Personal Protective Equipment For Spray Foam Insulation Contractors

If you work with spray foam insulation professionally, you know how important personal protective equipment (PPE) is to the job. Between protecting your lungs, skin, clothes, and eyes, you need to invest in a lot of gear. Whether you’re starting your journey as a contractor or are looking for new brands, this article will have something for you.

South Central Services has insulated hundreds of homes in and around Greencastle, PA with spray foam insulation. During these hundreds of jobs, we’ve identified these 6 pieces of gear as necessary to our work. For some pieces of equipment, our team has preferred brands. For others, any brand will do.

By the end of this article, you’ll know the 6 pieces of PPE you need as a spray foam insulation contractor. You’ll also know any relevant brands to consider purchasing from.

Respirators For Lung Protection

A respirator is one of the most essential pieces of gear for installing spray foam insulation. Spray foam is created through a chemical reaction. A normal byproduct of that reaction is off-gassing fumes. Even though the fumes are expected, they should not be inhaled.

As contractors, we are at the greatest risk of exposure to off-gassing fumes over time. To protect our lungs, we need a reliable respirator to ensure a constant supply of fresh air.

Our crew members at South Central Services use respirators from 3M. Spray foam technicians have to hook up to the fresh air system. For these respirators, we use respiratory products from Allegro.

We prefer these brands because of their fit, comfort, visibility, and cartridge availability. You can learn more about choosing a respirator using our guide for contractors.

Disposable Coveralls For Clothes And Skin Protection

People who work with spray foam daily understand how overspray can cling to hair, clothes, and skin. While overspray poses no particular health risks, removing it can be a nuisance.

To protect our skin and clothes, we use disposable coveralls. These products, also known as disposable jumpsuits, can create a lightweight barrier between ourselves and overspray. Many companies sell disposable coveralls, but our team prefers coveralls from DuPont. We have found that DuPont coveralls are durable, fairly priced, and offer good protection from the chemicals.

Moon Suits For Longer Clothes And Skin Protection

As necessary as disposable coveralls are, spray foam installers sometimes need protection that will last a little longer. When our crew needs a more durable coverall, we turn to moon suits.

Spray foam moon suits are still breathable but offer more durability. These moon suits can be washed and reused. Rather than using 5 to 10 pairs of disposable coveralls, crew members can use a moon suit for 1 to 2 weeks. At South Central Services, our moon suit of choice is from SAS Safety Corporation.

SAS moon suits offer increased durability and increased comfort. When worn for multiple days, moon suits are fairly priced.

Nitrile Gloves For Hand Protection

Many construction trades encourage wearing gloves while on the job. Gloves protect our hands from the dirt and grime of our work. When working with spray foam, the most critical part of a glove is its thickness.

Not only is a thicker glove more durable, but a thicker glove also protects from the cleaners used on a foam rig. Our crew at South Central Services uses nitrile gloves with a minimum thickness of 6 mil. We’ve found that the brand does not matter as much as the thickness, but you can view a sample 6 mil nitrile glove at Home Depot.

Head Socks For Head And Hair Protection

Protecting your head when you're around spray foam insulation is essential, whether there's hair on your head or not. Not only can overspray cling to your hair, but wearing a respirator can irritate your scalp. Your hair may be pulled as you move the respirator mask on and off, or the straps may dig into your head.

Head socks help to provide a layer between your head and everything else. A head sock can alleviate some of the discomfort of a respirator and protect your hair.

Like nitrile gloves, we have not found a brand that stands out to the point of recommendation. Searching for spray foam head socks will bring up plenty of options. From there, we'd recommend choosing the least expensive head sock.

Safety Glasses For Eye Protection

If you aren't wearing a full face respirator, your eyes will be exposed to the open air. Like many other trades, eye protection is a must. Eyes are sensitive areas of the body; even a tiny droplet of overspray could cause severe irritation.

South Central Services does not have a brand of safety glasses that we recommend. Using a full face respirator is ideal. However, if you have to use a half mask respirator, you’ll need to pair it with some safety glasses.

The Bottom Line About PPE For Spray Foam Contractors

Spray foam insulation contractors must wear personal protective equipment. Installing spray foam can be hazardous, but the risks are seriously mitigated by wearing the appropriate gear. In our time spraying foam, we have found the products from 3M, Allegro, DuPont, and SAS Safety Corporation to be reliable. However, there is some PPE that is indistinguishable from brand to brand.

Interested in becoming a spray foam installer? Join our team at South Central Services! We're located in Greencastle, PA. Our crew services counties in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.