“It’s the best mask I’ve tried so far.”

Allan Hansen - Califonia, USA

Allan Hansen, CA, USA

Allen travel a lot and want to protect himself when he is in cities with heavy air pollution. He tried the TOTOBOBO mask and it appears to be the best mask he has tried so far. He ordered a bunch for his family because TOTOBOBO mask can fit the small faces of his children too.

As a traveler, pollution can exit in the most unexpected place. If it is not because of my previous research for a post (Say no to to pollution in school bus). I wouldn’t suspect there can be polluted air circulating inside a deluxe, aircond tourist coach.

Two weeks ago I took a SVIP coach from Singapore to Cameron Highlands. The seats inside this coach are large and the back can be lowered to almost flat- just nice for a good night sleep. The soft velvet feels comfy but I was curious to find out the air quality inside the bus.

I put on my mask during the overnight trip. We were required to get off the bus when crossing the border, and there were a couple of pee-stops during the night. I took off my mask when I need to get out of the bus and put it back on when I am getting back in.

After 6 hours of use

When we reach Cameron Highland it was 7am in the morning, I was shocked to discover the gray patch collected on the filters- a clear indication of air pollution inside the coach, most likely from it’s own engine! The air quality along the route up Cameron Highlands at that time should be very clean.

To make sure I was not making this up, I decided to compare the result on a plane trip. I put on the mask with a clean set of filters on a business trip to Frankfurt. When I reach there after 12 hours, I can not see any noticeable sign of dirt. To be very sure about this, I put the same mask on during my flight back. Now it accumulated a total 24 hours of use in the plane. Judging from the color of the filter it is still very clean.

My conclusion? The air inside that coach is MUCH worst than the air inside the plane. It seems the air filter on plane is much more effective than those on buses, if the buses have any air filter at all.

24 hours of use in a plane

Read more:
TOTOBOBO, the fitting mask for children
How to customize TOTOBOBO mask?
Advanced features of TOTOBOBO mask

Tagged as: bus, coach, filters, in cabin pollution, plane, travel

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School bus in USA

Every day, half a million school buses safely carry 24 million American children to school, field trips and athletic events.

Unfortunately, most buses are powered by diesel engines that actually pollute the air inside the bus. Studies show the pollution gets trapped inside the bus, where kids breathe it in.
Soot from two sources

Pollution come from emissions from the tailpipe and from the engine. Engine emissions (also referred to as crankcase emissions) enter the school bus cabin mostly through the door and the floorboard.

Because the door is right near the engine, engine emissions get sucked into the school bus, every time the door opens.
Unhealthy diesel exhaust

Diesel engines spew out nearly 40 toxic substances, smog-forming emissions and particulate matter (PM), better known as soot. Coarse and fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) are breathed deeply into the lungs where they can lodge, creating serious, even life-threatening health problems (more on the health effects of soot and the problem with diesel).

Children are at particular risk because their lungs are still developing. Kids also breathe two times more air per pound of body weight than adults do. The damage to young lungs can result in reduced lung function by adulthood and other dangerous health problems.

Particle Pollution Health Risks

• aggravated asthma
• lung inflammation
• heart problems
• possible cancer
• premature death

Children receive an extra dose of pollution twice a day

pollution in school bus

Children riding buses older than 2007 models receive an extra dose of pollution on each ride: monitoring shows that the diesel pollution inside a typical school bus can be up to five times higher than the outside air.

Unless your child’s school bus has been retrofitted with a filter or your child is riding on a brand new 2007 school bus, chances are, your child is breathing in unhealthy pollution levels.
Solutions are at hand

Science indicates that even short-term exposure to elevated particulate levels can have detrimental health effects. The good news is that children do not have to be exposed to diesel school bus pollution. Cost-effective solutions are available. Four Steps to Cleaner Buses.
To cut harmful soot pollution by 90 percent, a bus can be replaced with a new 2007 engine model year bus or retrofitted with a filtering device on the tailpipe, called a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

Engine emissions can easily be eliminated with a crankcase ventilation system (CCVS). A CCVS reroutes the engine emissions to the engine air intake preventing harmful emissions from escaping into the air and the bus cabin.

While working on the long term solution, the immediate action you can take is to install a personal filter for your children. TOTOBOBO mask is the only fitting mask design with the need of children in mind. The filter is effective to 94% in filtering out PM10 and PM2.5 particulates from the diesel soots.

