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brin-bellway · 4 years ago

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Let's talk respirators!

What's a respirator?

Short version: it's like a mask, but better. *Much* better.

Let's put the headline news up front: if you maintain an airtight seal at all times, a P100 respirator blocks 99.97% of incoming viral particles. [source]

Yeah. 99.97%. That's a *lot*.

(Specifically, we are going to be talking about what’s called “elastomeric” respirators. These have a base unit made of plastic and silicone, with attachment points on the cheeks for swappable filters.)

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What are your credentials? / Why did you write this? / Why is this important to you?

I’m an immune-disordered person who’s found it absolutely life-changing to have a high-grade prosthetic immune system, and I want to share that joy with others.

My reasons aren’t everyone’s, though. Maybe you have diabetes, or permanent throat damage from acid reflux, or one (or more) of the many other conditions that can make respiratory illnesses more dangerous; maybe you don’t personally, but you have close friends or family who do and you want to be a firebreak for them; hell, maybe you have a phobia, I won’t judge. Your lungs are your own, and you get to decide what goes in them.

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99.97%?! What’s the catch?! There’s gotta be a catch, right?

A few catches, but generally nothing dealbreaking.

The filtered air is very dry if you’re using nuisance-vapour filters (more on that below) and very humid if you’re using particle-only filters. For a while there, I was working 4 – 5 hour shifts for 2 – 3 straight days a week with a nuisance-vapour respirator and no water breaks, and that’s *doable* but dehydrating.

The 99.97% figure is for *incoming* air. Most models of elastomeric respirator do not, by default, filter outgoing air. However, there are several mitigating factors:

Since you can’t spread a disease you don’t catch, protecting yourself *is* protecting others.

Some newer respirator models, such as the MSA Advantage 900, have filtered outflow, though I have not had a chance to try any of these myself.

Other models, such as the 3M 7502 that I use, have a right angle in the valve. The original point of this is to direct your breath downward so that it doesn’t fog up your glasses (and it *is* very helpful for that!), but the right angle also catches some of the droplets. To improve it further, I tape a layer of cloth over the valve. (Two layers of cloth causes too much breathing resistance to be feasible; I’ve heard of people clipping out pieces of N95 to use for this, but found it to be likewise too high-resistance.)

Elastomerics generally muffle your voice somewhat more than masks do: you’ll have to speak louder and probably be more careful with enunciation than usual, and talking on the phone will be very difficult. Some of the newer models (such as the abovementioned Advantage 900) have speech diaphragms to help with this: you can hear what that sounds like here.

They cost more up-front (about USD$30 for a base unit and USD$11 per pair of filters, depending on what kind of filter you buy), but they last for such a long time (more on that later) that in the long run it’s actually very economical.

Some people think they look funny, though people in 2019 would have told you masks looked funny too.

(If any of these *are* dealbreakers for you–for example, if you’re a call-centre worker–you might want to look into disposable N95s that have integrated silicone seals. I haven’t tried them myself, but I’ve heard some intriguing things about SoftSeal.

If you’re going for a job interview or similar and desperately need to not look the least bit weird, I recommend Good Manner KF94s. I *have* tried those: they run rather large, but the “kid” size fits me fairly well and is good as masks go. I keep a couple in my bag as a backup: the flatpacking is handy for this.

If you can afford to look *very slightly* weird, tape around the edges of the KF94 with paper medical tape to prevent leaks. White tape on a white mask can blend in somewhat.)

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So why aren’t more people using respirators already?

Often it’s because people don’t know about them. Cloth masks were supposed to be a stopgap measure until we had a chance to manufacture more of the various higher-quality forms of respiratory protection, but a lot of people stuck with what was first done and didn’t hear about news of changing availability. Respirators do *sometimes* go out of stock still, but they’re very often available now.

Also, the kind of respirators we’re discussing in this post are aimed at construction workers, which means people looking for “medical” masks tend to overlook them. But a particle is a particle, and there’s no reason you can’t use construction respirators against germs. In fact, in some ways they work even *better* against germs than they do against construction fumes.

