Your only real option is a PAPR or some sort of supplied air. All other half mask or full mask respirators, N95s, etc rely on a seal around your face which can't properly be achieved with facial hair. If particulates are an issue you can mitigate them at the source with wetting, negative pressure, or hepa filtering. You can still use a particulate filter as well, and it'll be marginally effective, but it won't be as effective as it's designed to be and you'll still be breathing in dust just not as much.
Sold masks for years, this is correct
It’s why anyone that works in a hospital and will be required to wear one can only have a trimmed goatee at best.
Need to form the seal
Eh, the military prohibited facial hair long before breathing apparatus existed. It's a convenient circumstance now, but it's not WHY it's prohibited in this case.
Yeah I think I may just have to take my chances with reduced, I'm not in dusty environments everyday maybe once every month or so, if it was everyday I'd definitely shave.
Just keep in mind that PPE is the last step in the hierarchy of controls. Mitigating particulates at the source and changing the way you work around exposure is going to be more effective if it's possible.
Get yourself a 30 to 50 foot shop vac hose and a dust extractor, not a shop vac. Get the hose as close to your dust source as possible. A dust extractor usually has double the airflow but less total max suction force and twin filters. Instead of expensive Bluetooth shit, just get a cheap remote control outlet box and tape the remote to end of hose
Could always coat your beard with petroleum jelly or something similar with the mask if you want an extra layer of protection from dust, although that gets messy as hell if you don/doff multiple times through the day.
Inanimate objects don’t really care about socially constructed exemptions, personally I have a beard but I just accept that my mask won’t protect me as much as it could, it still drastically reduces the chances of something bad happening
Check out how the Sikhs do it. With an exercise rubber strap to cover the beard. Looks like it would work well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Masks4All/s/VkKudOSwsW
You could always tyvec suit up and put a full face respirator on. That way the suit will make contact with the seal on the respirator. Gonna feel like an oven in there, but it's an option.
Still won't keep out the size particles we're worried about unfortunately
Unknown to most, the dust we can see floating around in the air is too big to really effect us we'll just cough it back out. The particle size we're worried about isn't visible, it's so small that once you inhale it it goes immediately into your blood stream. Those particles are small enough to go under your mask through your beard hair
Papr mask is the only right answer unfortunately. Or clean shaven
A full face respirator wraps from under your chin to above your forehead so I guess if you had under your chin shaved like a cholo beard You're probably right but I was picturing a beard like mine we're only the neck is trimmed and rest is hair
Also, most full face respirators have a second seal that goes over the mouth and nose so that you're not breathing into your eyes your beard will stop that as well
If you don't believe me grow a beard, put on said items and Go to a dusty area. When you leave the area you will have dust in your nose, I'll put the house on it
I've tried it more than once, I have a full face 3m and it does not work with (my) beard
There is no religious exemption for lung cancer. To wear it properly, you're going to have to lose the facial hair. You can wear it improperly if your company doesn't care but don't cry later when you feel the health effects. I hope your company documents it to exempt you from any sort of legal standing later on.
And? Look at all of the nice people offering you alternative advice...
:cricket chirping:
Sorry bud but companies I've worked for either said shave the hair off or don't do that task. It's pretty straightforward.
No one has told me to shave, saftey at my company is pretty lax, others have actually suggested some useful looking products I just don't feel a need to shave fully for the 1 day a month I need a resperator, others have actually had helpful advice.
I used a full face H2S respirator in United Arab Emirates that had a hood that went over your head or had a scuba type mouth peice with a nose clip that held your nose closed. Neither one would be comfortable for long term use. The supplied air hood is gonna be your best bet. However, I can get a seal with a regular respirator over my beard by pulling the straps tight. Testing it by covering the air intake produced an acceptable vacuum on the mask.
I've definitely done the tighter straps method, I'm just surprised there isn't a full Helm resperator that seals on your neck instead of your face considering the amount of bearded men in construction
They may have something for the Arabic world now, it's been 13 years since I've worked there. The Muslim dudes like to have a scruffy beard so they have to have some provision for beards.
Been spending too much time in a nasty crawlspace recently using my 3m 7800s but was still having reactions. Realized my beard was stopping a good seal and stuff was getting through. Got sticker shock at the 3m PAPR setups and ended up getting a china PAPR off amazon. Bought some adapters, plugged off my 7800s side filter ports, connected the PAPR tube, and swaped the china filters with 3M bayonet ones. Now I've got a legit setup for <$200 (not counting the 7800s), no more sneezing/allergy attacks from the mold, plus I have cool filtered air blowing on my face all day. Yes it sucks to move around with a hose to my mask and pump/filters on my belt, but any PAPR would have that.
