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Taking care of your respirator is simple stuff, but it can have a big impact on your health and safety at work. In this post we're going to explain the best way to keep your non-disposable respirator clean and how to prolong the life of your cartridges. Most people never clean their respirators. Why? Maybe they love germs. Or accumulated grime. Or maybe, like me, they just wipe it out with a rag occasionally and keep working. Hey, I'll do it right from now on. Masks like the …

I don't know if the road to Heck is paved with good intentions, but I do know that my pledge to make healthier life choices and wear a mask when commuting by bike in San Francisco hit a major pot hole soon after I started. The first mask I tried was the Moldex AirWave respirator mask. While it was comfortable on my face, and I felt like it created a good seal, once I started breathing hard, it got pretty hot in there. Even thought it wasn't difficult to draw a breath, once I let the …

One of the most frequent questions about the respirators we carry at pksafety.com is what size to buy. All our respirators come in small, medium or large, and most first-time buyers have no idea which is best for them. A proper fit is just about the most important consideration for a respirator, especially when pesticides, lead, or other harmful substances are in the air. Unfortunately the only way to know for sure if your respirator has a good seal is to do an OSHA-approved fit test …

To save money and to stick with my New Year’s resolution of making healthier life choices, I now commute to work by bicycle. Before this year, I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was about ten. But as the saying goes, I had no problem jumping right back on despite my fear of getting on the road with the relentless Californian drivers. I was certainly afraid of riding on the road with all the cars at first, but I've eventually gotten over that hump. Now I find myself facing a different concer …

Folks often ask us which respirator to use for spray painting and automotive body work. There are some good options out there but the type of filter and respirator mask will depend largely on the kind of work you do, and how often you are doing it. The only safe solution for urethane paint is pulling clean air from a remote spot and that requires an airline respirator system like the Allegro 9200-01 System. But let's talk about basics first. For instance, if you are sanding Bondo, gr …

Last week a customer sent us a question asking how long the 3M 2097 Particulate Mold Filters last. The answer is - it depends. Since it's a fairly common question, and "it depends" is such an unsatisfactory answer, we thought we'd explain it here in a bit more detail. The useful life of filters and cartridges is not fixed. In the case of the 3M 2097 P100 (HEPA) filters, we have two elements to consider: the filter and the charcoal layer. The P100 HEPA (which stands for High-Efficiency …

Maybe it's just because of Facebook, but we are noticing a trend these days among dedicated fishermen - lots of them are making their own lead sinkers. Lead melts at a relatively low temperature, and many sporting suppliers sell molds for casting the fishing weights. It's fun. But beware - lead dust and fumes can be extremely toxic. Even if you are melting and casting lead outdoors, you still need to protect yourself with a respirator. Let's cover some of the basics for folks maki …

While many people will wear sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun, not many folks wear respirators around the house to protect themselves from the formaldehyde found in so many household products. Sure, we are a safety company and we'd love to see a respirator on every face and in every home. But in this case, you might be better protected with information. For instance, did you know that nail polish, glues, adhesives, and pressed-wood products like plywood and particle board tha …

The vast majority of people who enjoy shooting guns at indoor ranges are very conscious of safety. They wear hearing protection for their ears, and eye protection for their eyes. But very few wear respirators to protect their lungs from the lead dust that is nearly always present. Most shooters who frequent indoor ranges are aware of the potential for lead poisoning, but don't worry much about it. This can be a serious mistake. Lead, even at low levels, can significantly affect a person …

There is an old saying when in comes to safety that "the best mask is one you'll wear". And we agree. However, if there are a couple of masks comfortable enough to keep on while you work, then you've got some choices to make. For simple wood sanding, some folks recommend the old standard 3M 8210 particulate respirator. Lots of people would call this style a dust mask. Others would say that it's barely better than nose hair. It's an N95 which means it will filter out 95% of the partic …