N95 masks in Taiwan

Hi,

I tried the search but couldn’t come up with anything. It is yet another post related to lovely Taipei air quality :bow:

Sometimes the pollution is getting a bit much and the surgical masks don’t cut it anymore. So I am looking for N95 masks in Taipei. Does anybody have an idea where to buy them?

Some information about N95 masks: myhealthbeijing.com/china-pu … e-fit-test

They should filter 95% of particles where size > 0.3µm, so that should (easily) get the PM2.5µm stuff.

Thanks

You really need one of these if you want good protection against pollution or environmental hazards…

solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e … gv%29&rt=d

I can’t imagine someone wearing them daily… not to mention cartridge generally costs around 400nt a set… You can get P100 filters for them that works well against dust however and it lasts longer.

Surgical masks are NOT intended for protection against environmental hazard!! They are intended for health workers or patients to prevent them from transmitting airborne disease to others. B&Q sells N95 masks but to be honest with you it is very uncomfortable to wear.

Well, surgical masks only protect you from dust. No effect on polution whatsoever. So if you are really concerned about pollution, you can forget about a surgical mask (which doesn’t even has a seal against your skin). The amount of people here in Taiwan wearing surgical masks to “avoid pollution” is ludicrous, and most of them really want to believe that they really work (and they don’t listen to you if you tell them otherwise).

The one Taiwan Luthiers recommends might work better in your case, if you take the appropiate filters for it. You should look for the heavy-duty replaceable filters (which get saturated with the noxious gas and particles and have to be changed often).

1 Like

There are three links at the top of the page for air pollution protection:
aqicn.org/mask/

N95 were the latest rage during SARS. They used to sell them in every drugstore/pharmacy/10nt store. Nowadays, there must be dusty old boxes somewhere in any of those establishments. Or your usual hardware store, from what used to be B&Q to small neighborhood Pop and Mom shops.

For options, try this place: Shanghai Pharmacy
衡陽路32號 Hengyang Rd., No. 32
5 minutes from NTUH MRT Station, green line. Between Boai road -camera street- and Zhongxin -bookstore street. A stone’s throw the Presidential Palace, so dunno if the roads will be closed lately

I ran across a very stylish Vogmask anti-pollution mask that appears to get the job done. I’m actually going to purchase a couple to test them out. They carry several models which meet NIOSH N99 and N95 standards.

I’m a big fan of Totobobo (totobobo.com), a Singaporean brand which ships cheaply to Taiwan. The mask itself is comparable in price to others on the market, but the filters are cheaper, easy to replace, far less wasteful. The mask itself is easy to clean and will last as long as you take good care of it. Also, if parts like the straps break, and it takes lots of time and effort to do that, you can buy replacements. It’s small, lightweight, easy to breathe through, air doesn’t leak in from around the edges of the mask, and it doesn’t collapse on your face and effectively suffocate you as you’re sweating in the heat and humidity of summer.

Honestly just get the 3M dual cartridge respirator and a set of P100 filters… the respirator is comfortable to wear (compared to N95 masks its night and day). It has low breathing resistance so it filters incoming air and expels spent air quickly, so you’ll never be breathing 50% stale air from your lungs. It’s actually designed for hazardous environment. The only problem with them is they don’t look all that good… you wear them and people think there’s a chemical war or something.

3M masks costs about 1400nt that includes a set of organic vapor filter, prefilter, mask, etc. and a set of P100 filter is about 200nt. The P100 filter should last a very long time. You should not need organic vapor cartridge unless you do spray painting. By the way the P100 standard is much stricter than the N95 standard.

You can still buy soft 3M N95 masks in many pharmacies and some bigger hardware stores. They tend to be about $100 ea if you buy them individually, though. I got a box of these 3M Vflex masks, which are comfortable to wear and fit well, from a hardware store near Taipei Train Station. It works out to about $20 NT each for a box of 50, which is probably the cheapest you can get them.

A very late thank you to everybody who posted!

It would be quite amazing that in a city like Taipei, with 2.6+ million, no one has opened a specialty mask shop or stand. The market for this still currently ‘niche’ product should be large enough to warrant at least one by now. A dedicated specialty shop conveys the message that they’ve done the research for the customer, unlike a hardware store where the choice of what to buy, what’s the most suitable mask for the application, takes more effort for the consumer.

We here on Forumosa may need to maintain an informative thread, a separate designated area on this topic where forumosans and very likely others (we’ve excellent SEO) may find info on this subject. Perhaps this is it now, though I encourage a slightly more simple and perhaps common search phrase “Pollution Masks”, i.e. Forums Index ‹ Life ‹ Pollution Masks.