(Things *have* improved somewhat since I wrote the first edition of this guide: I’ve encountered a couple of people wearing elastomerics in the wild, and I’ve been seeing more pro-elastomeric articles lately (including in the New York Times).)

I first wrote this guide before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available, but–especially in this vaccinated age–many people find that their cost-benefit analyses don’t come out in favour of masking at all: they’re not in any high-risk categories, their close contacts aren’t in any high-risk categories, and they don’t find their remaining amount of danger to be worth concern. If that’s you, that’s fine, but consider keeping an elastomeric base unit and a couple pairs of filters in the back of your closet as insurance for the *next* time a novel pandemic arises: there were many before COVID-19, and it’s a safe bet there will be many after.

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What do I need to know about how to wear them?

First, check the fit. Take off your glasses if you have them, then put the base unit on and adjust the straps until the seal is airtight without being painful. You won’t be able to get an airtight seal if there’s facial hair in the way: if you value leaving your facial hair unshaved, consider using a thattha.

To confirm that the seal is airtight, there are two methods.

If the filters are *not* attached (or if you’re using filters that are designed to allow inflow tests: more on this later): cover the attachment points with your palms and try to breathe *in*. If you can’t, the seal is airtight. (Except for the attachment points themselves, of course: *those* are big gaping holes in your seal if they don’t have filters on them. But we’ll be fixing that soon.)

If the filters *are* attached: cover the valve at the bottom with your palm and try to breathe *out*. If you can’t, the seal is airtight.

(You’ll want to confirm the seal every time you put the respirator on.)

Next, take a pair of filters and put them onto the attachment points. (This is much easier to do if you’re not wearing the respirator while you’re doing it.) Attachment methods vary between models, but for the 3M “bayonet” respirators we’ll be primarily discussing here (as they’re what I have experience with), they screw into place. Be sure to screw them on very tightly, otherwise they might fall off. (I didn’t screw them on tightly enough my first time, and it was pretty scary when one of them fell off in the middle of a crowded restaurant. But now that I’ve gotten them on correctly, they stay put.)

Now you can wear it. If you have glasses, take them off first, then gently rest them on top of the respirator’s nose once you’ve put it on. Check the seal as above to make sure it’s airtight.

After every few hours’ worth of wear, wipe down the silicone (the part that sticks to your face and forms the seal) with some mild cleaning solution to keep the skin oils from building up. You can also wipe down the outside if you are concerned about fomites, but note that of the two styles of filter (more on that later) you can *only* wipe down the plastic “box” cartridges, *not* the pink “pancake” cloth circles. Here is the official manufacturer’s guide on cleaning these respirators: note that “quat” is janitorial jargon for the type of cleaning solution that Lysol wipes are dipped in.

(Bonus tip: if you’re having trouble sourcing disinfectant wipes, look for bottles of “quaternary ammonium” *next* to the barren disinfectant-wipe section at the grocery store, put it in a spray bottle diluted to the level stated on the bottle instructions, then heavily spritz a paper towel with it. Voila, a disinfectant wipe!)

According to the CDC, the filters last somewhere between a month and a year depending on how much you need to conserve resources and how well you can avoid getting them wet or dirty. The main limiting factor on longevity is that the filters get clogged with fumes and dust from the construction work: if you’re not *doing* construction work or similar fume-heavy activities, they can keep going for ages. If you can still breathe through it and the filter hasn’t been wet, you’re good. (I usually replace mine every 4 – 6 months, but I keep my old filters in reserve in case of wildfires.)

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What’s this about different kinds of filters?

I’ve used three different types of 3M bayonet filters over the years, and they each have their pros and cons.

2097: “pancake”-style filters, with a nuisance-vapour layer.

Pros: The filtration on these is so good that they induce complete anosmia while you’re wearing them, which (if you had a sense of smell to start with) makes them deeply reassuring right down to your subconscious: you can viscerally *sense* them working. (Note that a given pair will wear out somewhat after 2 – 4 months of use: after that you start being able to smell gases, though not particles.) The air isn’t muggy like particle-only filters can be. They’re cheap, at about $12 a pair.

