i have a 2 stall plus tack room and attached storage shed barn that came w/my property. i've thought about how to clean the place w/out getting a scuba outfit since all the walls, ceilings etc... are covered w/thick dust and cob webs. just taking a broom to the parts i can reach really kicks up a storm.

anyone else ever clean a place this dusty? should i get a dust mask better than the cloth $1.00 jobbies they sell at the hw store? use a pressure washer? ideas?

also, been reading about self sufficiency and found a interesting agricultural/cultural/economic essay by wendell berry that focuses on what he thinks our economy is all about (or not about). thought i'd throw that in as a show-and-tell...

http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/om/archive_om/Berry/Local_Economy.html

-- james (james@wireboard.com), January 19, 2002

Answers

A pressure sprayer might not be a bad idea. You would be able to bleach the place down that way. You never know what infectious treats the last farmer left for you and your livestock! As we all know from the whole anthrax affair, some viruses can encyst and live a loooong time away from their host of choice. If you decide to go with dusting the place down, go to your local hardware store and see if they have better filters. I have asthma now that I didn't have before working in very dusty barns last winter...don't go there, it's not fun!

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), January 19, 2002.

James-your not alone-I've got a goat barn waiting for me as soon as I get over a back injury a little more. My advice-get the best mask you can-the little $1.00 job isn't going to do it. Its a good investment anyway on a homestead who knows what you might get into. These cold winter days are great for these jobs. I load up on Benadryl beforehand also. I'd definatly wear coveralls and a hat! A pressure washer sounds good. The bleaching is a good idea-who knows what was there before.

Wnedell Berry is great-though I don't agree with everything he says. I have several of his books. The other day, he wrote a thoughtful letter to the Editor in the Lousiville Courier journal-it was just a couple of paragraphs though-I wonder if this is the same piece? I'll have to see.

Best of luck with your barn.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

James, Would a shop vac work. If you use a pressurer wacher be sure to have good air flow or you might get a mold or rot problem.

Linda

-- Linda (awesomegodchristianministries@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

I'd leave all the doors and windows open during the Spring winds and see what they can take out.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

Wish I had a barn TOO clean. LOL

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.

If you take out the cob webs what are you going to replace them with for fly control?

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 20, 2002.

Hi James, Boy can we relate! We just moved to our new homestead in July and, although the house was in great shape, the barn and outbuildings had not been used in a zillion years! What a mess! Here's what we did....

We tried the broom bit too first...gez, that was a bad idea! So we got out the shop vac. Our barn is a long way from the house and has no electricity so off to Walmart for a few heavy duty extension cords...but it works! We had to empty the darn thing a million times, but still better than kicking up a bunch of dust that just moves it from one place to another.

Next we used the garden sprayer and mixed up a solution of bleach water and sprayed the whole thing down. That way we knew it was disinfected. As the above post says, you never know what was in there before you and best to start fresh. We thought for sure we would have to paint the inside but after all the dust was out and sprayed down, it is fine! If you have or have access to a pressure washer, all the better. Your be sparkingling clean in no time!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.

thanks for all the replies. i'll prbbly try the shop vac route after i get the better dust mask. i saw some for about $30 at home depot that looked pretty good, tho' they seem to be more for filtering out fumes (carbon filter) than plain ol' barn dust. after de-dusting the place i'll try to get the chlorox wash going...hadn't thought of that and glad y'all mentioned it b4 i put any livestock in there.

regarding what i'll do to get rid of the flies, i don't know. the cob webs themselves are so dust filled i'm not sure that any spiders are currently operating them ;) in any case, we don't have a spider shortage here in N. GA so after the cleaning i bet some new tenants will move in.

the biggest contributing factor to the dust in the barn (i think) is the dirt floor. i'm considering doing something about that since cleaning the barn top to bottom is definitely not something i want to do every year. i've thought about concrete and then one of my friends mentioned that in the olden days the pioneers just poured ox blood on the floors and got a concrete like hardness. i'm not against doing something like that but will definitely read up on it a bunch b4 i go that route.

-- james (james@wireboard.com), January 20, 2002.

James: Please be VERY careful spraying a bleach solution in an enclosed area. It is VERY toxic. I used to use it for disenfecting poultry equipment and before I knew what was happening, the fumes got into my lungs and I thought I was a goner. There are other less toxic (fume-wise) disenfectants on the market. I use an oxygen- based one now that I buy from the local janitor's supply store.

-- Kathy (homefarmbc@pacificcoast.net), January 21, 2002.

James, to consolidate an earthern shed floor, sprinkle cement powder thickly over it (maybe spread with the back of a rake), then scratch up the surface with a rake so the cement gets some way into the earth. Smooth it over roughly with the back of the rake, then spray it with water (which will settle it some and get it flatter). Leave it to set. This will give you a floor of earthern concrete one or one- and-a-half inches thick.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), January 21, 2002.

don,

i like that answer *a LOT* better than ox blood.

-- james (james@wireboard.com), January 21, 2002.