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yesterday I had to etch some concrete that I had been having trouble getting paint to stick to. I read the warning lable & was carefull to use chemical resistant gloves. I did get a drop on my finger from the cap & I rinsed with my drinking water. Other then that my job of pouring on a sponge & spreading over 8 feet of curb went pretty quick & easy. I was stooped over on the curb reaching straight down to do the work. I didn't smell anything & I was outdoors so I figured ventilation was not an issue.
Anyway this morning I felt kind of dizzy. more then the usual caffine addiction makes me groggy before my coffee. Now I'm in the office where I had set a tub with the closed container & the soaked sponge. I am too dizzy to work & will be heading home. As I type I realize this is not a question of if the acid is to blame, & more one to warn others. I'm off for fresh air.
posted
When it comes to muriatic acid the only thing I know that is more dangerous is a mixture of ammonia and bleach. Each of these have come close to killing me in my ignorance of their dangers. In the first case only do it outdoors with a respirator, in the second, never ever do it at all.
-------------------- Myra A. Grozinger Signs Limited Winston-Salem, NC
signslimited@triad.rr.com Posts: 1244 | From: Winston-Salem, NC USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Isn't it awful with all the different dangers we are exposed to in our trade. For years when I was younger and stupider I thought I was too tough to get sick from these things. We don't realise even how getting 2pack paints on the skin can still make one sick. Perhaps this is one area that we should factor into our hourly rate. When you get older and the problems from years of abuse arise your old customers that you took the risks for aren't going to come forward and help offer to pay your health bills. Now I have respirators gloves and first aid kits around the shop.
-------------------- Drane Signs Sunshine Coast Nambour, Qld. dranesigns@bigpond.com Downunder "To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer" Posts: 965 | From: Nambour, Qld. Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Ammonia and bleach are not a good combination either.. never EVER mix these two together. I learned that when I was probably 9 years old when I decided that if each chemical is a powerful cleaner, they'd be even stronger if mixed together. It fizzed and bubbled right on up and out of the container, spilling over my hand and burned me pretty badly.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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back home now with fresh air, a good meal & another cup of coffee under my belt, the only re-assuring thing is that I know I'm not still exposing myself to further toxification. I am still pretty woozy.
No pluto on this label. In my earlier fog, maybe I shouldn't have put up that sign at the shop about "Closed due to Acid overdose" (I'm kidding)
I hope I get clearheaded soon. I find it amazing that just 5 minutes of exposure outdoors last night would have me waking up dizzy, but when I think about the ignorance of leaving a soaked sponge in my barely ventilated air-conditioned office while I sat there, smelling nothing, & trying to work for 3-1/2 hours getting gradualy more & more sick feeling, it's easy to fear that I'll still be sick tomorrow. I hope not.
Yeah Mike, I also learned in my youth that 2 powerful chemicals together are more powerful then each one seperately. Although I waited untill I was older then 8. Maybe thats why I'm a little slow to figure out when I'm accidentally doing something potentially suicidal.
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Back when I was doing construction we were adding restrooms to Tampa International Airport before a Super Bowl. We worked from midnight to eight. One of the things we had to do was remove epoxy some idiot had put on the ceramic tile. In a closed room with rags soaked in epoxy thinner was fun. We were ok as long as we stayed in the room. When we went out into fresh air we got drunk and started giggling like schoolgirls. Thankfully no dain bramage.
-------------------- Dennis Goddard
Gibsonton Fl Posts: 1050 | From: Tampa Fl USA | Registered: Apr 2000
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If I recall correctly, one of the dangers of mixing ammonia and bleach is that it releases Chlorine from the bleach. Chlorine reacts with the moisture in your lungs, forming hydrochloric acid (muratic acid), eating away the tissue. A very bad way to go. It was one of the original WMD used in WWI.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5089 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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It fizzed and bubbled right on up and out of the container, spilling over my hand and burned me pretty badly.
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