Can air respirator be cleaned with washing machine too?

As the highest level of protective equipment in respiratory protective equipment, the use environment of air breathing apparatus is very complex. It may be lack of oxygen, or there may be a large number of chemicals or pollutants. Once used, the respirator will inevitably be contaminated. To ensure safe use of the respirator, it is important to effectively identify and treat the contaminants.

In general, whether or not the respirator is contaminated and what the contaminants are is basically clear information about the environment before use and the observation of the equipment after use. E.g,

If the environment in which the respirator is used is a leakage treatment for the leakage of benzene, it is highly likely that the respirator will be exposed to benzene chemicals during its use.

After the respirator is used, if the respirator mask is attached to a suspended particle and the webbing adheres to oil stains, the respirator needs to be cleaned.

In fact, according to the recommendations of air respirator manufacturers, the respirator needs to be effectively cleaned and disinfected after each use.

The question is, how can we effectively clean and disinfect the respirator?

Respirator cleaning

Respirators are relatively simple to clean. First, the components of the respirator need to be classified:

Rubber-based masks as a class

The webbing is the main strap

Back plate, buckle type plastic parts or metal parts can be used as a class

Followed by different categories of cleaning. It must be stated that, as far as the conditions and capabilities permit, clean as much as possible. There are usually two ways to clean, one is to use an ultrasonic cleaning machine for cleaning, the other is to use a professional drum washing machine for cleaning, the two methods require different respirator.

In addition, some respirator parts that have been contaminated with acids and alkalis need to be treated with neutralization beforehand, and then diluted with detergent to dissolve in water for cleaning, and finally rinsed with clean water. In the cleaning process, the detergents used, in general, manufacturers will also make clear regulations, such as the use of low-foam detergent neutral, is strictly prohibited the use of chemical solvents including acetone, alcohol, gasoline and so on.

Respirator disinfection

When there are many people who use the respirator in crossover, or when the same person uses it, but uses it frequently, in order to ensure the occupational health of the user, it is particularly in direct contact with the part of the respirator such as a face mask that comes into direct contact with the user's respiratory system. To the user's spitting fluid and exhaled air components, we recommend that disinfection must be performed to avoid cross-contamination.

In a word, only when the respirator is cleaned and disinfected, the safety respirator of the air respirator can be improved.