Cons: No water resistance, so you’ll have to be very careful to avoid rain and other splashes: pocket umbrellas help, but only so far. (I work at a restaurant where my duties include rinsing dishes with a dishwashing sprayer, and it was a pain.) They filter out ambient water vapour while the nuisance-vapour layer is still working, making the air very dry. They’re pink, which some people feel strongly about. Anosmia has its downsides.

7093: “box”-style filters, particle-only.

Pros: They’re water-resistant: they’ll still be ruined if submerged, but they’re designed to let you take decontamination showers with them on, which makes them very good for rain. You can squeeze them shut to test your seal against incoming air. They muffle your voice slightly less than pancake filters do (though it’s still muffled overall). If you want to retain a sense of smell, these are great for that: they let through all sorts of scents, while still being just as effective against germs. They don’t filter out ambient water vapour. They’re purple and grey, not pink.

Cons: Not subconsciously reassuring at all: I bailed on them after two days because I was tired of having to constantly override the visceral sense that they weren’t working. (I now keep them in reserve in case I encounter a situation where I actually *want* to have a sense of smell.) Ambient water vapour added to the water vapour in your breath (not all of which leaves through the valve) can make the air feel muggy. A bit more expensive than 2097s, about $16/pair.

7093C: box-style filters with nuisance-vapour filtration (and also hydrogen-fluoride filtration, but that’s not relevant here).

Pros: Enough scent-blocking to make you aware that they’re doing stuff. Like the 7093s, they’re water-resistant, allow for inflow testing, and have noticeably less muffling.

Cons: Not *complete* anosmia, although you may consider this a pro. While they’re mostly yellow and grey, there is some pink. Expensive, at about $30/pair.

I personally wear 7093Cs these days because I wanted both water-resistance and scent-blocking and decided I was willing to pay an extra ~$35/year for them, but the others each have their place.

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Where can I get them?

Depends on where you live, but there are usually three general categories: Amazon, hardware stores, and industrial-supply stores.

Amazon has a reputation for mixing together instances of the same item from different sellers: this means that if *any* seller is selling counterfeit (and counterfeit 3M filters are known to happen), *every* buyer gets a crapshoot. Exercise caution if buying from Amazon, and consider preferring 2097 filters because the total scent-blocking means it should be extremely obvious if the filters aren’t as good as they should be.

Hardware stores don’t always have the best selection, but they can work well.

If you ask 3M where to buy their products, they will direct you to industrial-supply stores. Many of these sell only in bulk, but some offer smaller packages, plus you may be able to split, say, a 12-pack with some friends. I currently buy my filters from Canadian industrial-supply stores SPI Health and Safety and International Safety (depending on who’s got them cheaper at the moment), which are both stores that 3M links to.

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Anything else I should know?

While we’ve focused on their benefits against germs here, elastomerics are also great against smoke: I’ve met Californians who kept them on hand *primarily* for wildfire purposes.

They’re usually overkill against pollen, but if you’re wearing one anyway it will keep hayfever at bay, and if you’re spending extended periods of time exposed to pollen you’re very sensitive to, a P100 can give you the extra edge you need when lesser masks aren’t quite enough.

If you’re at especially high risk (whether a particularly fragile body, a particularly dangerous situation, or some of each) and find that your cost-benefit analyses come out in favour of “full-face” respirators that cover the eyes (as opposed to the “half-face” respirators we’ve been talking about, that cover only the nose and mouth), consider instead combining a half-face respirator with goggles for more flexibility. I keep a pair of goggles on hand (these ones fit over the top of glasses) in case of having to treat sick people or go out in a plume of wildfire smoke: more mundanely, they’re also handy for preventing onion tears.

You can drink things by lifting the bottom of the respirator up, sticking a straw through the gap, and putting the respirator back down when you’re done taking a sip. (I actually find this easier than drinking with a mask on, especially since I usually have to tape my masks shut.) I’ve started keeping a metal straw in my bag for this.

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Getting a respirator has been amazing for me, and I hope it can help you too. If you found this useful or know someone who would, please let people know.

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Thanks to The Prepared, nuclearspaceheater, and andmaybegayer for their inspiration and information. I couldn’t have done this without them.