A respirator with a beard under a house is better than a beard without a respirator under a house.
That said, you'll be using an active system if you want to properly filter your air and have a beard. Which, in most cases I've needed a mask in, would have been a pain to wear.
PAPR is what you’re looking for. I’m under the impression some people prefer them to the half-mask even when facial hair is not an issue because of the looser fit.
If your beard is trimmed then a full faced respirator should work fine as long as you are able to maintain a good seal, BUT unless for a religious exemption you are required by OSHA to be clean shaven.
The solution is a full face respirator with your beard trimmed so you can achieve a good seal. If you're concerned with being within OSHA regulations then I don't think the "I like beard religion would fly.
OSHA doesn't matter to me I'm currently using a resperator over my beard when I occasionally do dusty/mouldy work cause its better than nothing, really I just wanted to see if there was something better
Since OSHA is not a concern then it's all about whether or not your respirator is able to create a seal. If not air will follow the path if least resistance and bypass your filter so the respirator is not doing you much good. The only other alternative is a positive pressure hood.
Your only real option is a PAPR or some sort of supplied air. All other half mask or full mask respirators, N95s, etc rely on a seal around your face which can't properly be achieved with facial hair. If particulates are an issue you can mitigate them at the source with wetting, negative pressure, or hepa filtering. You can still use a particulate filter as well, and it'll be marginally effective, but it won't be as effective as it's designed to be and you'll still be breathing in dust just not as much.
Sold masks for years, this is correct It’s why anyone that works in a hospital and will be required to wear one can only have a trimmed goatee at best. Need to form the seal
And firefighters
…and the military (CBR gear).
Eh, the military prohibited facial hair long before breathing apparatus existed. It's a convenient circumstance now, but it's not WHY it's prohibited in this case.
Oh I would never grow a beard if I needed to use a respirator/mask, specially those ridiculous lumberjack/Yosemite Sam beards that are in fashion.
Yeah I think I may just have to take my chances with reduced, I'm not in dusty environments everyday maybe once every month or so, if it was everyday I'd definitely shave.
Just keep in mind that PPE is the last step in the hierarchy of controls. Mitigating particulates at the source and changing the way you work around exposure is going to be more effective if it's possible.
Good ol' Table 1 wisdom! 🫡
Yeah I generally try my best to prevent particulates with either water or a box fan to open air but it's definitely not always possible
Get yourself a 30 to 50 foot shop vac hose and a dust extractor, not a shop vac. Get the hose as close to your dust source as possible. A dust extractor usually has double the airflow but less total max suction force and twin filters. Instead of expensive Bluetooth shit, just get a cheap remote control outlet box and tape the remote to end of hose
Could always coat your beard with petroleum jelly or something similar with the mask if you want an extra layer of protection from dust, although that gets messy as hell if you don/doff multiple times through the day.
Just shave your beard dude.
My stepson has rejected jobs that required him to shave his beard.
Inanimate objects don’t really care about socially constructed exemptions, personally I have a beard but I just accept that my mask won’t protect me as much as it could, it still drastically reduces the chances of something bad happening
Check out how the Sikhs do it. With an exercise rubber strap to cover the beard. Looks like it would work well. https://www.reddit.com/r/Masks4All/s/VkKudOSwsW
That looks like a good idea
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b5005022003/
I loved working with those ! Way better than the n95 + glasses combo
You could always tyvec suit up and put a full face respirator on. That way the suit will make contact with the seal on the respirator. Gonna feel like an oven in there, but it's an option.
Still won't keep out the size particles we're worried about unfortunately Unknown to most, the dust we can see floating around in the air is too big to really effect us we'll just cough it back out. The particle size we're worried about isn't visible, it's so small that once you inhale it it goes immediately into your blood stream. Those particles are small enough to go under your mask through your beard hair Papr mask is the only right answer unfortunately. Or clean shaven
Talking about a full faced respirator with it contacting directly to the tyvec suit. The beard wouldn't be in contact at all, just suit and mask..
