A ‘clean room’ is a highly controlled area designed to minimize the introduction of airborne particles and microbes while maintaining temperature, humidity and pressure. Common uses for clean rooms include medical facilities, pharmaceutical operations, food preparation and storage. Clean rooms are designed to protect highly sensitive areas and products. For example, the quality of biopharmaceuticals depends on the absence of contamination from beginning to end of the production process.
In any clean room or clean application, contamination control starts at the entrance – and high-performance doors are the best options to address the door demands in clean environments.
‘Clean’ Door Considerations
Here’s what to consider when selecting doors for your clean room or clean application.
Products Being Manufactured
Depending on what you’re manufacturing, your clean room might need stainless steel door frames and/or components. For example, pharmaceutical clean rooms generally have more stringent rules and guidelines, which might require a stainless steel door. However, nutraceutical clean room guidelines are less stringent. Electronics often include microchip areas that can’t be near PVC materials, which means no fabric doors are used nearby.
Location of Doors
Different areas of a clean room might require different door styles and materials. No matter the location, high-performance doors should be mounted on the non-clean room side of the room so the door curtain faces the clean room. This ensures that all moving parts, drives and controls will be outside the clean room to maintain the controlled environment inside.
Egress Requirements
Determine if your facility requires an egress handle on both sides of the door to ensure easy access out of the clean room if necessary.
Designated Pressure in the Area or Airlock
Clean rooms are typically rated in inches of water column (wc). Most clean rooms require a wc of .03” to .06” – or even up to 0.10” or more. Make sure the door you choose is rated appropriately. For example, Rytec’s Pharma-Seal® and Plexline® doors are both rated to 0.10” wc, making them good choices for many clean room applications.
Air Leakage/Air Infiltration Rating
The vast majority of doors leak some amount of air and thus have air infiltration ratings. As such, the inches of water column pressure and door size are assessed when determining the air infiltration rating.
High-Performance Doors for Clean Applications
Unlike traditional doors, high-performance doors are specially designed to meet the requirements of clean applications.
Rytec’s high-performance clean room doors are designed and engineered for cleanliness. The tight seals and high speeds minimize air exchange between areas, while mechanical accessibility and easy-to-clean features are seamlessly integrated into the design. Plus, collection points and conventional seams are minimized, and long life is ensured by using corrosion-resistant and chemical-resistant materials.
The following doors are suggested for clean applications and environments.
Rytec’s Clean-Roll® doors feature stainless steel, removable side columns that can be completely washed down. A hinged drip guard enables cleaning and reduces bacteria build-up, while sloped gutters on the bottom bar prevent liquid contaminants from dripping into pathways. It’s the only UL-listed, high-speed door designed to meet USDA, FDA, NSF and ISO standards. Clean-Roll® doors are ideal for food & beverage processing, manufacturing applications, and pharmaceutical use.
TM doors feature 304 stainless steel and #4 finish removable side frame covers for easy cleaning without tools. The stainless steel components include a bottom bar that allows a complete wipe-down of all surfaces, with full-height weatherseals and a loop seal on the bottom bar to help maintain pressure differentials. They can be manufactured with optional two- or three-ply Rylon® or USDA/FDA-compliant door panels. They’re ideal for food and beverage processing and manufacturing applications. 
The Pharma-Seal® doors are perhaps the tightest-sealing, most reliable, high-performance cGMP-compliant roll-up doors available. The fully enclosed 304 stainless steel hood and side frame covers completely cover typically exposed door components, ensuring compatibility with clean room standards. The entire perimeter seal has a minimal gap for a curtain, with hidden wind knobs and a stainless steel bottom bar with a loop seal. It comes with two-ply USDA/FDA-compliant panels, making it ideal for cGMP and class-rated facilities, pharmaceutical high-cycle environments, food & beverage processing, and manufacturing applications. Plexline® Clean
doors are made with strong composite materials that are corrosion-resistant, chemical-resistant and highly impact-resistant. They feature stainless steel mounting hardware and a bottom bar with hidden fasteners and rounded edges. A full perimeter seal lines each side column, top and bottom. It offers a two-ply USDA/FDA-compliant panel with USDA door components, making it ideal for cGMP, pharmaceutical and food and beverage processing, and manufacturing applications.
Rytec provides a full portfolio of high-performance doors for clean applications and clean rooms. Contact us today to discuss how our high-performance doors can help control the environment in your clean room.
