How to take apart and reuse 3M 60926 filter

How to take apart 3M 60926 filter so you can reuse it as a basic HEPA filter. Dump the charcoal and toss out the middle filter which makes it harder to breathe. I said in the video you could put it back but after testing it with, it was harder to breathe.
Once apart, you can wipe the charcoal powder inside with a dry paper towel and then wash it with dish soap. rinse it well so you wouldn't be inhaling dried soap particles.
Make sure your hot glue gun is really hot so you can apply hot glue quickly (put a generous amount) and place the back part on quick. Why toss out this filter when it costs more than $50 when you can reuse it to filter: dust, drywall, fiberglass, and any other small particles.

[@Monogrammaton]

Do not modify your PPE, folks. There are so many misunderstandings here that defeat the protection. Also, that is not a HEPA.

[@DAN1Kpro]

This is for when the filter has been used multiple time and is no longer easy to breath through. In the description I state this is for filtering particles only since your dumping the used charcoal. A P100 filter is NIOSH equivalent to a HEPA filter. I reuse my filter for drywall, fiberglass and other dust. Afterwards I used a blower from the inside and outside of the mask and most of the dust accumulated on the P100 gets blown off. I blow my nose and it’s clean without any signs of inhaling anything besides odors. I’m not recommending for people to use it again for VOCs, Gasses, or chemical vapors.

[@jackarmstrong46]

It's not the stuff that's large enough to stick in the nose that's the issue .. it's the super fine stuff you can't see that does the damage. Just buy new dude your lungs are worth it 👍

[@Monogrammaton]

@@DAN1Kpro I perhaps was being pedantic with the HEPA remark.

[@DAN1Kpro]

You do realize that a P100 filters out 0.3 microns. The smaller stuff is VOCs, gases, some bacteria, some pollen, viruses, smoke, smog, oxygen. If you’d like to filter all put a plastic bag over your head 😂 JK don’t do that. You inhale all that stuff when your out and about not working. If you sneeze that’s good. Do what you want to do it’s your health and money. The next best particle filter would be an “ultraHEPA” which I don’t think exists for face masks. Filters 0.003 microns stated as filters 100%. Just to keep in mind the better a filter is the more restricting it is.

[@DaniGirl6]

The p100 2097 are cheaper and last longer if all you need is particle protection. If you just happened to have a 60926 laying around or if it's past the expiration date for the VOC protection. But I was neat seeing the inside of one of those.

[@DAN1Kpro]

Yeah I bought it for a job to spray strong stone sealant. After that it was too hard to breathe. I was also surprised how it was completely filled with charcoal. There was so much I don’t know how air got through. Unless it expanded from absorbing VOC or from humidity in the air. There was also very fine charcoal powder. Spending around $60 for 1 time use seemed so overpriced and a waste of money. So I took it apart and still use it today for particles only like dust, saw dust, drywall dust and fiber glass. I never had any issues when blowing my nose everything came out clean. I just use a ryobi compact blower and clean it off for next use. Easy to breathe.

[@DaniGirl6]