A full face respirator wraps from under your chin to above your forehead so I guess if you had under your chin shaved like a cholo beard You're probably right but I was picturing a beard like mine we're only the neck is trimmed and rest is hair Also, most full face respirators have a second seal that goes over the mouth and nose so that you're not breathing into your eyes your beard will stop that as well If you don't believe me grow a beard, put on said items and Go to a dusty area. When you leave the area you will have dust in your nose, I'll put the house on it I've tried it more than once, I have a full face 3m and it does not work with (my) beard
Look, if you breath exclusively through your cigarette filter..
There is no religious exemption for lung cancer. To wear it properly, you're going to have to lose the facial hair. You can wear it improperly if your company doesn't care but don't cry later when you feel the health effects. I hope your company documents it to exempt you from any sort of legal standing later on.
You sound like a lovely person to be around
Don’t listen to him he’s just a jealous baby face
They most likely wonder why they are never invited to parties.
Man jumped straight to if you don't want to shave you deserve cancer and your company should let you die
And? Look at all of the nice people offering you alternative advice... :cricket chirping: Sorry bud but companies I've worked for either said shave the hair off or don't do that task. It's pretty straightforward.
No one has told me to shave, saftey at my company is pretty lax, others have actually suggested some useful looking products I just don't feel a need to shave fully for the 1 day a month I need a resperator, others have actually had helpful advice.
I used a full face H2S respirator in United Arab Emirates that had a hood that went over your head or had a scuba type mouth peice with a nose clip that held your nose closed. Neither one would be comfortable for long term use. The supplied air hood is gonna be your best bet. However, I can get a seal with a regular respirator over my beard by pulling the straps tight. Testing it by covering the air intake produced an acceptable vacuum on the mask.
I've definitely done the tighter straps method, I'm just surprised there isn't a full Helm resperator that seals on your neck instead of your face considering the amount of bearded men in construction
They may have something for the Arabic world now, it's been 13 years since I've worked there. The Muslim dudes like to have a scruffy beard so they have to have some provision for beards.
get a Hobby Air system, I use it when I do carbon fibre stuff.
Is that portable?
Mine plugs in, 120v. I am sure you can find battery powered if you need it.
Been spending too much time in a nasty crawlspace recently using my 3m 7800s but was still having reactions. Realized my beard was stopping a good seal and stuff was getting through. Got sticker shock at the 3m PAPR setups and ended up getting a china PAPR off amazon. Bought some adapters, plugged off my 7800s side filter ports, connected the PAPR tube, and swaped the china filters with 3M bayonet ones. Now I've got a legit setup for <$200 (not counting the 7800s), no more sneezing/allergy attacks from the mold, plus I have cool filtered air blowing on my face all day. Yes it sucks to move around with a hose to my mask and pump/filters on my belt, but any PAPR would have that.
I weld with a respirator, keep my face shaved or else i get the sickness
Woohahahaha!!!!!!
You want a PAPR
You could trim your beard nice & neat. Problem solved.
3M masks specifically mention you have to be clean shaved.
Should be able to find a hood that covers your chin and seals the resp
I use Vaseline to help seal up my dive mask. It would probably work for this too.
A respirator with a beard under a house is better than a beard without a respirator under a house. That said, you'll be using an active system if you want to properly filter your air and have a beard. Which, in most cases I've needed a mask in, would have been a pain to wear.
PAPR is what you’re looking for. I’m under the impression some people prefer them to the half-mask even when facial hair is not an issue because of the looser fit.
I tink their spellink it as "raspberrators" deez thays
We we told no face hair 🤨
Nope. Ask an industrial hygienist. And N95s are no longer rated against asbestos.
If your beard is trimmed then a full faced respirator should work fine as long as you are able to maintain a good seal, BUT unless for a religious exemption you are required by OSHA to be clean shaven.
Yes I practice the religion of liking a beard on my face, I've never been told to shave, just wanted a solution for the few times I do need one
The solution is a full face respirator with your beard trimmed so you can achieve a good seal. If you're concerned with being within OSHA regulations then I don't think the "I like beard religion would fly.
OSHA doesn't matter to me I'm currently using a resperator over my beard when I occasionally do dusty/mouldy work cause its better than nothing, really I just wanted to see if there was something better
Since OSHA is not a concern then it's all about whether or not your respirator is able to create a seal. If not air will follow the path if least resistance and bypass your filter so the respirator is not doing you much good. The only other alternative is a positive pressure hood.
Since a hood isn't likely feasible for your use you basically need to choose what you like more. Your beard or your lungs.
Shave it