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[last updated August 8th, 2023]

#covid19 #masks #the more you know #illness tw #PSA #oh look an original post

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ask-valerian-40k · 4 years ago

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A champion came at him, whirling a two-handed flail around and around his head. Weighted skulls on rusty chains vomited a stream of green gas that threatened to burn through Colquan’s softseals. Colquan resisted the urge to attack immediately, holding back to judge his foe. The Plague Marine was powerfully built, his height and strength increased by the gifts of his patron god. Through gaps in his corroded armour the tribune saw the movement of flabby muscle. This champion was stronger than his fellows, and he would be as inured to pain as all of them. That made him dangerous. The champion’s followers gave their leader room, opening up a duelling ground in the swirl of the melee. Colquan paced around his opponent, noting everything about him. The Death Guard were among the last of the Traitor Legions to retain their organisation, and had kept up their numbers by aggressive recruitment, but the greening brass honour badges and tokens of devotion this champion wore marked him out as ancient, perhaps one of the original traitors who had followed Mortarion down his dark road. His armour was streaked with rust and congealed oil. His power plant shook and coughed smoke from its exhaust ports. Viscous saliva ran from his arched breathing grille. A cyclopean eye-lens glowed green above this, and above that a single horn, slightly off-centre, thrust outward. The censer skulls thrummed around and around. Balefires glowed in their eyes. Colquan made a feint to draw an attack, to see what response his opponent would offer, but the plague lord did not fall for the trick, and repositioned himself, kept up the whirl of the skulls, and spoke. ‘I was born upon Barbarus,’ he said. His voice was surprisingly pure. ‘I have fought the Long War since the days of Horus himself, where I walked the ground of Terra, and saw the Imperial Palace burn.’ More fluid welled from his mouth as he spoke. ‘But I have never slain one of your kind, corpse-watcher.’ Then he struck.

Dark Imperium: Godblight, by Guy Haley

#death guard #Chaos Space Marines #traitor legions #Adeptus custodes #guy haley #godblight #valerian reads a novel

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transmechanicus · 5 years ago

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Begin Test Log

004.886.M38

Forge Complex Majoris Exul-Tsar, Forge World Ryza

Interrogation of the function and purity of origin of Magos Lycadine’s Treatise Incarnate on his study of hydrodynamics.

The construct is composed of a rhinox hide backpack assembly containing a thermos-magnetic power core, and a 4 gallon plastek liquid vessel. Power and fluid lines feed from the core and plastek vessel respectively to enter the firing mechanism directly to the fore of the trigger guard. The weapon component of the construct is composed primarily of Catachan Jungle Wood, and plasteel, with bronze, armaglass, and other exotic materials also being present in its firing mechanism and ornamentation. The weapon’s body is based on the frame of an Arc Rifle stripped of its capacitor, although the barrel of the gun past the point of power intake has been replaced by a reinforced double helix of armaglass about a roughly cylindrical piece of archaeotech that comprises the weapon’s firing mechanism. The original position of a supporting arm is no longer accommodated by the spiral, and aiming calibration support is now provided by a horizontal plasteel handle, protruding from the double helix. The handle is a rigid crank to enable ergonomic firing from a position level with the waist. The armaglass double helix terminates in a copper hemisphere punctured by a hole serving as the terminus of the weapon’s barrel. Total weight is 4.54 martian mass units.

Firing Test Log

Target: Ferrocrete slab, 50m, 3s

Effect: No observable effect. No energy expended beyond waking the weapon’s Machine Spirit and the firing of a pale yellow beam, no change in liquid content of plastek vessel

Target: Rhinox Wood sheet, 50m, 3s

Effect: Wood experiences rapid dehydration on contact with beam, liquid collected by unknown means is directed into the plastek vessel. Energy expended: 3 J. Fluid collected: 0.5L

Target: General purpose Servitor, 50m, 3s

Effect: Servitor’s organic components rapidly dehydrate and mummify, causing the unit to expire. Energy expended: 3J. Fluid collected: 4L

Target: Ork specimen, 50m, 5s

Effect: Target dehydrated unto expiration. Energy expended: 5J. Fluid collected: 7L. Noteworthy that Ork biomass appears to contain larger volumes of extractable liquid than human biomass

Target: [Redacted], 50m, 10s

Effect: [Redacted] expires from extreme dehydration. Softseals rendered stiff and ceramite brittle on the surface. Energy expended: 10J. Fluid collected: [Redacted]

Addition: <For the love of the Machine God just throw the whole container into the blast furnace!>

Modification: Plastek Fluid Vessel replaced by reinforced, Omnissiah blessed copper.

