Let’s talk safety.
As you all know I teach a lot and I’m always surprised how students interpret what it is to set up a safe work environment.
I know this can feel overwhelming, especially when you are new to this process.
To begin though, the most important thing to remember is to be safe. You hear a lot about encaustic and its toxic effects and it’s important to understand the safety hazards associated with the material so that you can take precautions and minimize the risks.
Many of the early 20th century recipes for medium called for heating solvent and mixing them with hot wax. This is extremely dangerous. Using wax with heated solvents such as varnishes, turpentine, or mineral spirits puts you at significant risk and may cause irreversible nerve damage. DO NOT DO IT. Let me repeat that…..be safe and don’t do it.
All waxes when they are melted release a mixture of invisible fumes and gases, such as acrolein and formaldehyde. Beeswax begins to melt at 165°F and begins to smoke at 250°F.
When wax is just warm enough to melt, little decomposition occurs, but as the temperature rises, decomposition accelerates. Good practice is to keep the wax between 180 and 200°F. But even at recommended working temperatures wax fumes can be irritants.
The good news is, most of the potential hazards can be substantially reduced with adequate ventilation.
I recommend using a thermometer either on the surface of your palette or griddle; or an infrared thermometer to measure the actual temperature of the wax. Remember, keep it within the 180 and 200°F range. Warning signs of your wax being too hot include an acrid odor or smoking. If your wax is greatly overheated on a rare occasion a “wax fume” can appear as a fog. And this fog can explode if flames are present.
I can’t say it enough…….always be mindful of the temperature of your wax.
It’s also important to always work in a well-ventilated area. Respirators are not a good substitute for adequate ventilation as they don’t filter out all the airborne fumes and gases.
And here is where I find the most misinterpretations about a safe workspace. An open window is not enough ventilation. 
You need to get rid of the contaminated air and replace it with fresh air. A well-placed window fan should be adequate for a small set-up. If you decide you love this process and are going to be spending a lot of time doing it, you can then consider more expensive and comprehensive systems (like a ventafume).
Place your worktable and palette in front of your window and place a box fan in the window facing outwards so it is drawing air from above your palette out the window. Make sure you seal around the fan as best you can. Let me repeat that one. Make sure you seal around the fan as best you can. The more completely you seal around the fan the more effective it will be. I won’t bore you with air dynamics, but you need a seal in order for the fan to properly draw air from the room and out the window. The fan will act as an exhaust (getting rid of the contaminated air) and will create a negative pressure for new (uncontaminated air) to replace the air that was vented out.
It’s important to know that the gases and fumes linger just above the palette, so this is the air we want to vent out. Please don’t put a fan in front of your palette and expect to push the air out the window. This will just disperse the contaminated air throughout your room. You need to pull the air out of the room.
A simple way to test if your system is working is to light a stick of incense and watch the smoke. With proper ventilation you won’t be able to detect the odor of the melted wax.
Please be safe. There is nothing more nourishing than to create in a space that is safe.
Tell me, what are some of the other safety measures you have implemented in your studio. Let me know in the comments below.
Be well….be creative,
Thank You Clare. Just installed a Vent a Kiln Exhaust system. Great Info.
Perfect. That should work great:)
It’s tough to use a fan in the window in winter especially when my studio has tall crank out windows. If I worked in my kitchen, I have a very powerful range hood. Would that work? It’s the strongest hood you can legally use in a home without installing an air exchange system.
The range hood would work as long as it removed the contaminants from above the palette. You’ll want to test it. Remember, the particles are sitting just above the palette. Crank out windows are not impossible to work with. You just need to seal all around the fan. It’s more of a hassle, but not impossible. You could always get a piece of plywood the size of the window and then cut out so the fan sits in the plywood and then seal around the fan. Then remove the entire apparatus when not using. I know you are in the frozen tundras of Fargo, but it’s pretty much the same here in Minneapolis…..but this winter in a temporary studio I worked with open windows with my exhaust fan out the window. The heat of the griddle compensated a bit for the window being open to exhaust.
I had an existing overhead exhaust in my studio (a bit more robust than the usual bathroom fan, but nowhere close to being as powerful as ventafume system), but found that it wasn’t enough to draw the fumes up and out. I taped, clipped and sealed dryer venting to the fan (removed the grill cover first). Now I can position the dryer venting – propped up so it is just above where the palette or griddle is sitting – and it vents really well. I open a window a crack to circulate air.
