Everyone knows that heat kills.
Saw blades. Overheated edges sharpened on a grinder. Motors forced to work harder than they were intended.
This label is a little droopy, isn’t it? No wonder. When I spent hours at the grinder, wire-wheeling items rusted by Katrina’s flood, I should have given the little grinder a rest. Heat didn’t kill it, but I’m sure heat shortened its life expectancy.
Nothing is susceptible to heat damage like electronics. Stereos, computers, high-intensity lighting with electronic controls.
I almost never turn on my laptop in the shop. Sometimes, if I need it for just a minute, I’ll fire it up in the back of my car, diagonally opposite the part of the garage where the most dust is generated. Otherwise, I go upstairs where the living level of the house is clean, and go back and forth to use it. It’s a little extra effort, but clogging the cooling fans and processor radiator fins with dust will shorten the life of your $1000 to $2000 investment. If you have a Mac, it’s even more.
While I could put my stereo’s amplifier upstairs and just run wires to the speakers, I change sources and volume levels too often for that to be practical. Sometimes the old iPod, sometimes Music Choice from the cable TV, sometimes the news off my TiVo app.
This iPod is so old that its battery no longer holds a charge. But, as long as the power supply holds out it will continue to play all 13 gigabytes of my stored music.
As a compromise, I have a reminder in my computer that tells me when it’s time to blow my stereo out every six months. Compared to tube-type amplifiers, today’s electronics run much cooler, but the manufacturer put cooling fins on the power supply for a reason, so I like to keep them dust- free.
Work in the shop without my stereo? Not on your life.
My shop computer si seldom on so do not thinkabout cleaning it out. I know I should but never seem to think of it. Reminder on to do list on computer in house might be worth while.
If you put your phone in a small Ziploc bag, you can keep it in your pocket. The bag protects it from sweat and dust, plus you can still use the phone with the bag on it. As for the bluetooth speaker, it can be wrapped loosely in a breathable cloth bag or loose-weave cloth. That will allow it to breath but keep the dust off.
I use Glad Press-N-Seal to protect the small items. Just wrap them in a small amount and the wrap seals the electronics from dust, protects from sweat, splashes of most sorts and is easy to replace if needed. The large stuff gets covered with light weight vinyl upholstery that was purchased at a cloth shop.