Extractor fan

[Laylee84]

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice about ventilation. I’ve read the threads on here but can’t find one that recommends a cheaper alternative to something like Ravair. One post mentions carbon filter extractor fans being around £100 but doesn’t mention a brand, and I can’t seem to find any for that price online.

I’m just starting out and have been offered a room in a barbers and hair salon but it’s a tiny room with no windows and no ventilation (I’ll be keeping the door open to help with that). I’ve seen the desktop dust collectors for around £40 on Amazon, so that would help with the nail and gel dust, but I’m guessing they won’t be a long-term solution and also they don’t help with fumes.

As the first few months will be building up my client base and working there part-time until I can afford to give up my other jobs, I probably won’t be doing many nails at first, so I can probably get away with something cheap and then investing in a more expensive fan in a few months time.

Can anyone recommend something for around £100?

Many thanks

 

[Laylee84]

I meant to ask if anyone has used Ravair’s £50 micro-ecology purifier and if it’s any good? It seems a nice touch to have in the room, and if I got a £40 dust extractor would that tide me over until i get more clients and I could afford to invest in the dust and fume extractor combo (£395)?

I have asked my college about all this earlier in the week but have received no response so thought I’d try here, as this site has been really helpful to read so far.

 

[TheDuchess]

Hi Laylee84, welcome.

I’m not a nail tech, I’m a beauty therapist. I’m very interested in ventilation and also the benefits of houseplants. I did some slightly obsessive reading over lockdown.

The room you are describing is basically a cupboard. The air won’t move in there even with the door open. You must create air movement with a fan and you can’t just blow your fumes and dust out into the hair salon. Your landlord will insist you close your door if they can smell you. The Ravair fume extractor in the combo deal is the best and cheapest legal solution. I’ve got 2 fume extractors and they are very good.

The micro-ecology purifier improves the air purifying benefits of a houseplant but a houseplant needs light to survive. There aren’t many plants that will be happy without some natural light. Ravair haven’t mentioned the dimensions of their plant holder and there isn’t an indication of scale. I suspect that it holds something like a herb pot bought from a supermarket and isn’t intended as a long term plant home.

Ravair say the micro-ecology purifier will clean the air once an hour assuming a room 12m3, (the size of a U.K. bathroom). That’s roughly half the power of a loo extractor fan and roughly a fifth of the power of a bathroom extractor fan. Still far less than you need to keep the air quality acceptable.

You and your client will be breathing right over the source of the dust and fumes. You’ll each breathe in approx 360 litres of air an hour so 720 litres between you. If the air isn’t moving your lungs become the fume and dust extractor, filtering the air of pollutants. That’s both dangerous and illegal. You must provide a statutory minimum level of ventilation.

Buy cheap, buy twice and risk a prosecution from trading standards under health and safety legislation. You need to prioritise your health and the safety of your clients so if you can’t afford to be safe and legal in the space you’ve been offered don’t take it!

 

[Laylee84]

Hi Laylee84, welcome.

I’m not a nail tech, I’m a beauty therapist. I’m very interested in ventilation and also the benefits of houseplants. I did some slightly obsessive reading over lockdown.

The room you are describing is basically a cupboard. The air won’t move in there even with the door open. You must create air movement with a fan and you can’t just blow your fumes and dust out into the hair salon. Your landlord will insist you close your door if they can smell you. The Ravair fume extractor in the combo deal is the best and cheapest legal solution. I’ve got 2 fume extractors and they are very good.

The micro-ecology purifier improves the air purifying benefits of a houseplant but a houseplant needs light to survive. There aren’t many plants that will be happy without some natural light. Ravair haven’t mentioned the dimensions of their plant holder and there isn’t an indication of scale. I suspect that it holds something like a herb pot bought from a supermarket and isn’t intended as a long term plant home.

Ravair say the micro-ecology purifier will clean the air once an hour assuming a room 12m3, (the size of a U.K. bathroom). That’s roughly half the power of a loo extractor fan and roughly a fifth of the power of a bathroom extractor fan. Still far less than you need to keep the air quality acceptable.

You and your client will be breathing right over the source of the dust and fumes. You’ll each breathe in approx 360 litres of air an hour so 720 litres between you. If the air isn’t moving your lungs become the fume and dust extractor, filtering the air of pollutants. That’s both dangerous and illegal. You must provide a statutory minimum level of ventilation.

Buy cheap, buy twice and risk a prosecution from trading standards under health and safety legislation. You need to prioritise your health and the safety of your clients so if you can’t afford to be safe and legal in the space you’ve been offered don’t take it!

Hi Duchess,

Thank you so much for this. It was massively helpful and I really really appreciate all the info!

I totally agree. I’ll invest in the £395 set then as it’ll pay off in the end. I definitely wouldn’t want to put people off by not offering sufficient ventilation and what you said about our lungs being the extractor was brilliant. I can’t be having that!

Thanks so much for the info about the plants too, I hadn’t even thought about the light! (I’m crap at keeping plants alive anyway.)

And yes, it’s basically a cupboard (or shower cubicle, I call it, due to the white plastic walls) They store the mop in there and all the staff jackets and everything. ( I need to figure out how to say I definately can’t have a mop in there unless they cover it or something, as it looks so unhygienic. But I don’t want to act like I’m taking over and telling them how to run things straight off the bat.)

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[Laylee84]

I tried eBay and found the fume and dust extractor for £290, both used like new. Buzzing

 

[TheDuchess]

Good luck in your venture. I’m sure you’ll be brilliant.

There are some people that dream of having a mop cupboard! Deborah Mitchel, the creator of Heaven skincare took over a disabled toilet for her start, now she’s worth £33m and she’s beauty therapist to the Royal family,

 

[Laylee84]

Thank you so much!

Really?? That makes me feel so much better about my mop cupboard. I’ll embrace it thank you!

 

[TheDuchess]

Laylee84 Have you thought about a folding screen to hide the mop and staff coats? There are all kinds You can drape muslin behind a carved fret work screen and create a lux scandi look. I use screens to hide equipment and cables. I have a black carved screen with a salt lamp behind for a holistic vibe and a white one painted with chalk paint for a bit of shabby chic. They make great backdrops for photos.

 

[Laylee84]

Hi Duchess, thanks for this, I have thought about it and I thought there wasn’t the space, but as I was writing this I realised there will be when her bed is folded away. And that gives me even more reason to get a folding screen, to hide the bed and all her clutter too! Thank you! I’ll have a look into it tonight.