Chim Chiminy Corona

December 12, 2020 3:55 PM

How do we make it safe for a contractor to come into our home right now?

We need to have the chimney and wood stove inspected this week, after what looks like some build up.

We are in discussions over here about how best to make this safe right now. We have heard rumours from the neighbors that the chimney sweep is maybe not the most covid safe, in terms of taking precautions like mask wearing. We have no other options for chimney sweeps in the area, and we need this character to come in, as we need the stove to be working safely for obvious reasons.

I think there's a chance that he only is on the roof and doesn't come inside, but that seems unlikely. We will discuss as much as possible with him about how to make this safer, but at this point, we really need him to fix the chimney issue no matter what.

What do we do? Don't go inside after he's been in? for how long? What is the science here? We want to ensure as little chance of transmission as possible.

posted by miles1972 to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

If you live somewhere that it is at all reasonable, open as many windows as you can for maximum air flow. If you have any HEPA air purifiers, put them all in the area where he will be. Spend as little time as possible in the same room as the contractor; if you can discuss the issue with him over the phone and pay remotely, you’ll be able to minimize the time you spend close to each other. You and the contractor should both wear masks if you do have to be in the same room. If he spends more than a few minutes inside your home, especially if you don’t trust that he was wearing a mask the whole time he was inside, let the room air out for a while after he leaves before you go back in (and continue to ventilate it as much as possible during that time).

It wouldn’t hurt to wipe down anything he touched, but the current evidence is that we need to worry less about surface transmission and worry more about breathing the same air.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:24 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Agreed with all that related to ventilation and the air filter. The other thing, having had to have about five different kinds of home repair, is that I learned to be say what I wanted even though I would normally be more deferential. "Oops, your mask fell down off your nose." "Let's talk outside." That sort of thing. It's your house. Some of this you can check ahead of time ("do you all have masks or should I provide some?"), but some you may have to say in person.
posted by slidell at 4:41 PM on December 12, 2020 [8 favorites]

Windows are probably the most important. You don't want to be breathing the air he leaves behind. Be clear on your mask requirements before he sets foot in the house. If you have a box fan or similar you can use that while he's there or after he's gone to make sure the air is cycled out. Assume you can't run your furnace for the duration of the visit because you don't want it drawing the air into the rest of the house.

I'm not swearing to its accuracy in all situations, but I think the microcovid website gives you a reasonable idea of relative risks involved. It is not a given that he has covid, and if he did it is far from a given that you would catch it if you did nothing, but it should help you judge how much risk you're taking, how you might reduce it and how much it matters. You can compare your options with, for instance, one visit to the supermarket.

I had someone around last week to do work; we all wore masks, I limited where they went, and I opened enough windows to make a cross current while they were inside and for some time afterward. I judged that the masks reducing possible transmission plus the air circulation made it adequately safe for both them and me. And having air circulation meant they also weren't breathing my spent air, as they would have been if I'd just let them in.

I am not one to worry about surfaces, to be honest, so for me the air was what mattered.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 4:55 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

You should also designate a bathroom in case he needs one, and make sure that window is open also/there is circulation. Put pets away so you can prop doors open (this also cuts down on hands touching doorknobs) and have a spot you can hang out at a distance comfortably.
posted by emjaybee at 7:56 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

We had to have our fireplace fixed a couple of months ago. We all wore masks and stayed away from the contractors, did all talking outside, kept the windows open, and after they left we ran the house fan on high with the windows still open for about 20 minutes before we removed our masks. I don't know if that was sufficient or not but it's what we did.
posted by joannemerriam at 11:50 AM on December 13, 2020