Comparison of disposable/reusable garments

In various publications on the subject of "Disposable garments for cleanroom use", the impression has been – and still is – conveyed that there are many technical arguments in favour of using disposable garments from well-known manufacturers without restrictions even in cleanroom class ISO 5 (in accordance with ISO 14644-1). However, anyone who examines this statement, application in classes ISO 5 or 6 more closely, will quickly come across an essential detail that calls into question the unconditional use of disposable garments. In most cases, disposable garments are not decontaminated after production. All impurities from the manufacturing process thus enter the respective cleanrooms 1: to 1 without hindrance. We took this as an opportunity to check in our own test cleanroom "Body-Box" to what extent disposable garments are generally suitable for cleanroom use, especially with regard to particle emission.

Certainly there are special areas of application where the use of cleanroom suitable disposable garments are still useful. It is important, however, that in critical areas (starting with class ISO 6 or better, or ISO 4) care should be taken to ensure that disposable garments have been appropriately decontaminated before packing. Only pre-cleaned disposable garments (material 2) are qualitatively, in terms of particle emission, comparable to decontaminated reusable garments (material 7).

There are considerable qualitative differences between the various disposable garment systems on the market with regard to their particle emission, which a user should definitely examine more closely and adjust to his requirements before using them in his cleanroom.

We would be pleased to advise you personally on this topic!