A good safety mask and hepa filter question

[Flowers]

Hi I am busy collecting equipment and setting up and have  been trawling through Websites looking for a really good safety/dust mask to keep out the glass particles etc it is hard to know what to go for can anybody recommend a really good mask to me please?
I also wanted to know whether it is necessary to have a hepa filter on in my room when I am working and if anyone can recommend a really good one that isn't too expensive?
Thank you so much.

[Zeldazog]

What are you planning on doing that will need a dust mask?  And a hepa filter for what?  Do you mean for lampworking?  As you've posted in the fusing boards.

[flame n fuse]

It depends what you want to do. IMO, if you are beadmaking, the only particles to worry about are those from enamel powders, which are very fine. If you avoid using enamels, then I don't think there are particle hazards during bead making (but see note about gases below), but if you're thinking about cleaning or polishing beads, then best to do it underwater.

Good ventilation is important to protect yourself from gases given off by the torch and by glass.

and when you're cleaning up, use a damp cloth, or a vac with  a hepa filter.

[Flowers]

Well as you can prob guess I am fairly new to glass fusing and am just setting myself up in a small little room.  I thought that a mask had to be worn when when using glass powders and when cleaning and scraping old kiln wash off. I wasn't sure whether a hepa filter was necessary but because the room is also shared as an office I didn't want anyone breathing in dust particles etc

[Zeldazog]

You didn't explain what you needed it for. 

I tend to use the FFP3 masks with a valve - the ones without a valve tend to get a bit hot and sweaty and sometimes collapse if you pull hard on breathing.  I wear a dustmask when sand-blasting as my cabinet isn't leak proof.  I try and remember to wear one when cleaning shelves, but guilty of not doing.  Don't know about powders, I only use them very very occasionally.

Brand/type; so long as you buy CE marked ones, I think that it's just a matter of choice what sort you get. 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/dustmasks.htm - this mentions the different FFP ratings.

And here, on Warm Glass UK, there's a video - I've not watched it, but most of the WG ones are quite useful

http://www.warm-glass.co.uk/dust-mask-ffp3-with-valve-p-2634.html

[Zeldazog]

I wasn't sure whether a hepa filter was necessary but because the room is also shared as an office I didn't want anyone breathing in dust particles etc

Yes, I guess you might want an extractor - not sure where the best advice is for that though. 

[flame n fuse]

if it's shared as an office, I wouldn't recommend using powders as they spread easily, contaminate surfaces and can hang in the air for some time. Perhaps avoid using the fine grades. A filter on an extractor won't necessarily help. More like your office share would need to wear a mask as well!

People suggest when sifting powders/enamels onto a piece, to hold the piece that you are sifting onto, over a dish of water or a damp cloth, to catch what doesn't land on the glass.
If your mask is poor, or badly fitting, you can 'taste' enamels in your mouth.
You can get lots of lovely effects using the frits which are coarser and less hazardous.

[qwirkyglass]

If you use thin fire rather than batwash, then you just need to hoover your she loves as you empty, and wash your pieces, so little to no dust.
If you use bat wash, it can last for several firings, and when you do want to change then clean it with a dish brush under water, and leave to dry / dry in kiln an 110 for 1/2 and hour. This causes no dust at all.
Hth 

[Pat from Canvey]

I was puzzled by the "she loves" at first then realised you meant shelves.

[qwirkyglass]

Stupid predictive text. Yes I meant shelves

[flame n fuse]

Cleaning up thin fire: make sure your hoover has a hepa filter as the fibres from thinfire are hazardous. see https://www.bullseyeglass.com/images/stories/bullseye/PDF/other_technical/bullseye_thinfire_shelf_paper_2013.pdf

[Flowers]

Thank you all for the brilliant information especially with regard to the thin fire paper and the types of respirators.

[Margram]

I've only done a bit of fusing but when I did I used thin fire paper and gently slid the shelf into a washing up bowl of water. Seemed to avoid dust. If you use a hepa vac, you'd need to use disposable bags.

[Flowers]

. If you use a hepa vac, you'd need to use disposable bags.

Hi do you have a hepa vacumn if so what do you use? I have been doing some reading about them and see it is better to have one with bags to seal the dust in I wondered about the Miele. 

Any recommendations would be fab.

Thank you

[flame n fuse]

we have an 20 yr old Miele with hepa filter and bags, it's good. Start with simple stuff and adapt your safety procedures as you develop your skills and decide which areas you want to focus on.