Is it Safe to Weld Inside?

Whether you are an expert or a beginner, finding the best space to carry out welding work can often be challenging without an extensive welding ventilated garage. Summer is excellent for that welding project. With shorter nights and warm temperatures, it offers a perfect opportunity to carry out welding outdoors in safe and ventilated areas without worry.

Welding inside in a domestic setting can be extremely dangerous for numerous reasons and should be avoided at all costs. However, sometimes it could be the only option for your project or work. If this is the case, preparing your desired welding area is essential.

What Are the Dangers of Welding Indoors?

Unless you are a garage or facility that can suit indoor welding, there are many dangers of carrying out welds in enclosed spaces.

Ventilation – Without adequate ventilation, you expose yourself to chemicals and fumes, a byproduct of fusing metal together. These fumes along can cause severe damage to your health and pose a high risk.

Heat – Welding uses significant heat to make the desired join. As with any process that uses high heat levels, it poses a considerable fire risk in confined areas. Not only is there a risk with the heat source, but some welding methods provide sparks, which would cause a fire to nearby equipment, interiors or fabrics.

Risk of Injury – Welding will require heavy metal, and if you choose to do this in a shared domestic space, the metal pieces could cause an obstruction. Post-welding, metal should be left to cool. If you are using a family space, you may be unsure who else may come through the area, who could injure themselves on sharp edges or, worse, cause severe burns.

Should You Weld Indoors?

Most domestic homes are unsafe to weld in, and setting up your equipment in an average living room or dining room is dangerous and should be avoided where possible. As a rule, welding indoors is always a bad idea. Even the most experienced welders will weld in open spaces and outdoors unless it is an absolute emergency.

There are ways to weld inside safely, but it will require a less domestic setting such as a garage, spacious barn or a specifically designed workshop.

How to Create Adequate Ventilation for Welding

Ventilation is one, if not the most important, factor when setting up your indoor welding space. To prevent fumes from causing significant health issues for yourself as a welder, you must ensure that your area provides ventilation. If that isn’t quite possible, you must find a mask which offers a built-in filter for harmful gases.

If you are setting up a workshop or area for welding on a regular basis, installing a welding fume extractor could assist in supplying the space with adequate ventilation. They fluctuate from mobile equipment or wall mounted machines. Depending on your budget will vary your access to these, but they could offer excellent health benefits.

If you are doing an odd job that cannot be carried out outside for whatever reason, ensure that you create a flow of external ventilation with open doors or windows. Creating a flow encourages any fumes to be expelled from the space and allows you to carry out your work in a safer manner.

Clearing Space for Welding

In addition to ventilation, you must consider the risks of the sparks your process will create. Of course, this will vary on the method of welding you will be using. Suppose you require the tungsten inert gas welding method, which uses our high-quality TIG welding gas. In that case, it is unlikely you will produce sparks, and more often than not, if you see sparks with TIG welding, it means that something has gone wrong, and it is best to stop to assess the issue.

However, with metal inert gas welding, you will create the join using the sparks from the process, which means they are essential for welding, making a more hazardous method if you need to weld inside as the sparks could cause severe issues with burns and cause a huge fire risk.

So, if you have limited indoor space, TIG welding would offer the least risk for fires, but with either method, be sure to clear significant space around where you will be welding to ensure optimum safety. Having suitable gas is also essential as bad quality gas can offer contaminants which may cause even worse fumes and smoke. We stock a selection of TIG and MIG welding gas in various sizes to suit all applications, and it is all quality tested for customer confidence in our products.

Preparing for Inside Welding

If you must weld inside, there are several ways you can prepare your area to ensure optimal safety as you weld;

Clear away any distractions or clutter – The less interaction with other items, the less chance of heat damage or fire.

Organise your equipment well – With your gear organised, there will be less risk of accidents and trips which could be dangerous.

Welding blankets – Covering your welding area with fire-retardant blankets will help ensure the floor’s safety and potential heat spreading to other items.

Fire-resistant clothing – Even if welding outside, the correct apparel is essential with any weld. From aprons, gloves, trousers and helmets, having a complete kit to weld in may feel like overkill for a small job, but protecting yourself from the heat and potential sparks is essential.

Check your equipment – Besides organising it, ensuring it is fully functioning and connected correctly is important before welding, indoors or outdoors. Checking that your equipment is working will reduce the risk of anything going wrong, which could be problematic, especially indoors.

Metal tables – If you require a surface to weld on, never use a wooden one. An aluminium table is best for most welding uses.

However, if you have the opportunity to weld outside, it is much more preferred. This option provides a much safer environment for you and potentially others around you.

For more information on safety equipment and learning more, we have some great top tips for beginner welders for you to look through. Don’t forget, for all your welding gas needs, we have a large selection with one bound to suit you and your applications. As bottled gas suppliers, we take pride in our gas and customer services, so if there is anything you may be unsure about, feel free to contact us to ensure you have the correct gas for the job.