!Mask Monday! 🎭 This week: the JedX FFP3 5482 - a Finnish valved FFP3 for people who find the usual shapes a struggle. It’s a fish-type mask, which is the horizontal fold that opens into a pouch rather than a cup or a three-panel. The upside is room: it sits off the mouth, so there’s less fabric on your lips when you talk and less heat build-up on a long shift. Headband straps, an adjustable nose clip over a foam nose seal, and an exhalation valve on the front. It also comes in sand rather than the usual white or black, which some people prefer: it doesn’t show dust the way white does and reads less clinical than either. The number worth knowing. EN 149 allows an FFP3 up to 3.0 mbar of exhalation resistance. JedX test theirs at 1.68. Combined with the valve, that’s why people who find other FFP3s hard going for more than an hour tend to get on with this one. Filtration is quoted at 99.76% against the 99% the class requires, tested at VTT, the Finnish national research centre. It’s FFP3 NR: one shift, then bin it. Made in Finland, which matters to some buyers for supply-chain reasons and to others because it means EN 149 testing happened where the mask was made, not a continent away. What it isn’t for: the valve means your exhaled breath leaves unfiltered. Dust, fume, solo work: fine. Anywhere the person next to you matters, or anywhere a sterile field is involved, the same mask comes unvalved (the 5141), and both shapes are also made in FFP2 if the job doesn’t need the top class. And as with any tight-fitting mask, the rating only holds with a fit test passed in this make and model; a fish-type seals differently from a cup, so don’t assume one passes because the other did. Find it on our store - link below 👇

Coming soon to the USA Face Mask Store: The Adventure Mask 🇺🇸 Our own ear-loop FFP3, made for us by Rosimask, is crossing the Atlantic. Fold-flat, unvalved, five layers, flexible nose clip, individually wrapped. Boxes of 10 in White, Gray, Black or Navy. It's the mask we get asked for most by people who can't get on with headbands: it goes on without taking your glasses off, it packs flat in a bag, and it's the one we point to when someone needs a box by the front door for visitors. Straight answer on the rating: it has been tested and meets the standards of FFP3, which is the top disposable class under the European standard (EN 149). It is not NIOSH approval and so isn't classed as an N95. Happy to answer any questions on this topic. Which colour are you waiting on? Find it on our US store - link below 👇

Terminology Thursday: What's the difference between a valved and an unvalved mask? 🔍 Last week we covered the letters on gas filters. This week, the plastic disc on the front of a lot of disposables, and what it does and doesn't do. An exhalation valve is a one-way flap. Breathe in, it stays shut and air comes through the filter. Breathe out, it opens and your breath leaves through the hole. That's the whole mechanism. What the valve changes: Comfort. Warm, wet exhaled air leaves fast instead of passing back through the filter. Less heat, less moisture, often less fogging, easier breathing out on long or heavy work. This is the entire reason valves exist. Nothing about inward protection. The FFP rating is the FFP rating. EN 149 holds valved and unvalved masks to the same filtration, leakage and breathing-resistance limits, then adds extra tests for the valve itself. A clean, intact valve contributes almost no inward leakage. A dirty or curled one can, which is why valve inspection is on HSG53's maintenance list. Everything about outward protection. Your exhaled breath leaves through the valve unfiltered. An unvalved mask filters both directions; a valved one filters one. Shrouded valves don't change this. Two things worth a second look: 1. Where valves are banned, and why. NHS England issued a National Patient Safety Alert in 2021 after infections were traced to valved FFP3s and powered hoods in theatre, including a brain abscess and three cases of endocarditis. The rule now sits in the national IPC manuals: no valved respirators where a sterile field is required. If your work involves other people's open wounds or vulnerable patients, that's the model to follow. 2. Covering the valve is a bodge, not a fix. NIOSH tested it. A surgical mask over the top helped but wasn't the most effective option; tape or a pad over the valve from the inside got emissions down to about 5%, which is unvalved territory. Both can disturb the fit, and neither is how the mask was certified. If you need two-way protection, buy an unvalved mask rather than modifying a valved one. Short version: the valve is for you, not for them. Wearer-only protection (dust, welding fume, solo work): valve is fine and often kinder. Anywhere the person next to you matters: unvalved. In healthcare, note that a mask with an exposed valve isn't counted as fluid-resistant either, so look for FFP3 Type IIR if you need splash protection as well. One practical difference: on a valved disposable, only the inhale seal check works. Breathe out to test the seal and the valve just opens. Which do you reach for, and did you ever think about why?