Source: CLEAN SCHOOL BUS

Read more about TOTOBOBO mask for children :

The best fitting mask for children

Say no to pollution in school buses

time for a better mask for children

protect children from incense smoke

How to’s

How to customize TOTOBOBO mask for your children?

How to wash TOTOBOBO mask for reuse?

How to check the mask-to-face-seal without fit-test equipment?

Buy TOTOBOBO mask for children

Tagged as: children, diesel, PM10, PM2.5, pollution, school bus, soot, tailpipe

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Cycling is the most energy efficient form of transportation and is health generating. However traffic pollution in many cities are simply getting out of control. Using a pollution mask is a practical solution before all these pollution problems get fixed.

If your commuting route can not avoid major traffics, wearing a fitting mask will help to significantly reduce your exposure to the dangerous smog. However, if the solution is so simple there should be a lot more people using a mask right now. The problem is, most masks are simply not effective in the context of a cyclist.

Nagaraj an experienced cyclist from Bangalore, India did a detail study to compare the Respro mask with TOTOBOBO mask. His list of consideration is a good reference for all cyclists:

Respro mask _________________________________________ TOTOBOBO mask

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FIT & SEAL - does the mask fit the face perfectly and form a good seal? If not, the mask is not effective.

FILTER - does it cut out sub-micron particulates? What about CO and other harmful gases?

COMFORT - is it easy to breath through the mask? Is it too heavy on the face? Does it create a lot of condensation inside the mask?

EASE OF USE - is the mask easy to put on? is it easy to clean for reuse? Is it easy to carry in a pocket?

COST - what is the cost of the mask? What is the cost of the disposable filter?

AVAILABILITY - is the mask and the filters readily available?

His verdict is both TOTOBOBO mask and Respro mask are much better than other popular offer in their market. Respro has the advantage of filtering out CO and other harmful gases, thanks to the Dynamically Activated Charcoal Cloth (DACC). The velcro strap is also easier to get a suitable fit. On the other hands, TOTOBOBO mask is easier to breath through, lighter and is substantially lower cost.

In fact when you are considering a mask to cut out air pollution, there are other choices. But they all have their drawbacks.

For example, although disposable N95 mask is lightweight and relatively cheap, it gets expensive if you need to use it everyday.

Reusable gas mask seals better and may be more economical in the long run, but they look horrible on the street and is too heavy-duty for the task. In any case, without a fit test you can never tell if they really fit your face. If the mask is not fitting well and forming a good face seal, particulates floating in the air will go straight into your lung through the leaks.

N95 mask __________________________________________  Reusable gas mask

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.

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Therefore a good solution for cyclist needs to address the short comings within an acceptable cost.

Here is a short list of useful features of TOTOBOBO mask for cyclist (and motorcyclist):

Electrolet filter - imported from Europe, provide good filtering for very fine particulates (0.3 micron or even smaller). No mask can cut all pollutants 100%, we choose to focus on SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) because it is the most worrying. The fine particulates (PM2.5) is known to cause severe damage to the lungs and is associate with increase of cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that there is no safe level for particulate matter emissions.

Ultra flexible strap- the almost invisible strap is deceptively flimsy, but it is 3 times more enduring than rubber and can be stretched up to 4 times it’s length for over 5000 times without breaking. It provide some cool utilities apart from being comfortable:

- Quick switch on and off the mask with one hand while you are cycling. Pull and shift the mask down a little to break the seal to switch off the mask when you don’t need it. Shift it back in position to switch on the mask when you enter a heavy pollution zone- non-stop cycling.
- Pull off the mask with one hand. Just pull the upper strap over your head and let the mask hanging on your neck- without stopping the bike. (You do need to stop to put it back on this time)

Flexible mask- adaptive to breathing technique - some people enjoy a good workout with cycling, they need more oxygen and breath harder. The flexible mask facilitate the following breathing technique:
- open the mouth to inhale, stretch the mask (up & down direction) will tighten the seal to ensure good filtering.
- close the mouth and exhale with the nose, to break the seal for an easy exhale.
This breathing technique is especially important in hot weather because it can reduce the heat and moisture inside the mask. TOTOBOBO is the “coolest” mask in the market but one still need to pull all the tricks to make it bearable to wear a mask in hot weather - I do admit wearing a mask can never be as comfortable as not wearing one.

