3M Respirator Mask / Pink Filters

Not sure where to put this but I own one of these strap on respirators. A contractor was staining doors, applying clear varnish. The fumes were brutal. Put this mask on with the pink filters and no problem. I smelled nothing. It seals up like a military gas mask and the filter are replaceable.

Are these good for covid? I do not know but no covid maks is going to stop those fumes. This thing, I smelled nothing and it seals up your mouth and nose. I can't find info but I have been using it. It just seems like it does a much better job than any mask people are wearing by a longshot.

I guess I could contact 3M and find out but man, this thing does not let much through but air IMO. I think it's way better than anything else out there other than military grade.

Here is the replacement filters:

www.amazon.com...

Yeah it works after an hour you'll be sweaty inside but it works like nothing else it's not just a particle mask.

That's what everybody should be wearing Vapor mask and a face shield Amazon has a face shield mounted on glass frames looks comfortable in pretty cool $9 99

a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

Short answer is no. P100 filter offers protection down to 0.3 microns. Coronavirus is .125 microns. The reason it blocks smells so well is probably because of the activated charcoal filter.

In any event its better than a cloth or surgical mask but not 100% effective.

originally posted by: FlyinHeadlock
Not sure where to put this but I own one of these strap on respirators. A contractor was staining doors, applying clear varnish. The fumes were brutal. Put this mask on with the pink filters and no problem. I smelled nothing. It seals up like a military gas mask and the filter are replaceable.

Are these good for covid? I do not know but no covid maks is going to stop those fumes. This thing, I smelled nothing and it seals up your mouth and nose. I can't find info but I have been using it. It just seems like it does a much better job than any mask people are wearing by a longshot.

I guess I could contact 3M and find out but man, this thing does not let much through but air IMO. I think it's way better than anything else out there other than military grade.

Here is the replacement filters:

www.amazon.com...

Yes, according to the 3M spec sheet, it is rated P100, meaning that it should filter out essentially 99.9% of particulates (including aerosols). However, you probably don't need the organic vapor part of the filter for Coronavirus. You could probably get by quite nicely with the 3M Advanced Particulate Filter 2291, P100.

There is a difference between a mask and a respirator that people should probably be aware of. A mask primarily limits the person who is wearing it (who could be infected with something and not know it) from infecting the people he/she comes in contact with. It's not 100% effective, but maybe 85%. That's why surgeons wear them.

A respirator protects the person wearing it from inhaling the pathogens that might be in his/her environment. That's why doctors in Coronavirus wards (or wards with other highly contagious diseases) wear respirators.

So, if you're one of those people who is in a low risk of mortality group and you don't really worry that much if you get the virus, wear a mask to reduce the probability of spreading it, in case you are one of those asymptomatic carriers. If you're in a high risk group, you might want to wear a respirator.

By the way, there's a very comfortable respirator made by a Canadian company, O2:

o2canada.com...

a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

They don't filter exhaled breath they're meant for an already contaminated area. After the filters clog you have to breathe a lot deeper which compresses the mask and pulls air in around your nose and chin area.

Good intel. I will keep wearing it. I just don't see how it's not better than a medical mask. It seals up my entire mouth and nose and restricts flow. No way a medical mask or any other face mask is hitting that mark. Not 100% effective, nothing is but it has to be more effective than what people are wearing.

originally posted by: FlyinHeadlock
Good intel. I will keep wearing it. I just don't see how it's not better than a medical mask. It seals up my entire mouth and nose and restricts flow. No way a medical mask or any other face mask is hitting that mark. Not 100% effective, nothing is but it has to be more effective than what people are wearing.

The bottom line is yes, it is much better than a surgical mask and better than an N95 mask. If you are wanting to protect you, a half face APR (air purifying respirator) is better than all the crap that Fauchi and the CDC are telling people to use.

Well, P100 is better than N95. But it's still not a 100% guarantee that it will prevent you from getting it. Those respirators depending on what model you get don't filter exhalation. but it's better than nothing I guess.

If you're going to be paranoid about it, make sure you wear disposable gloves, and wipe down the mask with a viricide, and let it air dry before removing it.

And put it back into it's sealable bag when you're not wearing it or else you're going to shorten the "lifespan" of the filter cartridges.

originally posted by: AutomateThis1
Well, P100 is better than N95. But it's still not a 100% guarantee that it will prevent you from getting it. Those respirators depending on what model you get don't filter exhalation. but it's better than nothing I guess.

If you're going to be paranoid about it, make sure you wear disposable gloves, and wipe down the mask with a viricide, and let it air dry before removing it.

And put it back into it's sealable bag when you're not wearing it or else you're going to shorten the "lifespan" of the filter cartridges.

You have to remember, you are not breathing straight virus particles, they are going to be attached to water droplets etc from other people, the virus is technically not "airborne". So it is a pretty good bet your exposure would be EXTREMELY low using a P100 filter.

a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

All filters are rated differently....you always have to check to verify......3M makes a lot of different pink filters....but yes some will make you impervious to biological contaminates of viral size.....full face mask is the only way to be relatively sure you have to cover the mouth nose and eyes.

a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

Those are P100 filters. Whenever I work with paint, sanding, brake jobs, yard work, I wear a R95 insert in my mask but have often swapped out to a P100. This is the style of mask I now wear in public because those cloth things don't seal to the face. And you'll sound like Darth Vader when you talk which is pretty cool if I have to wear the thing.

R95 is better than N classificaton because of the oil resistance factor in the insert. N is useful for 1 hour. R for 8. P is even better.

www.cdc.gov...

One thing - the filter inserts are very hard to find right now. I bulk order them from O'reilly's.

It's great if you can get a mask that can filter virus from being inhaled, but I don't want to lose sight of another very good reason for wearing a mask (almost any mask) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That reason is to keep saliva droplets from the mouth of a wearer who may be unknowingly contagious from getting on people and touch surfaces.

Even though the virus itself is 0.125 microns, COVID-19 is believed to be spread via water (saliva) droplets that are much larger than that. A person not wearing a mask can expel these droplets -- just through something as simple as talking -- onto surfaces that another person may later touch. Or they can expel those droplets onto someone else's face or hands.

So most of the mask-wearing requirements in stores and such are not to directly protect the mask-wearer from getting the virus, but to indirectly protect others from an infected person spreading saliva and mucous droplets onto surfaces and people.