Tips & Tricks: How to clean a half mask at the end of a shift 👇 Reusable means reusable if you look after it. Ten minutes at the sink is the difference between a mask that lasts years and one that grows something. Filters off first. Every time, before water goes anywhere near it. Particle and gas filters are not washable and a soaked one is a ruined one. Cap or bag gas filters while the mask dries; Sundström say a sealed plastic bag, and it's good advice for any brand. Strip it. Head harness off, exhalation valve cover off, valve membranes out if your model allows. The valve seats are where dirt does the most damage, so those are the bits to get a soft brush into. Don't force anything that doesn't want to come apart. Warm, not hot. Mild detergent, soft brush, water you'd be happy to wash your hands in. 3M cap it at 50°C, Sundström at 40°C, so lukewarm covers everyone. No oil-based or lanolin cleaners (3M), no solvents (Sundström). Rinse until there's no residue; leftover detergent irritates skin and can affect the seal. Disinfect only the way your maker says. This is where brands differ and it matters. 3M specify a quaternary ammonium disinfectant or 30 ml of household bleach in 7.5 litres of water. Sundström specify a spray of 70% ethanol or isopropanol. Same job, different chemistry. The wrong one on the wrong mask can degrade the seal, so check the instructions for your model rather than borrowing a colleague's routine. Air dry, then rebuild. Room temperature, out of sunlight, not on a radiator or with a heat gun. Reassembling a damp mask is how you get the smell that never leaves. Once it's dry, put the valves and harness back and do your normal fit check: cover the filters, breathe in gently, hold for ten seconds. If it doesn't hold, something's not seated. Box it. Clean, dry, in a sealed box or bag, away from dust and sunlight. Not loose in the van. A seal that spends the night under a hammer isn't the seal you were fit tested in. Worth knowing: an end-of-shift clean is not the monthly check. HSG53 expects reusable RPE to be thoroughly examined and tested at least once a month (every three months if it's used only occasionally), with records kept for five years. Different job, different depth. Clean, dry, checked, boxed. Every shift. Where does your mask actually spend the night? Be honest.

!Mask Monday! 🎭 This week: the CAN99 9500 - the mask for people who like the Aura shape but not the Aura size. It's a three-panel flat-fold FFP3 NR from Vitacore in Canada, and if you've worn a 3M Aura you'll recognise the layout straight away: sculpted top panel, chin panel, opens into a cup. Where it differs is the proportions. It tends to suit small-to-medium faces that find the Aura slightly too big, which is a group that gets underserved. Two ratings on the box, so here's what they mean. The white 9500 is certified to EN 149 as FFP3, which is the top disposable class in the UK: at least 99% filtration and an assigned protection factor of 20. It's also NIOSH N95, the US standard. Both are printed on it. In the UK, the FFP3 is the one that counts. The NR means single shift, then bin it. Worth saying clearly: the white mask is the FFP3. The black CAN99 is rated FFP2. Same brand, same shape, different class. If you need FFP3, it's the white one. Other details: headband straps, an aluminium nose bridge that's MRI compatible, and a soft inner lining Vitacore describe as hypoallergenic. If you react to the straps on other brands, this is worth a try, but a sample first rather than a box. What it isn't for: it's a particle filter, so no use against gases or vapours. And like every tight-fitting mask, the APF of 20 only holds with a fit test that you passed in this make, model and size. Small-face friendly doesn't mean it fits every small face. Find it on our store - link below 👇

Terminology Thursday: What do the A, B, E and K letters on a gas filter mean? 🔍 A while back we covered R, NR and D. This week, the letters on the other kind of filter. Gas and vapour filters are marked under EN 14387 with a letter for what they stop and a number for how much they can hold. Both matter. The letter gets read; the number often gets missed. The letters: A (brown band): organic gases and vapours with a boiling point above 65°C. Solvents, thinners, most paint fumes. B (grey): inorganic gases and vapours. Chlorine, hydrogen sulphide. Not carbon monoxide. E (yellow): sulphur dioxide and other acid gases. K (green): ammonia and its derivatives. Filters can carry more than one letter. ABEK covers all four. Add a P and a number and you've got a combined filter: ABEK1P3 is four gas types plus a P3 particle filter, a common combination on half masks. The number: This is capacity, not efficiency. It tells you how much contaminant the filter can absorb before it's saturated. 1 - low capacity, concentrations up to 1000 ppm (0.1%) 2 - medium, up to 5000 ppm (0.5%) 3 - high, up to around 10,000 ppm (1%) Two things worth a second look: 1. The number isn't a licence. A class 2 filter doesn't mean you can work in 5000 ppm of anything. The real limit is the lower of the class ceiling and the mask's protection factor. On a half mask, that's 10× the workplace exposure limit. Some manufacturers' datasheets say this outright; it's just written small. 2. There are letters with no number. AX (low-boiling solvents), SX (a specific substance the manufacturer names), Hg-P3 (mercury) and NO-P3 (nitrogen oxides) don't come in classes. Several are single use only, which is worth knowing before you buy a box. Short version: the letter tells you what the filter stops, the number tells you how much it can hold. Neither tells you how long it'll last in your workplace. HSG53 is clear that the class number is a poor guide to breakthrough time, which is why change schedules are set by the manufacturer and your risk assessment, not by the marking. If you've ever picked a filter by colour alone, which letter did you actually need?

