It's been a couple months since I did a ue mission that required respirators, so I've left them in my trunk since then.

When I went to grab them yesterday, I realized that black mold had started growing on them, and nearby on some paper and cloth material.

I just ripped out my trunk liner, and currently have it in a bleach wash, and I bleached the metal inside the trunk, so I think I should be good. But yikes - those spores followed me home, luckily I always wear a respirator when I'm inside.

1. You can see it on the strap on the right:


2. The other strap had it worse:


3. Even random paper I had in my trunk started getting moldy (I think this is black mold, anyway)

Gross. Not sure it "followed you", but perhaps there was just something damp in your trunk.. I'm not a scientist, though.

Posted by relik Gross. Not sure it "followed you", but perhaps there was just something damp in your trunk.. I'm not a scientist, though.

It probably picked up the spores when I shot these photos:

1.


2. Pretty sure that's mold growing on mold... yo dog, I heard you like mold...
'

My trunk definitely was damp after the rain a couple weeks ago. Gotta check it's seals now.

Meh. Mold ain't got nothin' on me. I have yet to use a respirator. Perhaps i'll regret it in the future, but until now, beer is a good alternative.

If you just walk out of the moldy room as soon as you set foot in there, you'll be fine. Mold like that isn't hard to miss.

Holdy moldy!

What's a respirator? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Posted by relik Meh. Mold ain't got nothin' on me. I have yet to use a respirator. Perhaps i'll regret it in the future,

You will. There's a thread here that was started by a UER member who described how messed up his health is because he failed to wear a respirator during his explorations. Look it up.

My immune system needs a workout. It's been lazing about for months.

Posted by Shawn W. You will. There's a thread here that was started by a UER member who described how messed up his health is because he failed to wear a respirator during his explorations. Look it up.

Yeah, i've read through that thread. That really sucks for dude, but i don't explore nearly as much as he did, and i don't normally find myself places with excessive mold, asbestos, etc. for long periods of time. Also, alcohol kills bacteria, so there's always that.

Posted by Radical_Ed What's a respirator? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

This just about covers my thoughts.

Posted by Radical_Ed What's a respirator? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I am with Ed on this one, but didn't want to say anything at first because some of you full members are sensitive about what I say here.

click to view

put it in a ziploc when you're not using it, and change the cartridges every once in a while too because they expire even if you never use them (once the packaging is opened). If it's deemed the charcoal cartridge is overkill you should at least have a box of the cotton prefilters laying around.

You may or may not know there's also respirator wipes you can buy to keep it clean and new, but that might be considered overkill too and you probably need to buy a box of 200.

Posted by relik Yeah, i've read through that thread. That really sucks for dude, but i don't explore nearly as much as he did, and i don't normally find myself places with excessive mold, asbestos, etc. for long periods of time. Also, alcohol kills bacteria, so there's always that.

Here's the URL for anyone who is curious:
http://www.uer.ca/...urrpage=1&pp#post0

EDIT: Fixed the URL

Hmmm, I'm thirteen years older than this guy and started exploring before him. I also interspersed my exploring with literally thousands of hearty bong rips.
I'm guessing he was unfortunate enough to get some kind of cancer. That really sucks. Then again, George Burns lived to 100 years old smoking cigars and drinking gin martinis every day so I'd say it's in the genes. Some folks die of lung cancer and have never smoked a day in their lives. I plan to live forever so fuck cancer.

That looks like mildew, nothing to worry about really.

Posted by HagensborgViking put it in a ziploc when you're not using it

Not unless it is totally dry, which it won't be if you've just used it. Just like anything else you plan to reuse, don't put it away wet.

interesting. Never had that happen before

Also as an FYI, those 3M 60923 filter cartidges are for organic vapor / acid gas - not particulates such as asbestos / mold spores. Of course they're better than nothing, but they're not designed to catch the particulates you're being exposed to. Those are painting filters. Next time you go to replace them look for 3M 2097 P100 filters, they're much better for UE related unpleasantness and probably cheaper than the OV ones.

Posted by terapr0 interesting. Never had that happen before Also as an FYI, those 3M 60923 filter cartidges are for organic vapor / acid gas - not particulates such as asbestos / mold spores. Of course they're better than nothing, but they're not designed to catch the particulates you're being exposed to. Those are painting filters. Next time you go to replace them look for 3M 2097 P100 filters, they're much better for UE related unpleasantness and probably cheaper than the OV ones.

I'm not an expert, so correct me if I'm wrong, but the P100 designation is all that matters. P100 is the OSHA rating for the fiber-spacing in the filter, and as long as it's P100 it will filter out mold / lead / asbestos.

In the case of my masks, yes, they are carbon canisters for organic vapor, such as ammonia, chlorine / acid gas.

The carbon canisters do expire, but the P100 never expires - only gets more and more clogged until harder to breathe through.

So, my masks ARE OSHA P100 approved, and just have the bonus of protecting against organic vapor for the first ~2 months of their life.

At least that's how I understand it.

a straight up Organic Vapor filter cartridges do NOT offer P100 level particulate filtration. They're not interchangeable with one another and are designed for entirely different purposes. People doing asbestos abatement don't wear organic vapor cartridges, and people working inside of a paint booth all day don't wear P100 filters.

A good medium is the 3M 2097 filter I recommended - it offers P100 filtration along with "nuisance level" organic vapor protection. In short, it filters particulates while also filtering out ambient smells. You wouldn't want to use one if you were working in a paint booth all day, but if you're in a musty old building it will filter the mold spores and eliminate a good chunk of the smell too.
The next level down from the 2097 filter is the 2093 which is only P100, without the minor OV filtration.

If you want OV + P100 filtration you need to buy something like the 3M 6001 organic vapor cartridge filter with the P100 filter adapter that will let you screw a 2097 filter onto the 6001 cartridge. They also sell a clip-on "pre-filter" that offers P95 level particulate filtration along with the organic vapor protection of the 6001 cartridge. Another option is the 3M 60921, 60923 or 60926 cartridges which offer both OV + P100 in a single cartridge.

A little confusing, but worth understanding.

Check out the full line of 3M filter cartridges here: http://solutions.3...g/?N=5549793&rt=c3