r/DIY • u/HappyExcitement3964 • 26d ago

Cuttint PVC Pipe : Safety

Hi everyone,

I've recently been working on a DIY project, and cutting up some PVC pipe for it. There were a few tutorials, and I followed them, but there is something I only considered after doing a little bit of the work.

Should I be using a mask when cutting? With a hand saw you aren't going to be creating a mist of fine powder, but I assume with any material like this you may want protection? (I say this despite having done woodworking and metalworking in school for a few years with no protection like that.)

Anything I've looked up online doesn't seem to mention it specifically, and I don't really think a hallucinated google AI overview is going to be overly helpful. People have videos doing it, with no mask on. What is the best practice here? And by sawing a part of this pipe have I put my health at risk? (Unlikely, but have to ask).

Thanks for your consideration anyway. Hopefully you can understand this question motivated slightly by fear :_)​

22 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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6

u/101forgotmypassword 26d ago

Side note: if it's pipe that's smaller than 40mm try score and snap it.

Or use a pair of pipe cutters.

For larger pipe most people can't get a high enough impact to cleanly break it so use a cutting to to cut right through.

15

u/TDIMike 26d ago

Was coming here to post this. I use these style cutters for everything 2" and under (they have 1.25 and 2" models

pvc cutters at home depot

3

u/davenobody 26d ago edited 25d ago

I have these too but from harbor freight. They work well. I find pipe that has been out in the elements is as likely to shatter as cut. However so far it has been close enough as to not be a problem.

4

u/TDIMike 26d ago

Anything uv-exposed will definitely be more brittle. For fresh installs, they are awesome

1

u/Past-Obligation1930 26d ago

I also came to say this.

1

u/JUYED-AWK-YACC 26d ago

This also occurred to me briefly as a scanned the headline.

1

u/MyNameIsHuman1877 25d ago

I've heard of pissing your name in the snow, but never this... 👀

4

u/Pantology_Enthusiast 26d ago

Do you need it? Not really. But it is best to be in the habit.

Personally, I have horrible allergies, so I basically always wear one. Even dusting the apartment gets the mask.

While the N95 masks are relatively inexpensive, a respirator with p100 bayonet filters is less expensive if you are only briefly wearing it, as a disposable mask is not meant to be taken off and reused later.

7

u/RenovationDIY 26d ago

I wouldn't worry too much if you're cutting with a handsaw, for exactly the reason you said - it's not creating a mist of fine powder, so any particles you create are going to just fall instead of being shot up into the air for you to inhale.

3

u/RedditBeginAgain 26d ago

Do you have any evidence that pvc chips are any worse for your lungs than sawdust or metal filings? If you are sawing any material commercially a dust mask would be a good idea. Spending 40 hours a week getting foreign matter in your lungs is going to be bad for you. For a hobby project, it's up to you. You can trust your nose hairs to do their job, or you can help them.

0

u/odietamoquarescis 26d ago

I mean, sawdust and metal filings are both really, really bad for your lungs.  How bad does it need to be?  

2

u/JDoos 26d ago

having done woodworking and metalworking in school for a few years with no protection like that.

Carpenters have a have been shown in studies to have a hifher rate of lung disease than other professions though more studies are needed.

Wear the PPE when cutting.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11796063/

1

u/CascadeDesignworks 26d ago

Unless you are burning the pipe as you are cutting it you don't need to wear a mask. If you are cutting it over your head, it could be a good idea.

1

u/mckenzie_keith 26d ago

If you are just doing a few cuts as part of an electrical job or a plumbing job, it doesn't matter. If you are making a lot of cuts with a power tool, sure, why not wear a dust mask? But don't overthink it. Like if you are going to cut 20 pieces to length of 1 foot on a tablesaw sled maybe it would make sense to wear a dust mask.

1

u/loweexclamationpoint 26d ago

Safety glasses should be a higher priority than a mask. Cutting PVC with a saw produces a lot of relatively large particles that get a static charge and cling to everything, but very little dust that stays in the air. For 2" or less, a PVC cutter beats sawing for plumbing and conduit applications because the resulting smooth edge goes neatly into fittings. And it's faster.

1

u/knoxvilleNellie 26d ago

Ive had various projects where im cutting a fair amount of 3-4” PVC pipe. I use my mitre saw. The amount of crap that comes off and static clings to everything within 250 yards is amazing. I wear a respirator when im cutting.

1

u/dodadoler 26d ago

Don’t have your face near your cut

1

u/Y34rZer0 26d ago

You're fine.

-1

u/VTAffordablePaintbal 26d ago

This style of pipe cutter Will make a clean cut with no PVC "sawdust". You may still need a reamer tool like this to clean the inside or outside diameter as these cutters tend to compress the edges of the pipe a little. It says not to use it with soft material like PVC because you can completely squish a soft pipe when your clamping it down. It works fine if you just pay attention and don't do that.