Beards And respiratory safety

#1

So I am aware that having a beard limits the effectiveness of a respirator by compromising the face seal, but I was wondering if anyone has any insight or experience using a respirator for areas like attics, where fumes and gasses are less of a concern, but particulate matter is.

I’ve only seen “no it won’t work at all with a beard” or ads for full on hoods (also not great cause fogged up glasses make inspection basically impossible)

I purchased a 6003 3M mask with some cartridges because I want to protect myself from breathing in insulation particles, but I also have a beard (not a long one, groomed and professional) and I don’t have any intention of shaving it off (keeping a clean shaven face is like a part time job for a hairy guy like me, and my skin hates it).

Just wanted to see if anyone had anything to say other than “this is not OSHA approved”.

#2

Mario, it seems like your beard would filter out most, if not all, of the insulation particles.
JMHO…with a beard when I was inspecting, too.

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#3

Glad to hear. I know a lot of us here on the forum are beardy guys. I feel like a good tight fit and yes, a well compressed beard, are going to minimize my exposure. I want to be able to keep doing this for a long time and not worry about my health. Thanks for the input Larry.

#4

As somebody who was respirator fit in a nuclear environment (plutonium facility) I can tell you that a beard will render your respirator useless.

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#5

Martin, I understand than in that kind of environment it would be a non starter, or in a commercial setting with hazardous gasses. Are you saying there’s no point in using a respirator to help protect myself in a crawlspace or attic? It just seems like it’s a much less demanding environment that doesn’t carry the same risk.

Is it simply pointless to even try under the circumstances a home inspector typically encounters? (With beard*)

#6

Once the seal of a respirator is broken it is broken and it is completely useless. A beard will break the seal. Try performing a respirator fit test in accordance to the manufacturers instructions.

At the very least are you able to perform a positive and a negative pressure test on your respirator without an air leak?

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#7

So I am doing just that now. To make a leak testing exhalation requires enough force to basically push the rubber seal off my face. With inhalation I can get it to leak (a tiny bit) but it takes a lot of force.

I guess in my mind it makes sense that if the resistance to air flow around the seal (even if imperfect) is significantly greater than the force needed to generate flow though the respirator, it follows that I am getting significant (if albeit imperfect) protection as the air is following the path of least resistance. Does that make any sense? Is this notion totally naive?

#8

If you were getting a slight leak while performing the positive negative pressure test imagine when your head is turned or put in a different position. All I’m trying to tell you is just don’t assume that the respirator is going to be 100% effective with a beard. It will not be, your level of exposure and risk will be up to you. A poorly fitted respirator will likely be better than no protection at all.

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#9

I remember, in a different industry, the safety director told us if you have a beard and need to use a respirator you should coat your beard with Vasoline where the respirator contacts. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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#10

Always good to have an industrial hygienist on the job. They are better trained to advise in such circumstances.

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#11

Hold your breath. Problem solved. :grinning:

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#12

Oof, ever tried getting vasoline out of your hair :tired_face:

I do appreciate the input here. I am obviously not an expert on the topic, but was just looking for some insight related to the specific context of home inspection. Also putting my pre conceived notions and basic idea of “path of least resistance” up to some scrutiny. Oh, and just generally being attached and biased towards my beard, but not wanting to get some bad respiratory outcomes down the road. Maybe it’s just a fantasy…

#13

Ask your dentist what he uses when he is making an impression and smears this stuff on my beard. Ten minutes later it is gone.

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#14

How many, time spent and what’s the initial prognosis of the situation should be considered. Unless you really have some serious allergy, respiratory system issues or any phobias on the situation, I wouldn’t fret too much over it. Now if you’re doing a Meth inspection, or remediation of mold, asbestos or other hazardous materials…YES! Proper fitting…

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#15

If the respirator does not have a seal, a certain percentage of contaminants will be inhaled.
In a matter of time it could come back & be an issue.

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#16

The OP was questioning about insulation particles getting past his beard.

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#17

I found a mask for you that works just as well with a beard as without.

washable-pleated-mesh-over-mask-black-tof-paris
washable-pleated-mesh-over-mask-black-tof-paris2160×2160 163 KB

Seriously, for attics and crawl spaces, wearing any dust mask is going to be better than going unprotected whether you have a beard or not. Even if the mask is only 90% as good with a full beard, that is still keeping a lot of insulation out of your lungs.

When I blow insulation, I wear an n-95 mask. Unfortunately, these are hard to find these days. Fortunately I still have some stock of these, but I have been using them for up to three to five jobs in a row before discarding them.

For inspections even cloth masks will be better than nothing.

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#18

Yes I am not engaging in mold mitigation, meth inspections or anything more intensive like that. Hahaha! Great mask! I was thinking something like this:
71tSjA5c0zL.AC_UY445

Seriously though that’s really my aim is just to protect my lungs as well as I can within reason. Thanks for the response!

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#19

You have to consider what it is you are trying to filter. If you are trying to keep out mold spores (or covid virus cells), your beard will defeat the point of having the mask. But larger insulation fibers are easier to filter through your beard and the mask should provide pretty good protection.
I have used KN95 masks for years, and have known for years that they only help reduce inhaling air borne particles. For instance, with a well fitted KN95 over my mug, after spray painting a house, I always blow out a big wad of painted snot from my nose, or when mucking my horse stalls, I have green snot coming out of my nose. Still, it is a lot less than with no mask.
As stated by others, it takes a high quality well fitted respirator to keep out toxic gases or virus cells.

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#20

I prefer to get the N95 (USA standard) instead of the KN95 (Chinese standard). The USA quality standard is much higher.

KN95 uses a similar material but the fitment standard is much different. They are allowed to leak up to 8% and still pass the Chinese standard.