Elevating awareness of effective masks and styles would at once provide protection for those that adopt them and, just as importantly, send a message to the wider public that there is truly a serious problem, an early step in the process to a better energy policy and controlling emissions. It seems too much of a reach to look to change the latter when public awareness has not even reached a sufficient level to wear effective masks.

Perhaps a Shanghai entrepreneur with a business in masks might offer an enormous sum to one of the major Taiwan news outlets to carry air quality warnings and mask day recommendations.

2 Likes

lets all go outside wearing gas masks, if enough people do it people will know there’s a real problem, perhaps start a panic

1 Like

Sadly, you’ll be regarded as just an eccentric foreigner.

Would hope to find out more about these masks, user reviews, test, ordering…
youtube.com/watch?v=ebv1hnuDzfs

The Totobobo masks are well regarded and seem to offer some distinct advantages. I’ve yet to obtain one. From an aesthetic standpoint, I must say, they do look intimidating…they have what strikes me as a very unpleasant medical look. Perhaps this is just the right message to send though. On the other hand, according to my experience here in Taiwan, friendly appearances in all manner of design and communication carry a lot of weight. These appear far too much like equipment from the intensive care unit. The seal that the rubber/polymer provides is surely superior to a less sterile appearing fabric-based design, and that’s the trade-off.

After the spike in pollution today and yesterday, I decided to get myself a mask. I went for the simple 3M N90-series model, which, according to the comparison linked from the My Health Beijing blog, stopped about 95% of the PM2.5 in the test.

Haven’t worn it yet but with a valve on top it surely does look intimidating. Hopefully people will think I am wearing it due to some communicable disease and make more space around me on the MRT. :slight_smile:

bnq and hola sells two kinds. one n95 by 3m without a ventilation. about 100 nt. another n95 by 3m with a small ventilator. 120nt i think.

I’ve also seen some different brands n95 on www.pchome.com.tw

I got mine from a hardware store by the Taipei Main Station, which I found through Ruten. The address is 太原路50之2號 (#50-2 Taiyuan Rd). Mine is a 9002V (“90xx” for N90, and the “V” is for valve). The price was $35 for one or $650 for the whole box (25 pcs. @ $26 ea.). It seems they also had other models, although not listed on Ruten.

This PDF from 3M has an explanation on how the models differ:
multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/9298 … osures.pdf

I have a valved version of the 3M 9001, among others. Valves are not always a necessity, but seal and face fit are critical, and when the seal is sufficient, heat and moisture build-up will occur, a problem which the valve addresses. When wearing any non-valved N90 (or above) mask and not encountering this problem, then this is clear indication that your seal is poor, and the mask is not functioning properly. Conversely, it is this poor seal that makes the common useless surgical mask or cheap scooter mask so comfortable to the wearer. Just a tip.

Over the past several months, I’ve intensely explored the subjects of pollution and mask design, acquiring over 20 different masks. I’ve had some correspondence with Dr. Richard Saint Cyr (My Health Beijing) as well and have been commenting with him on Quora on the topic of N95 masks and pollution: quora.com/Do-N95-masks-help- … -pollution

In the process now of setting up a website addressing these topics in a kind of review format to cover the variety of masks available, supply links to relevant studies, and generally create more awareness around what is – and what is not – an effective mask to deal with pollution. PM2.5 will be discussed almost ad nauseum, as this is where we have the most data on its negative health effects at the moment, and it’s what the W.H.O. and much of the medical community now considers to be the single most critical element of pollution (which is itself multi-faceted and varies widely in composition) to filter for.

The 3M Aura series is quite unique and impressive, gaining high marks in all areas. It’s a new design, functionally superior to the Totobobo, and well worth trying out (valved or non-valved): solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e … /Aura9300/

It’s not readily available in Taiwan - very few pharmacies currently carry it. You can get one unvalved version at National Taiwan University Hospital, in the pharmacy on the basement level of the new building. If you have a chance, talk directly to the manager (we’ve met a few times, and she’s quite aware of the reality that most people really don’t understand which masks are effective for pollution) and let her know why you’re buying this - that it’s an informed decision.

I think they do help. There are ones good designs on the market.

Since this ancient thread is going to come in handy soon:

Carrefour Nangang is out, used to have them last week.

B&Q Neihu is sold out, too.

Neihu RT Mart 1&2 sold out, except for a few N95 has mask type thingies @299NT in #2’s home improvement section.

In neihu Carrefour a lot was left, but a family of HKers is buying up all useful masks right now. Whole shopping cart full :rofl: