Magnet Safety
Neodymium Magnet Safety & Handling Tips
AirShade ships with Neodymium N52 magnets. These magnets are surprisingly strong! Please review the safety tips to help you handle these strong magnets properly and prevent injury or damage to the magnets themselves.
Slide magnets to separate them instead of pulling them.
Neodymium magnets are the strongest, most powerful magnets on earth and the surprisingly strong force between them may catch you off guard at first.
Please review this checklist to help you handle these magnets properly and avoid potentially serious personal injuries, as well as damage to the magnets themselves.
Neodymium magnets can jump together, pinch the skin and cause serious injuries.
Neodymium magnets will leap and slam together from several inches to several feet apart. If you have a finger in the way, it can get severely pinched or even broken. We strongly recommend sliding magnets apart rather than trying to pull them off the stack. For more handling tips, please refer to our installation video.
Neodymium magnets are brittle – and can easily shatter and break.
Neodymium magnets are brittle and will peel, chip, crack or shatter if allowed to slam together, even from just a few inches apart. Despite being made of metal and coated with a shiny nickel-plating, they are not as hard as steel.
Shattering magnets can send small sharp metal pieces into the air at great speeds. Eye protection is recommended.
Keep neodymium magnets away from all children.
Do not allow children to handle or play with these magnets. Small magnets can pose a serious choking hazard. If multiple magnets are swallowed, they can attach to each other through intestinal walls causing serious injuries and even death.
Keep neodymium magnets away from anyone with a pacemaker.
Neodymium magnets create strong magnetic fields around them, which can interfere with pacemakers, ICDs and other implanted medical devices. This is because many of these devices are made with a feature that deactivates the device in a magnetic field.
Keep neodymium magnets away from magnetic media.
The strong magnetic fields emanating from neodymium magnets can damage magnetic media such as credit cards, magnetic ID cards, cassette tapes, video tapes or other such devices. They can also damage older televisions, VCRs, computer monitors and CRT displays.
Keep neodymium magnets away from your GPS and smartphone.
Magnetic fields interfere with compasses or magnetometers used in navigation for air and sea transport, as well as the internal compasses of smartphone and GPS devices.
Avoid contact with neodymium magnets if you have a nickel allergy.
Studies show a small percentage of people suffer from an allergy to some metals including nickel. The allergic reaction is often manifested in redness and a skin rash. If you have a nickel allergy, try wearing gloves or avoid directly handling nickel-plated neodymium magnets.
Neodymium magnets can become demagnetized at high temperatures.
While magnets have been proven to retain their effectiveness up to 80°C or 176°F, this temperature may vary depending on the grade, shape and application of the particular magnet.
Neodymium magnet dust and powder are flammable.
Avoid drilling or machining neodymium magnets. When ground into a dust or powder, this material is highly flammable.
Neodymium magnets can corrode.
Even though these magnets are coated and work for most conditions, they are not waterproof. They will rust or corrode in the presence of moisture. If used underwater, outdoors or in a moist environment, they can corrode and lose magnetic strength.
Recommendations on Handling Neodymium Magnets Safely
- Wear eye protection and work gloves (if necessary) when working with magnets.
- Neodymium magnets will retain their magnetism and integrity for decades when handled, utilized and protected properly.
- To separate magnets, grasp the outside magnet, slide it off the stack and pull it away quickly.
- When separating the magnets, be careful to place the magnets at safe distances from each other so that they do not snap back together. It is more difficult to separate the magnets without the black plastic spacer. It is helpful to work on a metal surface if available, so that magnets stay where you set them and don’t jump together.
- When you have magnets in both hands, remember to keep your hands far apart.
- Seek immediate medical attention for any serious injuries.
- Do not drill or machine neodymium magnets.
