Is it dangerous to work in or around blown insulation?

Question

Is it dangerous to work in or around blown insulation?

Answer 1

Blown in insulation can be either celulose or fiberglass. you can usually tell by the color.  fiberglass is either white or pink depending on who makes it and cellulose is usually gray.there is also a product called pearlite which is white also.  when working in any of them a cheap dust mask should be worn and loose fitting clothing.  fiberglass can cause skin irritation .   a cool shower after the job should take care of it. some installers will use baby powder before starting to work with it.   good luck

Answer 2

Typical blown insulation, of today at least, is made mostly of recycled newsprint and phone book material that isn't itchy. That is, it does not contain fiberglass like the "batting" kind of stuff which is itchy. Some of the old blown does contain fiberglass which makes it real itchy.

That said, the fibers in blown insulation can fill the air with fine particulate. Just because it may be mere paper, do not go without lung protection. Many folks that worked in paper mills acquired something called "white lung" from inhaling fine paper particulate matter.

I wouldn't say it's dangerous but I would wear lung protection, preferably a respirator.