Printer enclosure vs higher humidity room?

Question

I bought the BambuLab X1-Carbon without considering where to put it, and now I realize there are only two options:

1. My small studio room where I also work.
2. The utility closet, which houses my washer/dryer.

Studio Room: The issue here is that I spend a lot of time in this space. While I’m only planning to print with PLA and PETG (both considered relatively safe), the poor ventilation and long hours spent in the room still concern me. I’ve thought about converting part of my bookcase into an airtight enclosure with carbon and HEPA filters to house the printer, but I’m questioning if it’s worth the effort—especially because I'd have to also buy expensive PM sensors to validate it.

Utility Closet: The main drawback here is the humidity, which ranges from 50-70% (60% average). I can’t find clear information on whether this level would damage my filament, even with the AMS silica bead containers mod. However, the closet is where the ventilation system is so the room has negative pressure and vents to the outside.

If the utility closet works despite the humidity, I’d be inclined to use it. Online sources suggest the printer doesn’t produce harmful compounds, but I’m still uneasy about spending 8 hours in the same unventilated room as the printer; opening the window isn’t ideal due to the cold.

Thoughts? Should I go for the utility closet if the humidity isn’t a dealbreaker? How feasible is it to build an airtight fully filtered enclosure out of normal materials?

Answer 1

The studio room has an issue not with filtering but with noise. Filtering can be done with an air purifier you could even build yourself, but noise is not going away, no matter what you do.

The laundry room has a very high humidity. The silica in the AMS is useless, basically, but if you print PLA, ABS/ASA, PET (not PET"G"), or HIPS, which are barely affected by it, you should be fine. If you notice problems, once a month simply dry the spools you leave to sit in the AMS.

If you print PETG, PC, nylon, TPU then you will need to do single-material prints with them so that you can keep the spools in the dryer while you print. Get the Eibos Polyphemus or other good quality DUAL dryers, it will speed up your monthly drying. Check the reviews on My Tech Fun. I got a Gratkit because it is very quiet and does 70 °C, which you need for PC and nylon, but I don't need dual dryers.

If you want to print multi-material with PETG, PC, nylon, TPU then I think the only option is to build yourself a dryer which encloses the whole AMS. How to do that it's up to you.