@@DAN1Kpro @DAN1Kpro It is counter intuitive because of what you "see" but filters like that cannot be cleaned in that way. It's not to get you to buy more filters like saying ink cartridges can't be refilled which companies actively hinder. It's just where the technology is at right now. It is unfortunate because of all of the waste. 3M uses pretty good materials and so it could be glass fibers on that respirator carriage "paper", meaning it can't be cleaned at all. If there was a way, you'd make a killing selling that technology to nuclear facilities that need to filter radioactive particles out of the air and so reducing filter waste volume they have to store by making them reusable would save a ton of money. There is an experimental way for recharging glass fiber filters with liquid carbon dioxide. The filter is small enough that you could make a pressure chamber to do that for the learning experience but I don't think it is practical. The others rechargeable methods require starting with filter fiber materials that would have the price way more than just $60 or $80. Air filters do not work like coffee filters, they do not sieve the particles out of the air. Well the harmful particles are too small to sieve. They work by three mechanisms: diffusion, interception, and impaction. Which takes effect depends on the size of the particle. You might be tempted to think particles smaller than 0.3 micron pass through easier, you might be happy to know that's not necessary true. The measurement is taken at 0.3 micron particles because those are harder to capture than smaller and bigger from that size. It's funny because of the virus being smaller than 0.3 micron arguments and so many people not understanding how things work at that scale...not it's actually sad that more people don't know these things, I digress. Anyway, all of the spaces between the fibers are canyons compared to 0.3 micron. If the filter had to use sieve principles to work, it would hardly capture a thing at that size. This makes cleaning different than what most people's intuition would lead them towards. When you attempt to clean/recharge your disposable filter, the fine matrix is damaged and the debris is not going to be well removed by a vacuum technique for the same reasons the particles were captured. This isn't an affair where it is easier to pull the particle out by the otherside in a back wash type fashion. It still has to make it past all the fibers it missed on the way in with all the same principles in effect that will capture it again just as happily in any direction of travel. Measuing the mass of the filter before using it, the when it is dirty and again after your cleaning method will show you just how ineffective it is. Wet techniques with ultrasonic baths for hours can loosen the particles and recharge filters, but most common fiber types are damaged. Keep in mind, the harmful particles are small and so light, a little mass is a lot of particles. Anyway, the damaged matrix is going to decrease the MERV rating the filter can achieve. This might be acceptable for a home appliance that is recirculating air and has another change to capture particles. Masks have one chance before the air, and all that is in it, enters your lungs. Better than nothing, well arguably so is a rag, but how much protection do you want for your body? If I'm wearing a big respirator it has to be worth my discomfort and inconvenience. Also, the particles that cause nasal cancer (more common hazzard caused from wood working dust work) is caused by sub micron particles. These are hard to deal with, even with a portable HEPA scrubber in your shop it can take a day or two for levels to drop back to what limits OSHA calls safe. You don't see them in your mucus without a microscope and they don't come out of your lungs easily. The relatively big chunks that you do see and color your mucus aren't a big deal unless the substance itself is toxic as well. Btw, a vacuum at the source of the dust generation is best control method because of how long the harmful particles stay suspended in the air. Without a scrubber it can be weeks before reaching safe levels. Your choice is yours, but at least you can make an informed one now. Your experience with the carbon filter is odd that it became more restricted after exposure to vapors. Carbon filters work by adsorbtion, in that the VOCs stick to the outside and form a thin layer. Not absorbtion like a towel soaking up water. So the carbon wouldn't swell. Yes, a quality filter will need lots of fine activated carbon because there only one chance and carbon has a low holding capability which is why so much is needed relatively. Lucky carbon is cheaper than other methods and effective at atmosphere pressure. Curious, I wonder what could have caused what you experienced. It doesn't happen to my filters around the solvents I use. Not sure what went on with yours, but I don't think it is typical. Some of the filters do have different ratings for different gases and acid vapors. That's when alumina and other material is used in addition to the carbon and I am not so familiar with that. I doubt any of that would swell but maybe but I hardly ever work around acidic gases so I don't know as much about filtering and controlling them. Besides, those filters only last for a few weeks or months even days after breaking the seal, depending on how the mask is stored. They are a specialty item. I think it is acceptable expense to buy a pack of p100 pancake filters and swap them every year or so depending on how much dust exposure. If you're around dust multiple times a week, look at the OSHA guidelines for how frequently to replace the filter. Don't attempt to clean them, there's plenty of research into rechargeable HEPA filters. Should you read into it you'll understand why it's a difficult and expensive task not worth trying on a small scale to save money if you want to dig deeper than my explanation. Keep the cleaning attempts to those cheap home portable appliance "HEPA" machines. They don't work well to start with because of the PET fibers and the fibers are more durable for a "wash" or two because of the same reason they don't work well, made from PET.