Do you periodically clean your 3M respirator? You should!

[flanajb]

I have used a 3M 7500 respirator for a while now. I went to put it on earlier today and thought to myself "that smells a bit" so I decided to pull the mask apart into the 3 sections and to my horror I was presented with black mold festering away between 2 of the sections. Looking inside the mask you could not see any mold.

Given a friend of mine in his 50s has had his life turned upside down with an auto immune disease diagnosis 3 years ago it got me worried. Mold spores are not good for you!

If you use a 3M respirator and don't clean it, I suggest you take it apart and have a look, you might be horrified at what you find growing away inside.

 

[Mike.S]

Thanks for the tip. I use a similar 3M respirator and other than the occassional bash or hoover to clear the dust from the filters I don't delve deeper. I will in future.

 

[Zeddedhed]

I just went and had a look at mine - I haven't worn it for about two months. It now harbours intelligent life forms!!! Bloody Hell!!

Thanks for that - I would have just put it on without looking next time I did a bit of routing or sanding. Oooer!!

 

[Jelly]

The guidelines I was given for respirator care are below:

Inspect: Before Each Use.
Clean with anti-bacterial wipes: weekly as a minimum.
Disassemble, inspect valves and clean thoroughly: onece quarterly, after heavy use or after any period of prolonged storage.
Replace Filters: when breathing becomes harder for particulates, every 50 hours of use or 3 months from opening packet for solvent (paint spraying) Filters.
Service& replace seals: every 3 years Max, every 6 months to one year for heavy users.

The problem is a funny shaped silicon trap accumulating warm, moist air and traces of saliva as you breath is producing an ideal climate for bacteria and mould.

 

[lurker]

With RPE you need to RTFM

 

[flanajb]

The guidelines I was given for respirator care are below:

Inspect: Before Each Use.
Clean with anti-bacterial wipes: weekly as a minimum.
Disassemble, inspect valves and clean thoroughly: onece quarterly, after heavy use or after any period of prolonged storage.
Replace Filters: when breathing becomes harder for particulates, every 50 hours of use or 3 months from opening packet for solvent (paint spraying) Filters.
Service& replace seals: every 3 years Max, every 6 months to one year for heavy users.

The problem is a funny shaped silicon trap accumulating warm, moist air and traces of saliva as you breath is producing an ideal climate for bacteria and mould.

I don't think cleaning once a week with wipes will do the trick. The mold was festering away behind the hard plastic section on the nose piece. A wipe would not have reached that area.

Going forward I am going to disassemble my mask on a weekly basis and soak it in Milton sterilizer. To be honest, it has freaked me out and I hope I have not done any long term damage. A google search reveals some very awful affects of breathing in mould spores.

http://blackmold.awardspace.com/black-mold-toxic-stachybotrys-mycotoxins.html

 

[Jelly]

I don't think cleaning once a week with wipes will do the trick. The mold was festering away behind the hard plastic section on the nose piece. A wipe would not have reached that area. [/url]

It's the next step, of disassembly and thorough cleaning when you use it heavily and then periodically that's important.
I semi-frequently have to wear a full face one for 4-6 hours whilst doing strenuous work... Result lots of sweat, condensation and saliva accumulate, and after use it needs to be disassembled, washed in warm soapy water, rinsed and dried thoroughly before I can put it away again.

I would caution against Milton, the active ingredient may degrade the exhale valves on your respirator.
In that vein...

With RPE you need to RTFM

Lurker's advice is as pertinent as it is profane!

The 3M manual will advise on how to clean and what with... We used to have 3M masks for BA sets, but switched to Scott a year back and I forget what the advice in the 3m leaflet was now.

 

[No skills]

In short no, we use the 3m 4277 masks at work and mine gets binned and replaced at least once a month. Having used them for years I can tell when their past their best, I do wonder how many folk that are occasional mask users don't realise that the mask or filters (if replaceable like the 7500's) are shot :shock:

Nothing like taking a deep breath through a fresh filtered mask :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Halo Jones]

Let me get this right.

We wear masks to save us from the airborne sawdust.

Then the masks incubates and exposes us to the mould spores.

Do we need a mask for our mask #-o

Or do we just go in and watch the telly :|

I only use my mask for mdf and oak. Both of which I have been cutting over the last couple of weekends......

time to take a look :shock:

 

[flanajb]

Let me get this right.

We wear masks to save us from the airborne sawdust.

Then the masks incubates and exposes us to the mould spores.

Do we need a mask for our mask #-o

Or do we just go in and watch the telly :|

I only use my mask for mdf and oak. Both of which I have been cutting over the last couple of weekends......

time to take a look :shock:

That was my thought too. I am paranoid about dust and go out of my way with extractors, ceiling filter and face mask. I reckon no mask would have been better.

I do wonder how many occasional woodworkers have a 3m mask sitting on their bunch full of mold. My cycle bottles are coated with silver particles to help prevent organic growth. You would think a face mask would be an ideal candidate for such technology.

 

[James-1986]

I change my P3 filters every month regardless of use, mold growth never occured to me, but it makes sense when you think about it! :shock:

 

[EddyCurrent]

Like NASA says, where there's water there's life, if you look inside after using it there will be condensation from your breath, it would be a good idea to dry it out before storing maybe.

 

[mouppe]

I just checked an old respirator that I keep in the garage for the odd time I need it at home, and indeed there were some black spots in between the mask and the filter.

I threw it away.

 

[Mike-W]

Not familiar with this particular respirator but in the military when issued with a full face NBC respirator made from rubber the standard treatment after use and before storing for any time was to unscrew the charcoal canister then dunk the rubber mask into a bucket containing a weak solution of bleach. This treatment was the prescribed process for keeping the resporator free of 'bugs' used for as long as i can remember.

BW
Mike

 

[beganasatree]

I think that my Trend Airace will now be having a regular bath.

Peter.

 

[rafezetter]

Reading this had me worried, as I have a drager mask (link below) which I have not done any maintenance on since I bought this one - a replacement for another which I had worn out that also had no inspections; so I've just been out to check it.

Took it apart and it's 100% fine PHEW! - no mould of any kind anywhere and it's well over a year old and was used during the summer were it was getting sweaty etc then stored in the shed.

maybe it's the design or something, but I wiped all around it and barely a trace of anything, no wiff of funky smell all that came off was yellow dust.

https://www.frontline-safety.co.uk/...W58i_Lg7pgyjnVZVAwnkyBnf2dZkpmvuisaAjwC8P8HAQ

 

[Graham Orm]

Wow! great tip, thanks.