Cleanroom Gowning Levels

November 30, 2022

inside cleanroom, cleanroom hood, cleanroom jacket

Figure 1. Cleanroom Garments

Why do we wear special garments in cleanroom? Humans constantly giving off particles. We accumulate dust, pollen, mold etc. in our hair, on our clothes, on our skin, and on our shoes. Cleanroom garments encapsulate the particles to keep them from contaminating the cleanroom.

There are two primary levels of cleanroom garments.

inside cleanroom, cleanroom bouffant, mask, jacket

Figure 2. Cleanroom Bouffant and Jacket

For lower classification cleanrooms such as ISO7/class 10k and ISO8/class 100k, a lower more comfortable level of cleanroom garments can suffice. The typical garments you may see are cleanroom frock, cleanroom bouffant (head cover), cleanroom shoe covers, gloves, and goggles/eye protection.

Figure 3. Cleanroom Bunny Suit

For higher classification cleanrooms such as ISO5/class 100, ISO6/class 1000, a more extensive level of cleanroom garments is necessary. Typical garments you may see in these cleanrooms are cleanroom bunny suits/coveralls, cleanroom hoods, cleanroom boot covers, gloves, and goggles.

There are washable and disposable cleanroom garments.
ISO7/ISO8 cleanroom personnel commonly wear disposable cleanroom apparel constructed using a polyolefin fiber (Tyvek). They are typically worn once or only a few times then thrown away. They are cheaper but less comfortable than washable garment options.

ISO5/ISO6 cleanroom personnel typically wear washable cleanroom garments. After several uses (typically one week worth) they are sent to off-site cleanroom laundry services to be cleaned. These garments are made from 100% continuous filament polyester and continuous filament polyester/carbon combination yarns to minimize particle shedding from the yarn. The benefit of washable cleanroom garments are that they breath better and are more comfortable.

Other cleanroom garment types:

Static dissipative lab coats
Grounding wrist straps
Cleanroom shoe covers with grounding tabs
Cleanroom shoes (no exposed cloth material& more comfortable than cleanroom booties).
Chemical suits for washing cleanroom walls

Property American Cleanroom Systems 2022

The author Anthony Chien has worked at American Cleanroom Systems for the past 10 years. He has more than 40 years of cleanroom experience. Anthony has a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering specializing in semiconductor manufacturing from the University of Illinois. American Cleanroom Systems is a design-build modular cleanroom manufacturer based in Rancho Santa Margarita CA. American Cleanroom Systems is your expert in ISO-5 thru ISO-8 (class 100 to class 100k) modular cleanrooms for pharmaceutical cleanrooms, medical device cleanrooms, and industrial cleanrooms.