Target: Kastelan Robot, 50m, 1s

Effect: -Interrupt- <For the heretekal destruction of sanctified bio-plastek Doctrina Wafers, overseeing Adept [Redacted] has been condemned to death>

Target: Adept [Redacted], 5m, 10s

Effect: Adept [Redacted] dehydrated unto death. Energy expended: 10J. Fluid collected: 7L, later evaporated in the blast furnace.

End Test Log

#my stuff #adeptus mechanicus #admech #wh40k #warhammer 40k

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btsaestheticpeach · 6 years ago

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˗ˏˋ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ʙʟᴜᴇ; ᴛᴀᴇʜʏᴜɴɢ ˎˊ˗

❥ ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ @softseals

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claddingltd · 3 months ago

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High-Quality ROCKWOOL Insulation for Walls and Roofs – CSS CLADDING LTD

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#ROCKWOOL #Cladding #CSSCladding #FireSafe #WarmAndQuiet #BuildingProtection #EnergyEfficient

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kp-moodboards · 6 years ago

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bf Hendery

for @softseals

{requests open}

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lmntarts · 5 years ago

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Resheda Hagen was a breastfeeding mother during the 1970s that accomplished a considerable lot of the issues that despite everything drive moms from common feedings today. She experienced intensely sore areolas and found that all the items available were either incapable or excruciating to utilize. Before she surrendered to weaning, her better half, a doctor, brought home a container of the cream lanolin for her to apply with the expectation that it would make the experience increasingly agreeable. The outcomes were significant. She essentially applied the cream and quickly felt its relieving sensation, and didn't have to expel it before feedings. She introduced her discoveries to a huge partnership and was suddenly dismissed. Thus, in 1984, Hagen established Lansinoh in her home in Portland, Oregon. Throughout the years, the organization has developed from creating that one cream to building up an entire line of breast treatments, breast pumps, and adornments for nursing moms. It has gotten different supports from conspicuous associations, for example, the La Leche League International. A mother established the organization, so they despite everything hold that certifiable commitment to genuinely help ladies that are experiencing difficulty setting up a fruitful breastfeeding relationship with their child.

Lansinoh offers a wide assortment of items, including 2 quality breast pumps. The Lansinoh Double Electric Breast Pump is intended for brisk and viable pumping, and is ideal for long haul use for new moms. It is conservative, clean, and moderate. Its highlights incorporate customizable sped and suction, worked in milk holders to forestall spills, and a licensed framework that shields milk from sponsorship up into the tubing. They additionally offer the Lansinoh Manual Breast Pump. It's to a greater extent a compact, considerably simpler alternative for moms who pump periodically. Its little size permits it to fit safely and circumspectly in any pack, and a SoftSeal pad, which makes it simpler to pump by hand and forestalls weakness. The manual pump contains not very many parts, and is super-simple to utilize. It has no multifaceted and complex get together directions; simply pump!

To praise their pumps, Lansinoh makes various accomplices to make the entire procedure simpler for moms. For the mother in a hurry, they offer the Lansinoh Double Electric Pump Carry Bag and Cooler. It makes for simple vehicle and capacity for moms who are pumping grinding away with the twofold electric breast pump. Should they need more stockpiling, the organization produces Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bottles and sacks to keep a consistent inventory of milk accessible.

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What isolates Lansinoh from different organizations is their real commitment to help moms. It was established by a mother who comprehended what it resembled - the issues, disadvantages, and dissatisfactions that join ineffective nursing. She proceeds with that mentality all through the whole organization, so their items and administration mirror the fundamental beliefs on which Lansinoh was established.

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