Adaptive to different face size - this feature is benefiting for the shops as well as the users. Shop owners don’t need to stock up multiple sizes and users can customize it to fit their face as closely as possible.

Easy washed and clean - it can be wash and can be wipe clean and dry instantly. Very handy if you are in a hurry.

Anti-virus - you never know what you may be catching along the road. The TOTOBOBO mask is made of Silver ion based anti virus material. Stop any virus grow on the mask.

In all there are 12 features that are attractive for cyclists use:

Do you have other needs as a cyclist?

Hear what our users said:

Your anti-pollution masks came in very useful in India! We’ve tested the masks in Delhi, the Indian countryside and Calcutta - used one filter for a day’s cycling in each place - and we got varying shades of brown. The masks were comfortable for an hour or two, when we used them longer periods of cycling they were ok but started to get wet inside (especially that it was very hot here) and became less comfortable. But that’s still preferable to breathing the air of Calcutta or most other Indian cities.
Goska Romanowicz & Hervé Bonnaveira -
Cycling across Asia from France on a year long eco-cycling trip

It is very effective. It seals your nose and mouth completely. With the pollution levels in Bangalore, within 45 minutes of its usage, the filters turned black for me.

Nagaraj Pudukotai - Banglor, India

More advanced features of TOTOBOBO mask

How to customize TOTOBOBO mask to fit your face?

How to clean TOTOBOBO mask for reuse?

Buy TOTOBOBO mask

Tagged as: 0.3 micron, 2- masks, anti pollution, cycling, cyclist, easy clean, gas mask, India, n95, traffic pollution, user seal check

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After some time of use, any face mask will get dirty. TOTOBOBO mask is praised by many woodturner users as light-weight, easy to clean. Here is a simple step-by-step illustration to show how you can do the cleaning under a tap. Make sure you clean your hands before you start cleaning the mask.

  

1. release the filter cap

There is a hinge-hook near the tip of the mask. Release the other two clip first before hinge open the filter cap.

  

2. apply soap

Apply soap thoroughly inside and outside of the mask.

  

3. rinse

Rinse the mask, inside and out thoroughly.

  

4. rinse inside of the mask

  

5. drying the mask with a clean tissue paper

If you are in a hurry, dry the mask with a clean tissue paper.

  

6. leave it in clean and dry air for a while

If you have time, simply leave the mask to dry in a clean environment.

  

7. insert new filters

Now hinge on the filter cap, insert a new filter pair, and you are ready to go again.

More advanced features of TOTOBOBO mask

How to customize TOTOBOBO mask to fit your face?

Buy TOTOBOBO mask

Tagged as: easy clean, reusable mask, washable mask

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TOTOBOBO mask can be cut to size

TOTOBOBO mask is the only “customizable” respirator in the market. The mask will fit most adults. If you need to fit the mask to your 5 years old child or anyone with a smaller face, it is possible by following the simple steps illustrated here:

Note: Use a pair of clean and sharp scissors. Wash your hand before you start.

First you need to decide how small you want to trim the mask. You can do a quick estimate by covering the mask on the user’s face, or better, get a TOTOBOBO dummy mask set. If you are not sure about the final size, you may trim the mask one ring at a time.

1 - start the cut from the bottom of the mask

2 - insert the scissors into one side of the opening

3 - following the contour and work your way up

4 - turning around to the other side

5 - following the contour till you reach the starting point

6 - almost done

7 - see! you've got your small mask now

Tagged as: children mask, customize, cut to size, female mask, trim to size

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Document title
Predictive value of the user seal check in determining half-face respirator fit

Author(s)

DERRICK J. L. (1) ; CHAN Y. F. (1) ; GOMERSALL C. D. (1) ; LUI S. F. (2) ;

Author(s) Affiliation(s)
(1) Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, HONG-KONG
(2) Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, HONG-KONG
Résumé / Abstract

Guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization state that healthcare workers should wear N95 masks or higher-level protection during all contact with suspected cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Before use, the manufacturer recommends performing a user seal check to ensure that the mask is fitted correctly. This study aimed to test the ability of the user seal check to detect poorly fitting masks. This study is a retrospective review of a mask-fitting programme carried out in the intensive care unit of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong. In this programme, all staff were tested with two types of N95 mask and one type of N100 mask. The results of the documented user seal check were then compared with the formal fit-test results from a PortaCount. Using a PortaCount reading of 100 as the criterion for a correctly fitted mask, the user seal check wrongly indicated that the mask fitted on 18-31% of occasions, and wrongly indicated that it did not fit on 21-40% of occasions. These data indicate that the user seal check should not be used as a surrogate fit test. Its usefulness as a pre-use test must also be questioned.

