In the old Garage I had my 3D Printers out there. In the new house I have two of them in the mini shop. Since having them in the mini shop I have noticed the smell of hot plastic. Just like any plastic it is toxic.
Granted I use PLA and PLA+/Pro but over time these fumes can screw you up. Granted it’s not like ABS or ASA however but over a long term exposure there could be ramifications. Just keep in mind all filaments have VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and UFPs (ultrafine particles).
Since I have started on the garage setting things up I am going to put the printers out there as well. They worked perfectly fine in the old garage so having them out in the new garage will be just fine. However this time I might make a enclosure for them to keep saw dust, oil, and such away from them. Since I have these two on a small rack I might just buy a couple of cheap 3D printer tents. I can get a couple of cheap ones for 30 bucks each. For a few bucks more I can get a couple of tents that have exhaust piping to push the fumes outside.
Main reason why I am doing this is what I have noticed when running the printers over night. The mini shop is in the master bedroom closet. Since the house has two walk-in closets I turned mine into a small shop. When running the printers at night I wake up feeling some what hungover. I don’t drink, use to in my 20’s but not these days. If I leave the door shut the fumes linger and when opening the door you are greeted with a semi sweet kinda liquorice smell and within an hour a headache.
In a nut shell there is no ventilation in the mini shop. I also urge anyone that has a small room or sleeping in the same room with a 3D Printer should stop.