Soot fell straight into my eyes while cleaning a double-flue on a steep roof in Pittsburgh last Thursday

I was leaning over the crown trying to reach the second flue and a clump of loose soot dropped right past my goggles, had to finish the job basically blind and then spend 20 minutes flushing my eyes out with bottled water from my truck, has anyone found a better way to keep debris out when you're in a weird position?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_susan12d agoTop Commenter

I was up on a similar steep roof job outside of Youngstown back in 2018, and I found the tape trick just made things worse. The painters tape left sticky residue on my hardhat and goggles, which actually collected more dust and soot over the course of the day. I think those foam gasket glasses trap sweat and fog up like crazy when you're working hard in the summer heat. What works better for me is a simple pair of clear safety glasses with a strap that goes around the back of my head, not the arms. I cinch them down tight and wear a baseball cap under my hardhat to block the gap at the top. The key is keeping the strap snug so they don't shift when you look up.

diana82912d agoMost Upvoted

That angled crown position is the worst for soot (ask me how I know). One thing that helped me was swapping my standard goggles for a set of those anti-fog safety glasses with a foam gasket that seals tight to your face, way less room for stuff to sneak in from the top. Another trick is taping a strip of painters tape across the top of the goggles to your hardhat (if you're wearing one), creates a little ramp that deflects debris away from the seal. Also, keep a small squirt bottle of eyewash in your pocket not just the truck, cuts down on that 20 minute blind stumbling.