Watch out for treated lumber on hot days

Last Wednesday in Phoenix I was cutting pressure treated 4x4s and the dust kicked up so bad I couldn't breathe right for 2 days. Got a chemical burn on my arms too from the sweat mixing with the sawdust. Anyone else run into this with treated wood in the summer heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

milesbarnes7d ago

Oof, yeah I learned that one the hard way too. I was building a raised garden bed last July and thought I'd be smart by wearing a long sleeve shirt, but I forgot about the sweat. By the end of the day I looked like I had a bad sunburn all over my forearms where the dust stuck to me. My wife called me a human pretzel because I was walking around with my arms sticking straight out trying not to touch anything.

torres.riley7d ago

Dude, what finally worked for me was putting baby powder on my arms before I started.

jana5096d ago

...my buddy Dave had the exact same thing happen building a deck in Vegas last August. He was sweating like crazy and the treated sawdust basically turned into a paste on his forearms. By the next morning he had these bright red welts running all the way up to his elbows, looked like he got attacked by a cat. Took him almost a week before the rash stopped itching and peeling.