Respirators

[Huge]

Drilling some fibreglass this afternoon reminded me that I need a new respirator/dust mask.

Can anyone recommend one? Those disposable paper dust masks are useless.

[Dave Liquorice]

These are very good:

But probably a bit OTT for a bit of dusty DIY. B-)

I've a 3M half mask:

It's light and comfortable, though I think the one I have might just a bit to large for my face. They come in Small, Medium and Large and you do need to get the right size.

Filters are seperate, replaceable and available with a range of different protections.

[John Rumm]

The 3M half face mask is very good. Makes a good seal to the face and is comfortable.

Like:

[Jon Fairbairn]

I?ll second that, though with the caution that having a beard isn?t good for the seal (though it works reasonably well). I guess to get a good seal I?d have to get something that went all the way down to my neck. Never seen something like that, though.

[Huge]

OK, just ordered one. No-one seems to sell the filters, though.

I only had to drill and ream 6 holes so I could hold my breath, but there's going to be a fair amount of sawing & filing to do next weekend, so some protection is in order.

Oh, well, we'll see how it goes.

(I'm putting an RAC spec roll bar on the Westfield to replace the chocolate factory fit one.)

[Dave Liquorice]

Doubt you can get a proper seal at all, ie block the filter inlet(s) and breath in. The mask should pull onto your face and you not get any air. With a bit of fiddling you should be able to keep most dust out though just don't expect it to keep anything gaseous out.

[Steve Firth]

A bit late now, I use disposable 28 day masks. They are comfortable and work well.

Screwfix 14194

[Huge]

The trouble with the time limited ones is that I use a mask for a few hours every couple of months, so I never get proper use out of them. I assume this is because they have activated charcoal (or similar) components in the filters? Would keeping them sealed in a ziploc help?

[Dave Liquorice]

Like me, maybe a day here and there spread over years.

If they have organic vapours filtering probably but simple dust I would expect to be pure mechanical. I suspect it's mainly overly excessive arse covering as these things are supposed to keep you "safe" and if they don't the makers are liable.

For mainly dust protection I'd be happier with it out in the open and dry rather than sealed up, damp, in a bag. Damp will encourage bacterial growth...

[Steve Firth]

Dunno - the work on the house has been long periods of work and months of absence. I just throw away the mask at the end of the visit and break out a new one when I get back. Different pattern of use to yours.

[John Rumm]

They seem to carry on working for much much longer with intermittent use. The 28 day bit is I think really anticipating every day use, and it circumvents need for record keeping in commercial environments. I find they seem as effective a year old as when new if they are only used a few hours here and there (even for vapours - they will keep paint fumes out for example).

[Jon Fairbairn]

Exactly what doesn?t happen :-(.

Right, though I don?t have filters that would cope with gas anyway. If I were dealing with anything really dangerous I would perhaps have to shave off part of my beard, and I haven?t done anything like that for something like thirty years. I sometimes wonder about applying some sort of temporary glop (such as gelatin makeup) to encase the relevant part of the beard. I?m sure that would work, but I can?t quite bring myself to do it, even though being an asthmatic dust can be a major problem.

[Andy Champ]

My father bought a gadget with a pump and filter that goes on your back, and blows filtered air into a mask. Any leaks through the beard are outwards.

Andy

[Jon Fairbairn]

Yes, that?s another way of solving the problem, but the cheapest positive pressure respirators seem to be just under £200 with fairly pricy replacement filters. And > £300 seems more common. I expect that the market is mainly composed of people exposed to fairly noxious stuff rather than people with beards.

[John Rumm]

There are two variations on that theme it seems. The proper respirator stuff (v expensive) that needs a supply of oil free compressed air to work, and the various "power cap" type of devices like the Trend one beloved of wood workers, that filter to a less industrial standard, but still provide a stream of clean air over the face.