# Preventing Dust Collection on inside of Respirator and rentention in clothing, ear protection



## martin2jam (Jan 12, 2014)

Greetings,

First post…haven't found an answer on the Internet or this forum.

How do you remove and store the filtered Respirator Mask so that there are no dust particles on the inside of the mask when you put it back on the next time you want to use it?

If you take it off inside the shop, small, invisible dust particles floating in the air can adhear to the inside of the mask. There are dust particles adhering to the outside of the mask as it is. If I store the mask, with air ciculating, dust will creep into the inside of the mask. If I store the mask in a plastic bag, there are still dust particles on the outside of the mask that will end up circulating - some of them - and end up on the inside of the mask, ready to be breathed in.

It's the same question with clothing…If I wear a plastic covering over my clothes, where do I take that off and how do I ensure that no dust that was attached to the outside of this plastic suit flakes off and adheres to the iside of the plastic suit / covering, thereby transferring to my clothing anyway….or, how do I store the plastic suit so that no dust is on the inside when put it back on for the next time I use it?

The only solution I can think of is standing in a positive air pressure chamber that will suck all of the air out of the chamber in a vacuum.

Have you thought of this safety issues before? And, if so, what was the solution you came up with?


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

This is woodworking. You're not working in a sterile operating room. Just blow off the dust before storing it in the bag and wipe or blow it off when you take it out. Why would you wear plastic over your clothes unless maybe you were spraying finish? It's a workshop, you get dusty, just brush yourself off.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Even with your best efforts at staving off wood dust, albeit the top dollar Dust Collector installed by a Pro, and the most efficient Air Cleaner on the market, you are going to have residule wood dust particles stuck to anything Plastic that you wear or that comes in contact with dissimilar materials, when rubbed together they produce static electricity which attracts the dust like a magnet.

If you are extremely allergic the best way to minimize wood dust is to abandon your power tools and start collecting quality hand tools or switch to carving with hand tools, otherwise get up close and personal with your air compressor and hose.

A CNC machine or a 3D Printer may be your only hobby option for craft projects.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


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## lepelerin (Jan 13, 2012)

jump into the river, shake yourself and check if you are dust free, and only then go back to your shop. 
This is woodworking workshop not a sterile environment. So I would assume there is absolutely no dust in your house. Tell me how you can achieve such a thing.
To answer your question, no I never thought about it and I have no idea.


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

I just stick my shop vac in it before I use it. Otherwise I end up getting a mouthful of dust


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Welcome to LJ. You need to be researching "clean rooms" like those used in electronic manufacturing instead of wood working to get to that standard.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I store my dust mask in a closed drawer, doesn't seem to be a problem. I used to put it in a plastic bag but then the water vapor that condenses on the inside would never evaporate, so I went to the drawer method.


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## Bill1974 (Mar 24, 2010)

I have done asbestos work and the way it is handled there is to remove all the contaminated clothing first. Then get into a shower and cover the inlet of the filter with tape and start showering. Once everything was washed wetted you can remove the mask. Just don't get the filters wet.

You can do similar in you shop. Clean off as best as possible (before removing the mask), then remove the mask and cover the inlet of the filters.

You can remove the filters from the mask and wash it.

I like to use a respirator that I can check to see if it's sealing well, by covering the inlet to the filters. and one that has replaceable filters. I also use p100 filter sometimes with the organic filters too. Yes its not as comfortable as not wearing a mask, but if there is enough dust that you are blowing chunks out of your nose then you can be sure some probably made it by. I find a mask that is as comfortable as possible and that way I will use it more often. they are not that expensive either. Do i use is every time no, but I try to use it when I am making any significant amount of dust and more so if I have to keep the garage doors closed.


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## martin2jam (Jan 12, 2014)

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to post a response to my question. I learned a lot about what my expectations should be for eliminating all dust particles through the collective knowledge of this group….and learned some other things along the way too…..static electricity, clean rooms, storage of the dust mask, and even the process of how to handle a mask used for asbestos removal and how that might transfer to my needs. These responses contain exactly the type of info I was hoping to gather. Again, thank you very much. I would respond individually to each response but am not sure of how to do that.


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