Fog-Proofing Your Goggles
The biking and hockey worlds have solutions for preventing foggy facemasks. August 14, 2007
Question
Is there such a thing as truly fog-proof goggles for use in high temperature/high humidity conditions such as dry kilns? Our kiln operator is complaining of eye irritation, possibly from the vapors from lumber that has been dipped. All the anti-fog goggles we have tried so far are worthless.
Forum Responses
(Dust Collection and Safety Equipment Forum)
From contributor B:
Your solution might come in the form of a face-shield respirator. The devices have a full-face visor which seals around the face, and constantly supplies a flow of filtered air to the face.
From Curt Corum, forum technical advisor:
When I was younger, I played a lot of ice hockey. Due to numerous facial injuries, they finally made face protection mandatory, except for the pros. Some of us opted for a cage mask, but others preferred the clear half or full mask. All of the sudden, fogging was a major problem. I recall that the guys used a small can of anti fog spray which worked very well. Believe me, a lot of heat and steam went up into those visors. As mentioned, face-shield respirator doesn't fog as much due to constant flow of fresh air. Maybe a cartridge can be added to remove the vapors.
From contributor S:
As a motorcycle rider, fogging in the face shield is a concern. There are glue-on anti-fog liners for face shields, and there are some pretty good sprays that you can reapply as needed, all of which would be available at any decent motorcycle parts department. But in all honesty, the best anti-fogging agent I have found is dish soap. Apply it to the inside of your shield like you would liquid wax... wipe on, polish off. The soap film prevents water vapor from "beading", which is the fog we see on face shields. Try it. One word of caution, though: Use a dish soap that either has no scent or at least a scent you can live with all day.
