5 Best Face Masks for a Dust-Free Home

Drywall creates an almost constant flurry of dust in your home, as you chip away with your tool and sand to smooth out the rough edges. The resulting dust will seep into every nook and cranny of your home if you’re not careful, causing irritation to your throat and lungs while making it more difficult to breathe normally. While you can’t stop construction from occurring, there are five best face masks for drywall that can make the work easier on you and your family members. Here are our top picks for dust protection.

While inhaling drywall dust may not seem like such a big deal, it can be cause of long-term health issues. The particles are similar to asbestos, in that they’re capable of causing serious respiratory problems. In fact, one study estimated that 30 percent of workers who handle drywall without proper protection develop upper respiratory issues later on down the road—some even 15 years after exposure has occurred. Of course, most people aren’t working around drywall all day, but everyone should wear face masks when doing sanding or demolition work to avoid potential problems down the road. It’s common knowledge that drywall dust is bad for your lungs and can lead to long-term health problems.

Picking up drywall is one of those jobs that will probably make you wish that you were wearing some sort of face protection. Masking tape can come off on your face, and all of that dust can end up in your mouth or nose. Instead, pick up a quality respirator to wear over your mouth and nose while you’re working with drywall mud or sawdust. A respirator will help keep these particles out of your system so they don’t cause irritation to your eyes, throat, and skin later on.

We all know drywall dust can be dangerous to your health. OSHA recommends that construction workers wear particulate respirators (i.e., an N95 masks  or P100) when sanding, sawing, and other demolition activities involving drywall with large amounts of dust. But before you buy an expensive mask from a construction supply store, you might want to try some DIY solutions first! Let’s check out five of our favorite face masks for drywall sanding.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as goggles, N95 dust masks, etc. should be worn to protect against irritation and drywall dust inhalation. When using sandpaper to smooth over seams or add texture, wear protective gloves to prevent cuts and scrapes. Construction helmets will also help you avoid head injuries from falling debris and eliminate eye fatigue from staring at walls all day long.