Take a breath of fresh air

When was the last time the respirator you just donned been thoroughly cleaned? Yesterday? Last week? Never?

Some may equate donning a dirty respirator akin to putting on yesterday’s dirty underwear. Then if you share a respirator with other workers or use them from out of a pool of respirators…well, you get the idea…

Plus, even though the cartridges are designed to trap contaminants, the latex or rubber components can be contaminated with chemicals or other substances that could harm the user.

Fortunately, cleaning respirators isn’t a terribly difficult task, and according to NIOSH resources (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/respcln.html), it only takes some simple supplies and a system to wash them up to sanitize them quickly.

Single or multiple users?
Cleaning takes a different tack depending on whether only one person is using the respirator or if that same respirator is passed between several users.

NIOSH respirator experts recommend that single-user respirators be labeled with the person’s name so there is no confusion.

To clean single-user respirators, the experts recommend the basic cleaning steps outlined below, followed by an optional sanitizing step. Sanitization is required if the respirators are for multiple users.

Basic respirator cleaning procedure
1. Gather cleaning supplies. NIOSH recommends using two 2-gal. buckets, warm (110 F maximum) water, a thermometer to check water temperature, alcohol-free wipes and/or soft brush sponge and a neutral detergent with no lanolin or oils. Most dish detergents will work. Set up a table or other work surface that will give you enough room to work.

2. Fill the two buckets with fresh warm water. Do not use boiling or hot water.

3. Disassemble the respirator. Remove cartridges and/or filters and any external accessories such as communications, hoods, head harness (if possible) and eye lens outserts. Do not remove the valves because they are easy to lose.

4. In the first bucket, add the neutral detergent cleaning solution. Then, clean the respirator and its associated parts (excluding cartridges and/or filters) by immersing in the warm water cleaning solution and scrubbing with a wipe, soft brush or sponge. Do not brush eye lenses.

5. Rinse the respirator and its washable parts in fresh, warm water in the second bucket. NIOSH experts report that, based on OSHA 29CFR1910.134 Appendix B-2, running water for rinsing (if available) is preferred over immersion. In either case, thorough rinsing prevents detergents or disinfectants from drying on the respirator.

Replace the cleaning solution and rinse water after approximately 20 respirators have been cleaned, or as needed.

6. Allow the respirator to air-dry in a non-contaminated environment. Do not dry with heaters or in sunlight. Reassemble before or after drying.

Prior to re-use, conduct checks as recommended by the manufacturer’s manual, to assure the respirator is ready to be placed back in service. Check to see if the inhalation and exhalation valves are in place prior to use.

Sanitization
Sanitizing is optional for single-user respirators, but is required for multiple user respirators.

1. Line up supplies. Locate another two buckets, warm water, thermometer, metric graduated cylinder or measuring cup for measuring, quaternary ammonia disinfectant, hypochlorite (household bleach), iodine solution or other commercially available disinfectant/cleansers recommended by the respirator manufacturer.

2. Clean respirator as described in the basic cleaning section. The final air drying step is not necessary

3. Prepare two 2-gal. buckets of fresh warm water (110 F maximum). Do not use boiling or hot water. In the first bucket, add a quaternary ammonia disinfectant (one packet per 2 gal. or per manufacturer’s recommendation), hypochlorite (1 oz./30 ml of household bleach in 2 gal. water solution, or an aqueous solution of iodine of 0.8 ml of tincture of iodine to one liter of water at 110 F).

Use the second bucket as a rinse to remove any detergent or disinfectant residue.

Replace sanitizing solution and rinse water after sanitizing approximately 20 respirators or as needed.

4. Allow the respirator to air-dry in a non-contaminated environment. Do not dry with heaters or in sunlight. Prior to re-use, conduct checks as recommended by the manufacturer’s manual to assure the respirator is ready to be placed back in service. Check to assure the inhalation and exhalation valves are in place prior to use.

General cleaning/disinfectant tips
The process should always include all of the cleaning, sanitizing, rinsing, drying, reassembly and inspection steps.

If many respirators must be cleaned, divide them into batches of 20. Change the cleaning solutions and rinse water after each batch.

To avoid getting parts confused, disassemble and clean one respirator at a time, or group respirators by manufacturer.

Several respirator manufacturers offer cleaning and sanitizing solutions. Contact them for details regarding these products.

Quaternary ammonia is a disinfectant that contains ammonia (NH4) with additional surfactant (detergent). It is often used as a disinfectant by animal health workers because it has a wide germicidal range, is non-corrosive, and is considered very effective for sanitizing cleaned surfaces.

Often, other non-alkaline biodegradable disinfectants that have been tested to be effective against HIV-1 (AIDS virus) are often recommended by respirator manufacturers.

Cleaning can be done as often as required.

Atmosphere supplying and emergency use respirators should be cleaned and sanitized after each use.

In all cases, any respirator must be cleaned and sanitized before it can be transferred to or be used by another individual.

Published in the May/June 2008 issue of Contractor Tools and Supplies magazine.

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