As we continue to shift and adapt to the new normal, it’s common to see people wearing masks in public, when driving and while working. In light of COVID-19, we have been receiving questions about the many different mask styles people are seeing. Many wonder about which ones specifically offer respiratory protection and people often don’t know the difference between surgical masks and respirators.Let's talk about this issue today.
1. Different design
There is a big difference between respirators and surgical masks because they are designed for very different purposes.
A surgical mask is a loose, disposable device that can form a physical barrier between the wearer's nose and mouth and potential contaminants in the surrounding environment. These are often called masks, although not all masks are regulated as surgical masks.
Surgical masks are often called flat masks, and their edges are not designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth.
The respirator is a respiratory protection device designed to achieve a very tight facial fit and very effective filtration of particles in the air. Please note that the edges of the respirator are designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth.
2. Different materials
Medical masks are usually composed of three layers of non-woven fabrics, and respirators are generally composed of 3-5 layers of non-woven fabrics.
Different grades of respirators have different materials
Medical mask: non-woven fabric/melt blown cloth (filter paper)/non-woven fabric
N95 respirator:
The first layer of spunbond non-woven fabric
The second layer of needle punched cotton non-woven fabric
The third layer of meltblown non-woven fabric
The fourth layer needle punched cotton non-woven fabric
FFP respirator
The first layer of spunbond non-woven fabric
The second layer of meltblown non-woven fabric
The third layer of needle punched cotton non-woven fabric
KN series respirator
The first layer of non-woven fabric
The second layer of hot air cotton
The third layer of meltblown cloth
The fourth layer of skin-friendly non-woven fabric
3. The standards are different
Respirators are called filtering face-piece respirators and are divided into different performance levels
l EN149:2001+A1:2019 FFP1 FFP2, FFP3
l GB2626 KN95, KN99, KN100
l NIOSH (42 CFR 84) N95, N99 N100
|
USA NIOSH (42 CFR 84) China GB2626 |
N95/KN95 |
N99/KN99 |
N100/KN100 |
|
0.3um≥95% |
0.3um≥99% |
0.3um≥99.8% |
|
|
European EN149:2001+A1:2019 |
FFP1 |
FFP2 |
FFP3 |
|
0.3um≥80% |
0.3um≥94% |
0.3um≥95% |
No matter the type of protection you need, it’s important to make sure your respirators or mask stay fresh and ready to use. If you wants to know more about this topic, you can contact Wellmien.
Wellmien provides globally medical care and food processing facilities with products including face masks, gowns, coveralls, aprons, bouffant caps, shoe covers, sleeve covers, under pads, disposable gloves, wound-care products, first-aid products and surgical packs etc. Our products are best sold to worldwide markets and widely applied to different settings such as hospitals, care centers, wholesalers, government agencies or institutes, food industries and households, etc. With excellent OEM services, our annual sales exceed 20 million USD. We are willing to making cooperation with you.