This is such an important post! Safety first. Thanks, Clare.
Great idea Emily. Looks like you got it. It’s not enough just to have a fan….you need to create a system that removes the contaminated air so fresh air can replace it. Thanks for your comment.
Emily/Clare – it would be great to see a picture of your set up Emily. Is it possible to post here? Thanks!
Hey Gail, unfortunately my blog post doesn’t allow pictures being posted in the comments section. I agree, it would be fun to see Emily’s set up.
Hi Clare,
Great information, and always good to be reminded of safety when working with encaustics. I need to find a way to have an open source of fresh air coming in other than opening a window – it’s freezing here in the winter!
Hope all is well with you,
Patty
Hey Patty, the fresh source of air replacing the contaminated air does not need to come from outside. It can be pulled from another room. The fan out the window creates will pull the air out and create space for the un-contaminated air to replace it.
Hi Clare, great post. Something that is easy to forget about. My new studio is going to have a proper exhaust system, finally. I will be putting a hood and box around the pallets. Other things I do are gloves and mask when working with dry pigments, fire extinguisher and blanket within reach, and my trusty tube of burn cream hahaha.
Thanks….yes, a fire extinguisher is also a necessity, along with precautions for working with different materials.
I built my studio in the unused saddle room which is in a corner of our enclosed barn. For a vent hood I used an oval galvanized tub about 12″x 24″. Turned the tub upside down and attached a dryer vent tube to the bottom of the tub( which is now the top). This tube ran out the wall and attached to a squirrel cage fan that sucked the air out at 794 cfm. I got it from Grainger. The fan and motor were attached to the outside of my studio wall which is still inside the barn, so we ran a tube from it to an outside barn wall where the exhaust blows outside. Having the fan motor outside of the studio sure does make it quieter. Also, the vent tube goes on one side of the top of the tub and I put a light bulb on the other side inside the tub. It’s like using the tub as a light shade right over my palette. I wish I could post a photo, the explanation sounds much more complicated than it is. I have a door that goes outside and one that goes into the barn. When it’s cold and windy I open the barn door ajar to get air into the room. If it’s nice out I open the outside door that has a screen door on it. It works great!
Wow….that really does sound complicated….but it also sounds like it works beautifully. Kudos to you for being just as creative in venting your studio as in creating artwork! Thanks for sharing.
We turned a small room into a little studio for me this year and my handyman installed a ventafume that is built into the drywall and vents outside. I have a window and door to outside across from my work space. My question is about placement of the ventafume, as I always wonder whether the “bad” fumes are worse on the pallet or from torching/heat gun use of the panel I’m working on. I know the ventafume is working (I hold up tissue and it sucks towards it), BUT my studio always smells of wax, so it leaves me wondering what is wrong and where the ventafune should be. Right now it’s about 1.5″ away from and above the pallet and my thermometer on the pallet is usually just under 200 degrees. Thanks for any feedback!
You want to vent the fumes that are right above the griddle so place the ventafume right up to the griddle and a couple of inches above your containers (not the griddle itself). That’s where the fumes sit. When I have mine turned on I don’t smell the beeswax at all. You might just have yours a little low if it’s above the palette and not the containers.
Great thanks I will raise it. So there are no worries about fumes from fusing?
Fusing should only take a minute or two and isn’t a concern. It’s the fumes that hang over the containers on the griddle which is heated for much longer periods of time.
I work in a concrete basement with only a small door that opens to stairs that lead outside. The space has no windows. The room is open to under the first floors, crawl space on 2 sides. . I keep a standing fan going and keep wax below 200. Do you think this is safe enough space for me to work in?
I can’t tell you if it’s safe enough for you to work in. I can tell you that you need to bring fresh air in somehow and remove the air that is just above your griddle. Using a standing fan that isn’t placed above your griddle pulling the fumes out and pulling fresh air in is just moving the fumes around your workspace and is actually more hazardous to you. You might want to invest in a ventafume and get the long tube so you can put the tube out the door and up the stairs to the outside.
Hi Clare,
I’m in the Painting with Fire workshop this year. Really enjoying it! I’m in the PNW, so it’s cold and rainy during the winter, but would it be adequate ventilation to work near an open garage door if it’s raining? And during the warmer months,, is working outside on a table adequate? I would assume being in the open air (not indoors) would be safe, but am I missing something?
It’s definitely better to have loads of fresh air surrounding you, but know that the fumes are still there just above the griddle.
Thanks!