Advantages and disadvantages of disposable and reusable clothing in the cleanroom

In the cleanroom, particle emissions must be kept as low as possible. However, people are constantly shedding skin flakes and hair. In addition, particles are released from their street clothes through abrasion. For these reasons, special cleanroom clothing must be worn in the cleanroom. Microorganisms can also be – at least partially – retained by such cleanroom clothing.

A large number of garments for the cleanroom are not only available as disposable products, but also as reusable products, such as the following cleanroom garments:

• Overalls
• Coats
• Smock
• Aprons
• Hoods
• Face mask
• Safety goggles
• Arm warmers
• Undergarments/intermediate garments
• Socks
• Overboots
• Overshoes

Street clothing should be replaced in the cleanroom by cleanroom-compatible intermediate clothing or undergarments to prevent abrasion from street clothing and contamination of the cleanroom by dirt that may be on street clothing.

• 100 percent barrier function
• inexpensive

The bacterial and particle filtration efficiency of disposable clothing is higher than that of reusable clothing, as disposable clothing is new and the material is still intact – especially in the absence of pre-washing – which means that the disposable clothing can fulfill its barrier function 100 percent.

Disposable clothing is also cheaper to purchase than reusable clothing. However, the cost advantage is quickly lost if the disposable garments have to be pre-cleaned, especially as disposable garments cannot be cleaned by normal cleanroom laundries. This is because disposable clothing is not actually intended to be washed.

• uncleaned disposable clothing is usually contaminated with particles
• High cleaning costs

Disposable clothing that has not been pre-cleaned is usually contaminated with particles from the production process. The lower the maximum permissible particle concentration in the cleanroom, the greater the problem.

A particular problem is that the contamination from the production process cannot be removed by normal cleanroom laundries, which also drives up cleaning costs.

• Sustainability
• Suitable for washing

Reusable clothing only has to be disposed of after a large number of washing cycles, which is why reusable clothing is more sustainable than disposable clothing.

As reusable clothing is produced for reuse, it is designed in such a way that it is suitable for washing, which is not usually the case with disposable clothing.

• Cleaning management required
• higher acquisition costs
• Barrier function decreases

Reusable clothing must be cleaned after each use, in particular it must be transported to the cleanroom laundry and brought back to the place of use, which requires a certain amount of management.

In addition, the purchase costs for reusable clothing are higher than for disposable clothing.

The bacterial and particle filtration efficiency fluctuates during the lifetime of the reusable garment. This is because the outer material suffers with every wash and sterilization, which impairs the barrier function of the reusable garment and leads to lower particle retention.

From cleanroom class ISO 5, special care should be taken to ensure that the cleanroom clothing – whether disposable or reusable – is “pre-cleaned” in order to introduce as few particles as possible into the cleanroom via the clothing.

Without pre-cleaning the cleanroom garments, there are usually still particles from the production process on the garments.

In the abovo online store you will find both disposable clothing and reusable clothing for the cleanroom. abovo recommends commissioning the textile service provider bardusch AG with the washing of reusable clothing, which takes care of both the professional reprocessing (sterile or non-sterile) and the logistics. bardusch AG has its headquarters and a branch in Basel as well as further branches in Brugg, Yverdon, Yverdon BC, Sierre, Uetendorf and Rheinfelden.

The experts at abovo will be happy to advise you in which cases the use of reusable clothing in the cleanroom is more advantageous than the use of disposable clothing. Simply send us a non-binding e-mail or give us a call.