And now for that dust!

lebarondescarteun · Post by **lebarondescarteun** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:39 pm

Resperaters,Dust Masks,Scarfs........what works best when the dust blows?

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:42 pm

Heh, you'll get a lot of answers for that! I go with a cotton scarf or bandanna, and maybe one of those little paper masks. However, I'm claustrophobic about things on my face and haven't fared well with goggles (night or day) and larger masks.

Next?

Rob_ · Post by **Rob_** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:55 pm

I used a paper mask. I thought it a good compromise between function and comfort. (While not the best thing in a huge dust storm, it's adequate. When not windy, it's easily fit into a pocket should the need arise).

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:00 pm

Just goggles. No mask needed.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:39 pm

Nothing works. :->

Tiahaar · Post by **Tiahaar** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:22 pm

paper mask and bike goggles work well for me

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:22 am

I found some very comfortable papercloth masks, designed for fine dust or mold, which fold accordion-style and fit nicely in a pocket unlike the "athletic cup" cheapo ones. (I'll post a link when I dig one out and can recall the name.)
A bandanna is such a useful thing ANYWHERE that you really don't have an excuse for not having one. Tie it onto your bike's handlebars if all else fails. You should really have SOMETHING to throw over your face if you plan on exploring the open playa, since whiteouts can whip up magically from nothing. Especially towards the end of the week.
For the Vault of Heaven burn I made the theme an excuse to feed my Inner Nerd, and made a space helmet- It actually worked pretty well at keeping the dust at bay! This time I'm going whole hog, adding circulation fans and possibly even aircon. Quite the design challenge, coming up with something that you don't end up cooking inside of....

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:34 am

simple bandanna works for me, but I have so far been able to see the storms coming and seek shelter to some degree. Gotta give a huge thanks to those great souls at Fear No Martini who kept pouring the drinks even as debris, shade structures and a poet's typewriter went flying in the biggie dust storm last year. For about 30 minutes we all had "dirty" martinis.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:03 pm

You could use Z chips for cooling the helmet.

Token · Post by **Token** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:39 pm

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:53 pm

Well, I got some off roading goggles from a table of discontinued stuff at Home Despot, and those worked very well for my eyes.

I tried a few different things for my nose and mouth. The "athletic cup" style masks seemed to work well during the dust storm (except when I kept removing it to drink, but that wasn't the mask's fault!

). A more expensive style I had bought somewhere, which was designed to fold flat, didn't work at all! I don't know if I was trying to use it wrong (I think it was supposed to hook over the ears...) or was just a poor design. I never could get the darned thing to seal around my face. I was given a bandana by one of the people at the Black Rock City Post Office, and that seemed to work almost as well well as the "athletic cup" dust mask. It had the advantage of being more colorful, though.

How senstive you are to the dust is an individual thing. It might not have bothered me at all if I hadn't already been sick-- or it might have bothered my allergies. I have no idea. I am planing on bringing the bandana and dust masks for next time, since it would be better to have them and not need them than need them and not have 'em. Oh, and I am definitely bringing the goggles as well!

B.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:51 pm

Have found a bandana woren bad guy style works good.. I cut it in half diagonaly making two..I can not handel my air being restricked.. Tied it around the face..Then tied the point under the chin in a knot.. this knot closed it up around the face.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:57 pm

I cut the sleeve off an old t-shirt to use as a dust mask. Doesn't come off, filters out enough dust without making it hard to breathe. It's more colorful than those paper masks, which is good asthetically and it's much easier to see if dropped.

For goggles I have a few pair I got off Ebay. Do a search for 'vintage goggles' and you'll find some good unusual stuff. Don't worry about getting a complete seal - just block the wind from hitting your eyes directly and you'll be fine.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:57 pm

I have allergies and asthma, and the dust doesn't bother me. I do get achy chest for a week or so once I'm home, but I think I'm readjusting to my cats. Now just keep that smokin' herb away from me! THAT will do me in!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:16 pm

AntiM wrote:I have allergies and asthma, and the dust doesn't bother me. I do get achy chest for a week or so once I'm home, but I think I'm readjusting to my cats. Now just keep that smokin' herb away from me! THAT will do me in!

/\
I have COPD and have no truble with the dust..I mask up when the sand starts to sting my face..I miss my Ccap at nite..

misfit · Post by **misfit** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:01 pm

tank gunners goggles and a bandana. both can be found at army surplus for $5. . although i do like Dorks' idea of an old t-shirt sleeve....

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:34 pm

misfit wrote:tank gunners goggles and a bandana. both can be found at army surplus for $5. . although i do like Dorks' idea of an old t-shirt sleeve....

/\
\/
Painters hoods a few cents..They are a knit sleeve with a hole to put your goggles over.. They are used in paint booths or other spray painting..

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:11 pm

I have asthma and used a toxic dust respirator from my local hardwar store, 25 bucks. It worked well, better than the paper dust masks.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:16 pm

skygod wrote:I have asthma and used a toxic dust respirator from my local hardwar store, 25 bucks. It worked well, better than the paper dust masks.
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN ... =100143655

Uhm, my browser opened up to laptop computers and a home stand-by generator.... I'm not certain how those would help in a dust storm...?

