The Monster Mask
Sep. 22nd, 2020 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeLisa has been doing painting and also working under the house, where there is plenty of dust and potentially mold and other nasty things you don't want to inhale. In the past she has used disposable paper/cloth masks. (This is one reason we had quite a few in stock when COVID-19 hit.) However, as she's become more concerned about what she might be inhaling, we stepped it up a notch when shopping at Ace Hardware in Fallon a few months ago.
Here's the respirator in its package. This is actually the second one we bought, which we did yesterday in Reno while trying to find parts for the existing one, about which I will explain shortly. Ideally, each person should have their own mask anyway, so if I need to work with her close up on things with noxious fumes, I could use this one. Also, under the current conditions, it's probably prudent to have spares on hand.
The mask does make you look like a kind of bug-eyed monster when wearing it, but Lisa says it works really well. While spray-painting the swamp cooler, she said she couldn't smell anything, whereas I could smell it many meters away. And breathing in it, she says, is much easier than normal simple masks. OTOH, I think that's because of one-way filters in the mask, meaning that you wouldn't want to wear it for the blocking purposes of "normal" face coverings.
This is the mask Lisa has been using for several months now. There are two replaceable respirator cartridges that attach to each side of the mask. These apparently last no more than six months regardless of use, because once you open the sealed package, they start absorbing stuff out of the surrounding air. Therefore, don't open the package until you're ready to use it.
On the right side in this photo you can see the outer particulate filter or "pre-filter," which fits over the cartridge and is held in place with the clear plastic filter retainer.
While working under the house on the phone/cable wiring project a few days ago, Lisa accidentally knocked one retainer off and the particulate filter went with it. She didn't immediately find it, which set of a series of events and longish drives to try and get replacement parts.
Here's what a brand new set of respirator cartridges look like out of the package.
But this is what one looks like after a few months of use and especially after the pre-filter and bracket fell off.
Lisa did eventually recover the bracket and pre-filter that fell off when she got more parts (about which more in a moment). This is what the used filter looks like next to the bracket.
Put them together and snap them onto the cartridge and they form the first layer of defense against particulate matter.
It's probably no surprise that there's been a run on these masks and their parts. On Saturday, misled by an inaccurate inventory system, we drove all the way to Truckee where Ace Hardware's system (and the store's own inventory) claimed that there was one of the respirators for sale. They didn't have it. They did have one pair of respirator cartridges, but none of the outer pre-filters. We also checked with Sherwin-Williams in South Reno, where we were also able to get some more cartridges, but no pre-filters.
Yesterday, we went back into Reno to a different Sherwin-Williams store, the Commercial Paint outlet. They were also out of pre-filters and cartridges, but they did have two new respirators and a sign limiting purchases to 1 per person. We only bought one. When we got home, I was able to find boxes of pre-filters available online and bought a couple of boxes of them, along with a spare pair of retainers.
Lisa also discovered that she'd accidentally installed two pre-filters initially (the respirator comes with two sets of two pre-filters), so until the replacements arrive in a few days, she can use the extra one stuffed under the bracket that didn't pop off to get her working again using the replacement cartridges.
Lisa is much happier doing this work in areas with noxious air wearing this respirator (and goggles), and I am, too.
Here's the respirator in its package. This is actually the second one we bought, which we did yesterday in Reno while trying to find parts for the existing one, about which I will explain shortly. Ideally, each person should have their own mask anyway, so if I need to work with her close up on things with noxious fumes, I could use this one. Also, under the current conditions, it's probably prudent to have spares on hand.
The mask does make you look like a kind of bug-eyed monster when wearing it, but Lisa says it works really well. While spray-painting the swamp cooler, she said she couldn't smell anything, whereas I could smell it many meters away. And breathing in it, she says, is much easier than normal simple masks. OTOH, I think that's because of one-way filters in the mask, meaning that you wouldn't want to wear it for the blocking purposes of "normal" face coverings.
This is the mask Lisa has been using for several months now. There are two replaceable respirator cartridges that attach to each side of the mask. These apparently last no more than six months regardless of use, because once you open the sealed package, they start absorbing stuff out of the surrounding air. Therefore, don't open the package until you're ready to use it.
On the right side in this photo you can see the outer particulate filter or "pre-filter," which fits over the cartridge and is held in place with the clear plastic filter retainer.
While working under the house on the phone/cable wiring project a few days ago, Lisa accidentally knocked one retainer off and the particulate filter went with it. She didn't immediately find it, which set of a series of events and longish drives to try and get replacement parts.
Here's what a brand new set of respirator cartridges look like out of the package.
But this is what one looks like after a few months of use and especially after the pre-filter and bracket fell off.
Lisa did eventually recover the bracket and pre-filter that fell off when she got more parts (about which more in a moment). This is what the used filter looks like next to the bracket.
Put them together and snap them onto the cartridge and they form the first layer of defense against particulate matter.
It's probably no surprise that there's been a run on these masks and their parts. On Saturday, misled by an inaccurate inventory system, we drove all the way to Truckee where Ace Hardware's system (and the store's own inventory) claimed that there was one of the respirators for sale. They didn't have it. They did have one pair of respirator cartridges, but none of the outer pre-filters. We also checked with Sherwin-Williams in South Reno, where we were also able to get some more cartridges, but no pre-filters.
Yesterday, we went back into Reno to a different Sherwin-Williams store, the Commercial Paint outlet. They were also out of pre-filters and cartridges, but they did have two new respirators and a sign limiting purchases to 1 per person. We only bought one. When we got home, I was able to find boxes of pre-filters available online and bought a couple of boxes of them, along with a spare pair of retainers.
Lisa also discovered that she'd accidentally installed two pre-filters initially (the respirator comes with two sets of two pre-filters), so until the replacements arrive in a few days, she can use the extra one stuffed under the bracket that didn't pop off to get her working again using the replacement cartridges.
Lisa is much happier doing this work in areas with noxious air wearing this respirator (and goggles), and I am, too.
Safety, Safety, Safety!
Date: 2020-09-23 05:55 am (UTC)There are different kinds of cartridges. The most common ones you find in paint stores should be "VOC" or "Paint" type cartridges - designed to keep paint vapors and particulate out of your lungs. ("Organic vapors, dust and mists" is the designation, IIRC.) The pre-filters are the particulate portion of the filter, and usually the main cartridge has stuff like activated charcoal.
There are other types of filters, not as common, but not appropriate if you're painting. I'm not sure how well the paint cartridges work on mold spores, but should filter some out by filtering particulate.
Also, although I'm pretty sure you know this, please be aware that respirators don't do you any good if there's not enough oxygen in the area.
In a dusty, moldy or paint fume environment, the goggles are a real good idea, I'm glad you both have them. You may want to get non-vented ones if you are in a really dodgy area, though.
Re: Safety, Safety, Safety!
Date: 2020-09-23 12:52 pm (UTC)Lisa is pretty insistent about safety. In general, I'm not the one in the hazard areas, but it seemed good for me to have a set of the safety gear in case of emergency.