Tips & Tricks: Full face respirators and glasses 👇 We owed you this one from the glasses thread. Short version: your everyday glasses and a full face mask don't mix, but there's a proper fix. Why it's a problem. A full face mask seals right around the face: forehead, temples, cheeks, chin. Glasses arms run straight through the temple seal. HSE is blunt about it in HSG53: spectacles with side arms are incompatible with full face masks because they break the seal. No amount of strap tightening changes that. The fix. A spectacle kit. It's a frame that mounts inside the mask rather than on your ears, so nothing crosses the seal. You take the kit to an optician, who fits your prescription lenses to it. Each mask range has its own kit, so match it to the model you wear. If it's for work, HSG53 puts the responsibility for providing one on the employer. The bit people miss. Full face masks need a quantitative fit test (the particle-counting kind), not the taste-based qualitative test used for disposables and half masks. And the test should be done with the spectacle kit fitted. HSE's guidance is to check that anything else you wear is compatible at the fit test. If the kit isn't in the mask when you pass, you haven't tested the mask you'll actually wear. Important: contact lenses aren't the workaround. HSG53 lists them as a problem, not a solution. If a lens shifts, the temptation is to pull the mask off to sort it, in the very place you shouldn't. The guidance also notes a lens can end up jamming a valve. HSE's advice is spectacles, inside the mask if needed. If none of that appeals. A loose-fitting powered hood or helmet has no face seal to cross, so ordinary glasses just go underneath. HSE also notes powered respirators are more resistant to misting than passive full face masks. Fix the seal, don't fight it. Anyone here running a spectacle kit in a full face mask? How did the optician bit go?

!Mask Monday! 🎭 This week: the 3M Speedglas G5-01VC with Adflo PAPR System - a welding helmet and a powered respirator in one unit. Two jobs. The Speedglas half protects your eyes from the arc. The Adflo half protects your lungs from the fume - and since HSE's 2019 alert put all welding fume, mild steel included, in the can-cause-cancer bracket, that second half stopped being optional. How the respirator side works: the belt-mounted Adflo turbo draws air through a filter and pushes it up the hose into the helmet, 170 or 200 litres a minute. The pressure inside ends up slightly higher than outside, so fume can't get in round the edges. That's why it's loose-fitting - no face seal to make, no fit test, beards fine. TH3 under EN 12941, which HSG53 puts at APF 40. Same protection factor as a full face mask on P3 filters. Battery runs 10 to 13 hours on a charge, recharges in five and a half. Particle filter as standard; a gas filter drops in if you're welding through coatings or near solvents. The helmet side: variable colour auto-darkening filter, shade 8 to 14, 0.1 millisecond switching, four sensors that catch arc down to 1 amp TIG. Natural colour technology so you can actually see the puddle. Flip-up visor for grinding without taking the helmet off. Bluetooth to the 3M app for settings and usage stats. Comes with our own rucksack - built to hold the full kit, helmet, turbo, hose, battery, charger and filters - at no extra cost. The official 3M bag is there as an option if you'd rather. Find it on our store - link below. 👇

Your roundup of our latest blog posts: How to Clean a Reusable Respirator After Use (Half Mask, Full Face, and PAPR) - A practical guide to safely cleaning half-face, full-face and PAPR systems after each shift, including filter removal, mild detergent washing, disinfection rules and correct storage to protect the seal and extend service life. Can Disposable Masks Be Recycled? The Current State of Play in the UK - Most disposable masks cannot go in household recycling due to mixed materials and contamination risk, though specialist take-back schemes exist; the biggest gains come from reducing single-use where reusable RPE is suitable. How to Properly Dispose of Used Face Masks (UK Guide) - Clear household and workplace advice on bagging used disposables into general waste, when clinical or hazardous waste rules apply, and simple steps to avoid cross-contamination. Find the blog links in the first comment 👇

!Mask Monday! 🎭 This week: our own Adventure Mask - an FFP3 in five colours, made because every FFP3 on the market was white. We wanted one that didn't look medical. So we had it made: black, white, navy, green and grey. Five layers, fold-flat, unvalved, certified FFP3 under EN 149 - filters at least 99% of particles, the same as any other FFP3 we sell. Ear loops, deliberately. This is a mask for the train, the plane, the crowded shop, visiting someone vulnerable. Everyday wear, where you want FFP3 filtration in something that goes on in two seconds and doesn't look like site kit. What it isn't: tight-fitting RPE for work. Ear loops are the hardest strap type to get consistent tension from - we said so in the glasses thread, and it's still true. HSE doesn't recommend them where a fit-tested seal is required, and the product page says the same. If you're under a COSHH assessment, look at our headband masks or powered air. This one is for everywhere else. Still do the seal check every time you put it on. Cup it, breathe out sharply, feel the edges. Ear loops make that more important, not less. Find it on our store - link below. 👇