B.

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:22 pm

https://home.pacbell.net/skygawd/mask/mask.jpg
I changed the filters mid-week. They were all gunked up and I thought, man, that stuff would be in my lungs.

Post by **Eric** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:07 pm

I like these: http://www.mfiap.com/gs/rap.htm

They tie bandit style plus they have a filter in them. I have a very long beard (much longer than in my photo) and I was able to fit this around it & survive the Wedsnesday Whiteout quite fine. Except for not getting to drink. Dammit.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:32 pm

Eric wrote:I like these: http://www.mfiap.com/gs/rap.htm

They tie bandit style plus they have a filter in them. I have a very long beard (much longer than in my photo) and I was able to fit this around it & survive the Wedsnesday Whiteout quite fine. Except for not getting to drink. Dammit.

Do they come in a choice of colors and patterns? From what I can tell they look kinda neat!

Your beard is longer than in the photo?!

That's getting ZZ Top length!

B. (Actually kind of jealous.)

Post by **Eric** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:41 pm

BAS wrote:Do they come in a choice of colors and patterns? From what I can tell they look kinda neat!

Just green, maroon & black (all with some basic scarf patterny stuff on them)
The place is geared towards survivalists, but these "RAP"s are great. A metal adjusting thing for the top of the nose, and ties to make it tight to your face if need be, plus a removable carbon filter that goes in the scarf over your mouth/ nose area. You can wear 'em loose for a little dust, or tight for a white-out.

Your beard is longer than in the photo?! :shock: That's getting ZZ Top length!

Psycho-leprechaun length, I think. I am a red-head after all. The central part is almost mid-chest, the mutton chops are below the collar. I was born 100 years too late for this facial hair. *sigh*

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 5:38 am

I was spreading Burning Man propaganda around at my maskmaking class last night, and one of the students asked about the dust...We happened to have several big bags of hydrocal in the plaster room and I indicated the similarity...And then on closer examination realized that the bags were from U.S. Gypsum, right down the road in Empire. (I guess that most of the drywall and gypsum products in the country come from there.)
Here's a fancypants artsy-fartsy way to make a custom mask: First, you'll need a form that matches the contours of your face AT LEAST from the nose and cheeks down. (If you just happen to have a lifemask of yourself in plaster, you're halfway done!) Onto this form you lay a piece of felt (just regular old fabric-store felt) that's been soaked in a fifty-fifty mix of wood glue and water. (Mix heavy on the glue side, if you're impatient.) Smooth the felt into a pleasing shape and then leave it somewhere. Come back the next day. Peel the finished shape off of the form and cut out slit/holes/patterns, and then cut a scrap of an old t-shirt that covers all of the openings and lay that inside, checking for fit. Punch holes on the sides for some elastic or cord. Ta-DAHHHH!! Leaving the t-shirt scrap loose in there will enable you to remove and clean or replace it. Options include doing a whole-face version with old sunglasses lenses or goggles glued around the eyeholes, or adding found objects. Use plasticene clay to build up the form and make an animal snout. Turn it into a Hannibal Lector goalie mask. Cut out "leaves" of felt and layer them on top to make....A GREEN MAN.
I'm right now experimenting with the use of dryer lint instead of the felt- results to follow. If you need instructions for making a plaster cast, let me know.

MrMullen · Post by **MrMullen** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:46 pm

Don't listen to the naysayers on the mask issue.

I use to not use a mask or a cheap one then I was by center camp and some guy was handing out good dust and mold mask and I tried it out and I was converted.

I was converted the second a big dust storm came in and I could breath! I have always had good goggle of various kinds but never a good mask. I could breath and when the storm was over I feel it in my lungs. Best of all, on Friday and Saturday night, I can see all the dust in the air from the yahoos showing up. I wore a mask all during the weekend and when I left Sunday, again, I felt it.

Get a good dust/mold mask and wear it.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:19 am

After searching on the net for the old WWI aviator-style goggles, ya know, two separate cannisters--one for each eye--the dorky lookin' ones, I found exactly that at, of all places, Restoration Hardware in their stockin stuffer section for $20.

lebarondescarteun · Post by **lebarondescarteun** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:54 pm

Thanks,I'll have to check that site out.

Rocket75377 · Post by **Rocket75377** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:02 am

I have a pair of Oxy/Acetalene goggles for a class I'm taking. It would seem (in my uneducated opinion) that they'd work pretty well for dust and light. They have a flip-up shade lens, full eye protection, and the shade lens is light enough to use in sunlight, if you don't mind everything being toxic-green.

*edit* And they're only about $7.00...

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:00 am

I (in my equally uneducated opinion) think it sounds like they would work..., but, toxic green?!?

B.

Rocket75377 · Post by **Rocket75377** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:12 am

[quote="BAS"]I (in my equally uneducated opinion) think it sounds like they would work..., but,[color=green] toxic green[/color]?!? :shock:

B.[/quote]

GREEN. Very green.