Clean room suits are essential supplies for most healthcare facilities, and they also exist in a range of other businesses.
Clean rooms are environments designed to control the amount of contamination that can occur. Specifically, these rooms are intended to reduce the concentration of airborne particles that are introduced, generated and retained within an enclosed environment. Examples of clean rooms can include laboratories, medical testing facilities and electronic manufacturing facilities.
There are four basic types of clean rooms:
Hardwall: A hardwall clean room contains a high-integrity wall construction, in which panels are mounted into steel frames that create rigid walls that keep the environment enclosed.
Monobloc: These rooms contain panels that are placed onto the entirety of the inner surface area of the room to create a flush finish. Monobloc clean rooms contain features to enhance the security of the enclosure, such as flush gazing and raceway trunking.
Laminar flow cabinet: This clean room option contains laminar flow hoods and cabinets in which fluids flow in one direction with no interruptions caused by turbulence. This unidirectional air flow ensures that only very clean air circulates through the enclosure.
Softwall: This softwall clean room is the most economical option. Softwall clean rooms contain a tent wall construction with clear and flexible panels mounted onto a steel frame to enclose the area. These panels overlap the walls to ensure that an effective barrier is created and that positive airflow forces air through the room, so particles are flushed through the exhaust vents.
What Is a Clean Room Suit?
A clean room suit serves a similar purpose as the clean room itself but at the individual human level. The suit is a full-body garment that covers the user to prevent contamination as well as to ensure that no bodily fluids or tissues (such as hair and skin) enter the clean room setting.
These garments are commonly made of polypropylene and contain a polythene coating. Some clean room suits are made of Tyvek polyethylene. A hazmat suit, like those you see in movies involving disease outbreaks, are examples of clean room suits.
Why Is a Clean Room Suit Used?
Clean room suits are used for two main purposes:
To protect the integrity of the clean room: clean room suits are primarily intended to prevent contamination of the clean room via the shedding of any particles of human tissue or fluids or debris on a user´s clothes.
To promote the safety of individuals in the clean room: Additionally, clean room suits help protect users in clean rooms from coming into direct contact with hazardous materials, such as when handling laboratory specimens or engaging in medical testing.
How to Properly Wear a Clean Room Suit
To properly wear a clean room suit, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration recommends the following steps:
Carefully pull the coveralls over the legs.
Insert the arms into the sleeves.
Keep the head cover tucked into the neck prior to zipping and closing the suit. Then enclose the suit by securing the zipper.
Place clean room boots over the disposable shoe covers.
Adjust for a snug fit.
When removing the clean room suit, execute each of the above steps in reverse order. In clean rooms that contain air showers, ensure that workers walk through the air shower before and after entering the clean room.
Do not pull down the face mask or remove any part of the clean room suit while in the clean room.
How to Properly Care for a Clean Room Suit
Clean room suits should be treated with care while being worn. Ensure that you or your workers avoid coming into contact with sharp edges or engage in any activities that might tear the suit.
When washing the clean room suit, use deionized water to ensure the garment is free of pollutants. Reverse osmosis water can also remove minerals and pollutants. Wash clean room suits after each use, and always inspect the suit for tears and holes.
References
Cleanroom Gowning or How to Dress in the Cleanroom. (April 2021). National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Cleanroom Suit. (November 2022). Wikipedia.