Installing insulation is a messy job, both because you're crawling into dirty places to install it and because of the insulation fibers themselves. Some fibers can irritate your skin badly, causing you to itch and possibly might cause a rash or other skin problems. Dressing properly will help to prevent some of the possible skin problems associated with installing insulation.
Steps
- Wear overalls. If you don't own any, purchase disposable paper overalls with long sleeves. These are usually available from hardware stores. Alternatively, wear your own cloth overalls with either long-sleeves, or wear a long-sleeved top underneath if yours isn't long-sleeved.
- Wear gloves and socks. The gloves protect your hands from everything you will be touching, be it dust, dirt, or fibers. Wearing socks and closed shoes or boots is vital - this is no job for open footwear.
- Tape up all opening gaps. Tape the overalls to your socks and to your gloves. Tape around your neck to the t-shirt (you'll probably need help).
- Wear a cotton scarf or bandanna around your neck. You might need to tape this to the shirt or overalls too, depends how hard doing this is.
- Wear safety glasses and a dust mask. Add a cap to protect your scalp.
- Wash all clothes thoroughly after use. It is a good idea to change in the laundry to prevent walking fibers around the house. If you have to walk through the house to get to the laundry, change where it is least likely to leave fibers in the house and put the clothes in a bucket to take to the laundry.
Warnings
- Wearing all this will make you hot. The ceiling space is already hotter than the rest of your house. Therefore, it's advisable to only install insulation on cooler days to avoid heat exhaustion.
Things You'll Need
- Paper overalls or cloth overalls
- Gloves
- Socks and shoes/boots
- Dust mask
- Safety glasses
- Cotton bandanna/scarf
- Cap