Revue / Journal Title
The Journal of hospital infection ISSN 0195-6701

Source:

Tagged as: PortaCount, Prince of Wales Hospital, SARS, user seal check

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If you purchase a TOTOBOBO mask between September 1st~17th from this site, please check if you have received a defective mask. The problem is the whole filter tend to fall off very easily. It is easy to check: refer to the photo here: try to open up the mask by graping both filters, the mask should be opened without the filter dropping off. If the filter detached from the mask without much force, then the mask is defective. Please contact totobobomask (at) gmail . com to arrange for replacement mask.

We’ve taken immediate steps to correct this problem. Masks purchased after September 17 are free from such defect.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Checking if TOTOBOBO mask is defective (view from bottom of the mask)

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    Totobobo mask was spotted in NIOSH NO-FIT-TEST workshop page

I was surpriced when my friend show me this page in CDC site. NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health under CDC, is the US organization who certify the well known N95 mask. What made TOTOBOBO, a little known Singapore invention of respirator mask, appears in this heavy weight website?

No, TOTOBOBO is not certified by NIOSH, at least not yet. The picture of an early version of TOTOBOBO mask found in the NIOSH website is to serve as an inspirational example for a “No Fit Test” filtering facepiece respirator workshop. The workshop will be conducted in Nov. 6 later this year and the objective is:

“To better understand the interdisciplinary research needs and challenges in developing and certifying a universal “no-fit-test” filtering-facepiece respirator”

I think this is totally appropriate and it shows NIOSH recgonize the need to improve the current procedure in order to motivate manufacturers to innovate toward the direction of “No fit test” respirator. 

Why is this big fuss about “No fit Test”?

If you read carefully the fine text of your respirator instruction, you will notice a statement similar to this:

“Before use of this respirator, a written respiratory protection program must be implemented meeting all the requirements of OSHA 29 CFR 1910,134 such as training, fit testing, medical evaluation, and applicable OSHA substance specific standards.” 

The simple fact is, the rated protection value will be drastically reduced if the mask does not fit your face, and there is no other ways to tell except by doing a fit-test. Buying a mask is easy, but getting a mask fit-tested on each individual is a challenge. In emergency situation like flu pandemic or haze outbreak, it is simply not possible to get everyone a fit tested at once. 

One can start to sense the “pain of fit test” and how touchy this issue is from the following comment in one of the NIOSH science blog :

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Hopeful to see Fit-Test to be lifted- Edward Hernandez, City of Hialeah, Fire Rescue says:- Thank you for proposing a study as this. For a while now this OSHA (Fit-test) requirement  has been a burden to our Fire/EMS service.

Hopeful to see Fit Test to be simplified-Peggie Reinhardt, RN BSN, says:

I would be interested in this study, we currently fit test our employees annually. If this process could be shortened or redesigned so that it was easier to do would help tremendously.

Fighting to keep Fit-Test in organization- Sgt. Julie Love says:

I would be interested in being part of this study on the law enforcement side. We fit test our officers annually but many departments do not. Law Enforcment traditionally has fallen down in this area as many agencies just give their officers their masks without any fit testing. We also fight the battle with our management with what is mandated.

Worry that No-Fit-Test= Not Safe-Kevin MacDonald says:

 I am concerned that changing the fit test frequency while cost effective may defeat its overall purpose. when fit testing went from every 6 months to one year as a requirement of OSHA it was a step back.

Confused and concern-Kelly Russell says:

I am glad this study is being done. Respiratory fit testing is expensive for employers and it will be good to have a current answer when asked why we have to do the testing so often….or maybe not so often as the case may be.

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No matter what, the setting up of this workshop itself is already a breakthrough, and we are definitively happy to be associate with the solution side of the problem. We hope the result of the workshop will bring more practical innovation into the design and certification of respirator, especially taking people like housewife and children who don’t have access to fit-test equipment but also deserved to have good protection when situation come.

Tagged as: 2- fit-test, CDC, filtering facepiece, n95, NIOSH, no-fit-test, OSHA, OSHA 29 CFR 1910-134

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TOTOBOBO new price announcement

Tagged as: Dust Bee Gone, I Can Breathe, price, Respro

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