Face Mask -

[OhPinchy]

I'm doing a lot of renovations at the moment which involves a lot of work with a kango hammer and angle grinder which throw out massive amounts of both dust and chips of concrete.

I'm spraying water around to reduce dust but the grinder produces unbelievable amounts of it. The problem I'm having is that when I wear a mask over my mouth and nose for the dust and a pair of googles for the eyes the goggles get steamed up in no time.

Does anyone know of anywhere I could get a face mask that would cover mouth, nose, and eyes at the same time while not steaming up?

 

[sueellen]

Hi,

Looking at [broken link removed] and [broken link removed] there does not appear to be anything in the all-in-one option available. Just wonder would the problem not be worse with the single mask option rather than separate items.

Hope you're using the ear protection also? I'm always amazed at the no. of guys working with kango hammers on the roads who do not use these.

 

[OhPinchy]

...

Thanks for the links sueellen but as you said theres no all in one face mask which is surprising I think as I reckon theres plenty of jobs where you need to protect your eyes and filter out dust at the same time. The only thing I can think of is something like a gas mask but not sure how this would work.

 

[heinbloed1]

masks clogging up

The thing sueellen means is probably a breathing apparatus.That is in principle a gas mask but it has it's separate air supply via a hose which in turn gets its air from a bottle of (dried) compressed air .As diver masks.
The most common problem of working with a dust mask and goggles is the air leaving the dust mask at the sides.This air contains vapour/water which condenses at the surface of the goggles.
To solve this problem it is worth to invest in a tightly sealing dust mask.The cheaper they are the less suitable they are.A good mask has a flexible silicone("rubber") sealant touching the face and sealing the gaps.The cheaper ones are constructed to fit the "average EU face"- which no one has.
Keep in mind that gaps at the side of the mask work both ways:they not only let out air but also they let the unfiltered air in.
If you have to use the cheaper masks-for whatever reason-than you can do at least something about the vapour in /at the goggles.Contact your local optician and explain the problem.They sell you for little money a spray that eliminates the condensing problem at least to some extent.It needs repeated application,as soon as you clean the goggles you have to put it on again.Thats why divers don't like it,but on the site it might come handy.