me alive. I wear Tyvek suits. I didn't the other day, and it only took me 1.5 minutes to regret that decision. I had a really nice one I kept from working at DuPont, but heck if I didn't rip the leg since the size smalls swallow me whole. I guess I need to eat a cheeseburger or three. :/


I'll wear Tyvek only if it's Asbestos.
But for a long time I carried a box of disposable operating room suits. They aren't as durable but They are cheap and they breath so you don't cook.


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## CopperSlave (Feb 9, 2012)

Awg-Dawg said:


> An insulation guy told me to put baby powder on before you work around insulation.
> 
> If nothing else you smell good.:thumbup:


This works well.:thumbsup:


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## aDudeInPhx (Feb 20, 2012)

wendon said:


> You remind me of a guy that once stated that fiberglass insulation didn't make him itch. Then some of his (friends?) got a hold of a pair of his shorts and rubbed the crotch with fiberglass insulation. After that, they called him Scratch!!:laughing::laughing:


That's just wrong, very wrong, very very wrong.


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## Amish Electrician (Jan 2, 2010)

I've noticed that the older an installation is, the more of a bother it is. I don't think it's the insulation or the ceiling tiles that are bothering me - I think it's the dust that has accumulated over time. 

"Invisible glove" works great at keeping the itches away. Don't have it? No problem ... just wash with Ivory soap and let the soapy water dry on you. That's what 'invisible glove' is: a weak soap and water mix. When you're done working, rinse it off.

If you can, keep a vacuum going. You just need the hose near you, to scoop up all the dust you kick into the air around you. Decent Shop-vacs have come a long way, and no longer sound like jet engines.


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## green light (Oct 12, 2011)

Wirenuting said:


> I'll wear Tyvek only if it's Asbestos.
> But for a long time I carried a box of disposable operating room suits. They aren't as durable but They are cheap and they breath so you don't cook.


 I agree. I do work for a hospital from time to time and they require me to wear a suit in various places in the hospital even if Ill only be in the space for 30 seconds. They throw the suits away after each use, so I just keep mine. Ive got a tote full of em:thumbup:


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## niteshift (Nov 21, 2007)

Tyvek suits, I prefer not to wear them, but I do when working in oily/inky/grimy spots. Luckily very few times I need to wear one.
Hazardous areas is another matter altogether.
Tyvek is so hot to wear even if the area is air conditioned. It does'nt breath, so you are soaked when you take them off. They rip too easy too.


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## niteshift (Nov 21, 2007)

Amish Electrician said:


> I've noticed that the older an installation is, the more of a bother it is. I don't think it's the insulation or the ceiling tiles that are bothering me - I think it's the dust that has accumulated over time.
> 
> "Invisible glove" works great at keeping the itches away. Don't have it? No problem ... just wash with Ivory soap and let the soapy water dry on you. That's what 'invisible glove' is: a weak soap and water mix. When you're done working, rinse it off.
> 
> If you can, keep a vacuum going. You just need the hose near you, to scoop up all the dust you kick into the air around you. Decent Shop-vacs have come a long way, and no longer sound like jet engines.


:thumbsup:


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## niteshift (Nov 21, 2007)

wendon said:


> You remind me of a guy that once stated that fiberglass insulation didn't make him itch. Then some of his (friends?) got a hold of a pair of his shorts and rubbed the crotch with fiberglass insulation. After that, they called him Scratch!!:laughing::laughing:


:laughing::laughing::jester:


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## CraigV (May 12, 2011)

I wear long sleeves, mask, hat and my secret weapon is to use a bunch of hand cream to fill pores before working. 

Oh, and wash hands *BEFORE* taking a leak.


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## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

TGGT.

The larger the wire the worse it is.


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

I thought Tyvek was meant to be breathable, people make bivy bags out of tyvek house wrap to put their sleeping bags in when out in the bush sometimes for that reason.


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## CraigV (May 12, 2011)

chewy said:


> I thought Tyvek was meant to be breathable, people make bivy bags out of tyvek house wrap to put their sleeping bags in when out in the bush sometimes for that reason.


 It does breathe, but it's not as breathable as say, Gore Tex treated fabrics. So you still wind up drenched if you're really sweatin' it up. For sleeping in cold weather it's just about enough to stay dry.


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