Dust Masks and Goggles don't mix, it seems

[Cursitor Doom]

Hi all,

I made the terrible mistake of buying some of these crappy Sealey face masks:

Sadly, they turned out to be worse than useless - by some distance. I was attempting to sand off a water tank for repainting, but the mask stopped none of the dust and in addition, caused my safety glasses to mist up completely so I was totally unable to see anything. And yes, I did tweak the nose wire thing to shape beforehand.

Looking at the design it's hard to see how this junk could be expected to work even before the first prototype was made. If you wear safety glasses or ordinary glasses, have you found a mask that actually *works* and *doesn't* render the glasses opaque?

[Robin]

Only respiratrors such as

(as noted also in . IMLE they work (even over a modest set of whiskers) and one lasts longer than a plethora of paper masks.

[polygonum]

I have a simple face shield. Something like Screwfix JSP 8" Polycarbonate Face Shield - Product Code: 26256. As needed, I will use a simple 3M dust mask underneath, though similar to yours - and my regular spectacles.

Not perfect but for my purposes it has been adequate.

[Chris Hogg]

I find that 'valved' masks are a bit better from the POV of spectacle misting. The valve lets the air through as you breathe out, rather than it being forced up past your nose to behind your spectacles and condensing on them, misting them up. Something like this:

[Bob H]

There are different masks for different particulates.

One doesn't suit all, as there are masks which would stop any particles going through. You should have talked to the supplier first to find out what they were good for.

[Nightjar]

That type of mask is only intended to provide simple protection from nuisance dust. It is the sort to keep in a factory to hand out to visitors.

If you are going to be producing large volumes of dust you really need a half face respirator with dust cartridges. If you don't need the impact resistance of safety goggles a full face respirator is even better, but they can have problems with sealing around glasses if the side frames are bulky.

[Brian Gaff]

And where do the cheap mask people get their so called elastic from? Trades description act territory I fancy. Brian

[mike]

Has anyone here tried these?

The reviewers seem to think highly of them (apart from one disgruntled Welshman) and the idea of two compatible parts seems sound.

[Cursitor Doom]

Frontrunner thus far I reckon, John!

[John Rumm]

Yup:

Nice fit to the face and plenty of adjustment. The vent on the front directs the warm wet air away from glasses etc. Very effective filtration against dust and vapour (will block solvent and paint fumes for example)

Expensive, but they last a long time in a non commercial environment, well worth the money.

[Cursitor Doom]

The Screwfix one also appears to be "disposable" implying you'll be buying it over and over again!

[Robin]

well they are certainly cheaper there than at Screwfix

[Robin]

The manufacturers of the elastic might argue that self-evidently the meaning of what they supply is elastic :)

[Robin]

It's the same 3m 4251 as John suggested :) But of course he did so with vastly more credibility/authority/experience/etc than I'll ever have (NB from a sarcasm-free zone).

"Disposable" is just Screwfix's way of signalling that you can't change the filters as you can on posher respirators. And that if you are following all the H&S rules you have to dump it after 28 days. See But the 4251s were recommended to me by some who ought to have known when I asked for advice some 15+ years ago as fine for occasional use for months rather than days - so long as I wasn't going to be doing naughty things with NBC hazards.

[John Rumm]

You can probably find cheaper on ebay than I listed - I just went for the first I found.

They are disposable in the sense that when knackered you bin them - there are no removable cartridges that can be replaced like on some respirators.

IIRC they are also certified for 30 days continuous use in industry without need of additional paperwork or record keeping etc,

[John Rumm]

Not so sure about that, and even if it were true it only means more people mislead on the occasions I get it wrong!

We are each as credible as our recent posts...

I wonder if a fart after a good chilli counts ;-)

[Cursitor Doom]

Would you be so kind as to direct us to an empoream where such vitals may be secured?

[JimK]

Frontrunner thus far I reckon, John!/q

I prefer 3Ms with replaceable separate filters e.g. 3M 6200 also on eBay for 20 squids odd.

Jim K