Gourd Safety: Wear a Respirator when Cutting, Cleaning or Sanding Gourds

When working with gourds, please use precautions in the following areas.

Gourd Mold: When gourds dry the natural way, it can take months. During this time the shell becomes mottled with a variety of molds, so please exercise gourd safety. No one knows what dangers lie in the mycotoxins of all molds out there because there just haven't been any definitive studies on mold mycotoxins. However it is known that several, if not all varieties can wreak havoc on your lungs and repiratory system. It is also suspected that many molds play a role in allergies, asthma, cancer, and many other health problems, so don't risk it, wear a good respirator when cleaning the mold off your gourds. Also, use a wet towel, (drenching wet), and wrap it around the moldy gourd before handling it. Then blot the entire surface to wet down the mold and the spores to help to prevent them from becoming airborne.

Gourd Dust: be sure to exercise gourd safety when cutting, carving with a high speed carving tool, or sanding any gourd. Gourd dust does not dissipate in your lungs. I first developed COPD myself after working in a garage sanding several gourds. It was not until I walked out of the garage and looked back in that I realized just how thick the dust was in the air I was breathing. For the next two weeks, I had a horrible time breathing until I started running to clear my lungs out, and was soon after diagnosed with COPD. Gourd dust like almost any dust is not intended to be plastered through out your lungs, but when you cut and sand on gourds, wood, drywall, etc, this is exactly what you are doing to your lungs if you are not wearing the proper protective gear.

Gourd Smoke: Primarily a concern to pyrpographers, (such as myself), is the gourd smoke. Many gourd pyrpographers have developed lung problems, and I'm not saying this to scare you away, with proper safety precautions you should be able to enjoy the hobby without the problems. Proper ventilation or a fume hood are a must, or at least should be a must. It does not have to blow or create a strong breeze across your work, if you are using a professional pyrography pen, an air breeze can cool the tip making it hard to get consistency, but something mild to just draw the air away from you and out of the room should not interfere with your work and will be a bonus to your health.

This article on practicing gourd safety is not meant to scare you away from gourd crafting, but rather to make you aware of some of the hazards that are possible. Just like the potential of having a car accident should not prevent you from driving, if you use common sense and exercise a few safety precautions, you should have nothing to fear.

Gourds are an artistic medium. If you would like to learn more about gourds, please visit The Gourd Reserve, with over 800 pages of gourd related information and artwork. You can also find more short articles on gourds and growing gourds here on my AC producer page.