Gowning procedures begin at home with daily bathing or showering, shaving, brushing of teeth and hair, and application of non-silicone containing skin moisturizers to reduce skin flakes. All make-up, hair gels, hair sprays, perfumes, aromatic after-shave lotions, or body lotions are not cleanroom compatible and therefore unacceptable to wear to work. At work, all employees must wash hands before entering the cleanroom and after eating and/or using the toilet.Cleanroom compatible hand cream may be applied prior to gowning.

 Gowning procedures may vary depending upon cleanroom applications; however the gowning sequence is basically similar to:

Donning Sequence 

• Wash and dry hands.
• Enter non-sterile gowning area.
• Put on bouffant. Assure all hair is entrained under bouffant.
• Walk over tacky mat to remove excess soil from shoes.
• Put on disposable shoecovers.
• Put on first set of “donning” gloves.
• Walk to gowning area.
• Don hood. Touch only inside of the hood. Slide hood from cleanroom bag.
• Completely cover bouffant. Fit snuggly with vertical and horizontal snaps in back of hood. Don facemask.
• Don coverall. Do not let it touch the floor or walls.
• Grasp inside neck of coverall and slide coverall from cleanroom bag. Allow coverall to unfold. Unzip zipper to the full length. Begin rolling coverall backwards into a tube gathering the sleeves inside the roll. Gather up one leg. Place foot in one leg and pull up to thigh. Do the same with the other leg. Pull coverall up to waist. Begin unrolling top of coverall. Slide in one arm and roll coverall over back and shoulders. Slide in other arm. Zip up coverall. Snap at collar and ankles.
• Don boots. Place hand on inside of boot top. Remove one boot from cleanroom bag.
• Put on boot and step to “cleaner” side of gown area.
• Place hand inside of other boot top. Remove other boot from cleanroom bag. Put on boot and step to “cleaner” side of gown area. Pull up boot tops. Snap around calf area and snap to back of coverall.
• Don goggles or shield.
• Either remove donning gloves or put on second pair of gloves over first pair. Roll gloves over cuffs of coverall sleeves.

Doffing

Reverse the above procedure. Place disposable items in trash. Place reusable coverall, hood, and boots in proper receptacle. Place goggles in separate receptacle. Exit gowning area. In cases of emergency evacuation, personnel are instructed to immediately leave the cleanroom without doffing cleanroom garments.

After donning cleanroom garments personnel may walk through air showers or other pressurized, interlocked air locks to protect the integrity of the cleanroom from cross-contamination of lesser cleanroom areas.