Cleanroom Garments
Lets take look at the various protective garments available. The various pieces that make up cleanroom attire cover and protect you from head to toe, each with various options for budget, protection level and cleanliness concerns.
The Basic Coverall
When you think of a cleanroom protective garments, you probably think of a full body coverall – a one piece suit that fully protects you and prevents your body from contaminating the work environment. Another coverall is the so-called bunny suit variant, which offers an attached hood and shoe covers. The benefit of this style over the standard coverall is it leaves almost no skin exposed except for the face. Along with safety aspects, many workers prefer the simplicity and convenience of a one piece suit compared to separate coveralls, shoe covers, and hoods. The coverall and bunny suit garments are an ideal choice for labs that require the strictest of particle control policies, such as Class 100/ISO 5 and Class 1000/ISO 6 facilities.
Labcoats and Frocks
The average cleanroom lab coat comes down to the waistline, without offering any protection to the legs or feet. If lower body protection is needed, a style of lab coat known as a frock extends down to the knees. Lab coats and frocks are worn over street clothes and secured with snaps on the front instead of the more secure zip of a typical coverall. An important note for lab coats and frocks is to use sleeves with elastic cuffs to cut down on the contamination threat presented by open sleeves.
Shoe Covers and Boot Covers
Even if you aren’t working in a strict Class 10 cleanroom environment requiring a bunny suit and face mask, you still need to wear some form of shoe or boot cover. Traditional lab foot coverings and booties often cover just the shoes. Cleanroom boot and shoe covers are more protective, extending up the calf to create an overlap with the pant leg to cover all skin at the ankle. Boot and shoe covers must be made of durable materials to handle being walked on without tearing and exposing the environment to contaminants.
Hoods and Sleeves
In labs that require minimal protection, such as Class 10,000/ISO 7 or higher, the only protective gear required may be some kind of hood and sleeve protection to contain hair and skin particles from the head and hands. A simple hair net or bouffant is sufficient for those in less rigorous facilities, but in more demanding environments a full hood may be required to maintain standards. Full hoods typically come in two variants, with an opening for the full face or an opening for just the eyes. Full face hoods are popular and comfortable to work in since they leave the face open, but the eyes-only hood along with a pair of goggles is the most protective. As we mentioned with lab coats, wrist protection is an important factor with lab garments. For workers with longer arms, elastic cuffs will provide the protective seal that is needed, but can cause issues with sleeves that are too short when reaching. The solution is to wear a cleanroom sleeve over the lab coat to ensure full coverage of the wrist even when the worker extends their arms.
Cleanroom Materials Compared
Let’s dig a little deeper into the materials used to manufacture these garments. The most common materials used in cleanroom apparel (in descending order by particle cleanliness) are Tyvek, microporous coated, SMS tri-laminate, and polypropylene. Starting with the most sterile material, we have Tyvek. Tyvek is a material made by DuPont, which has an anti-static coating as well as as being lightweight and breathable while still offering superior protection from particle matter of all types. Next we have microporous coated, or MP fabric, which is a popular alternative to Tyvek, due to it’s lower cost. MP fabric is somewhat heavier and less breathable than Tyvek, so it becomes an issue of cost versus comfort. A fabric such as SMS tri-laminate is made of a Spunbound Meltblown Spunbound material, a fabric that is made of three layers of nonwoven fabrics. SMS fabrics offer the most comfort and breathability while working in dry, non-hazardous conditions. The SMS fabric also isn’t as sterile as the Tyvek or MP coated fabrics, which means that it only has a place in cleanrooms with a Class 1,000/ISO 6 or above. The final material we’ll discuss is polypropylene. While polypropylene doesn’t meet the same standards of cleanliness as the rest of these materials it is also the cheapest. Polypropylene cleansuits should only be used in non-hazardous environments where it’s important to keep the wearer clean and comfortable, but there is little concern about contaminants. Polypropylene is rated for industrial uses that require a Class 10,000/ISO 8 classification or above.
Now that we’ve covered the different types of cleanroom garments and the materials they’re available in, consider how to put all of this information together to make the best purchasing decision possible. Our first and most important question is, “Is this cleanroom certified?” If it’s not, there’s no point in spending money on something you can’t use in your cleanroom. The second question is how much protection you need. Do your workers need to be covered from head to toe in a bunny suit or would a labcoat and gloves would do just fine? More isn’t always better. Finally, think about the kind of protection you need. Are you working with anything particularly hazardous? Are you just trying to keep everything reasonably clean? Not all materials are rated for every situation. Thinking about this critically can save you risk and money.
We’re always available to answer any questions you might have about what garments would work best in your room.
