Does Your Mask Suck?

[DanieRains]

I work in a store in Seattle. Everyone who comes in is required to wear a facemask. Here is the problem....

Probably only 30% or 40% have a mask that is actually doing any good. Over half the people have masks that don't fit, or seal AT ALL.

Their noses stick out, their loose masks fall down, or there is so much room around the sides it is almost pointless to even wear one. Many are trying to do the right thing, but their masks SUCK. S-U-C-K.

I keep boxes of the (blue) triple layer surgical masks around, and give everyone with a crap mask at least one good one for when they are in the store. Even the blue ones don't seal if it isn't tight around the nose, as half the people don't adjust the metal band.

Just tryyinn ta stay alive......

Get a good mask, and wear it properly. The lives you save will be your friends and family, as well as yours.

[Mike 03]

1. I see this too, even some people in my own family.

I've given them N95 and KN95s but they prefer cloth designer masks, even wearing them, in one instance, into a hospital.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

4. In my cloth masks there is

triple layers . One layer is a pouch to insert n95 filters or the 3 ply ones.
I make my mask fit tighter by tying a bit of cord onto the middle of the earloops to connect the earloops around the back of my head. Then I put the ear loops on like usual after tying them and it's tight on the sides and the bottom and top. Than I adjust the metal strip on my nose. It fits nice and tight. Than I put on a face shield on top of that.

[DanieRains]

6. We Have A Winner

There is a chance you just might live.

Just replace the filters as much as necessary.

My wife's friend made a bunch of custom ones out of cloth. Absolutely worthless.

Sounds like you will be safe. Good Luck.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

12. Thanks

I just ordered some new masks made with three layers they have tuxedo cat faces on them. They look like my kitty Othello.

I needed a few more because I barely have loads and I am not doing an entire machine wash for two masks. What I do since hot,hot water,laundry soap is required to make them useable and apparently hand washing isn't enough to clean them..

I get a big pot,fill it with water. Let it get to a boil,
Turn off the heat for a minute than I add a few drops of laundry detergent and wash them in the very hot water stirring them around with a spoon.

Than while they sit in the hot water in one pot ,I get another pot to boil.

By time masks are cool enough to be handled I rinse out the soap in the masks in the sink. Than when the second pot of hot water boils I drop them in it and stir and turn off the heat and let them get cool enough to handle again,wring them out and put them in the dryer on high. I put a clean towel in with the masks to help speed up drying. I do like 5 masks at a time this way. The water is way hotter than the hot water in my machine.

[eleny]

10. Same here with the pocket for a replacement filter

I also sew on a separate channel strip to hold the replacement nose wire. I use the metallic, flat coffee bag strips for a better fitting nose piece. Then it fits nice and it stays in place. Folding down the top to create the nose wire pocket makes a pocket where the nose piece slips around too much.

My masks are the ones with the pleats. I cut them long enough to fit past the chin and they seem to fit snugly all around. It took a little trial and error but now we get good coverage.

[luvs2sing]

2. Another trick for those blue masks..

For those of us with small, narrow faces where the blue masks leave openings around the cheeks even when the nose is adjusted. Knot each ear loop right where it joins to the mask. This makes the mask like a little pouch. When you put it on, you fold the ends of the mask in and it seals nicely.

[soothsayer]

3. I wear a nice fitting cloth mask over a nice fitting blue mask

With the nose pinched properly.

[tanyev]

5. I've been very pleased with these mask extenders.

Takes the pressure off the ears and gives you a nice snug mask fit.

[DanieRains]

7. I Need Some Of These

My friend was gonna bring me some he printed on his 3d printer, but he had to go help his sister. Her husband died from Covid....

Life doesn't always go on.

[tanyev]

8. Amazon.

There are many, many different kinds of course but I thought these looked more comfortable and adjustable than some of the other types. YMMV.


https://www.amazon.com/HX-AURIZE-Extender-Strap-Adjustable/dp/B088R7CPL9/ref=sr_1_68?crid=2C1AYTQVXHQSS&dchild=1&keywords=mask+extenders%2Fear+savers&qid=1602698964&sprefix=mask+e%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-68

[zeusdogmom]

9. My "designer" fabric face masks

Are made from 2 layers of tightly woven good quality quilting cotton with a layer of OLY or non-woven fusible interfacing between layers, metal nose piece, sized and fitted properly to face. Ditto those I make for anyone else. Wash and wear many times. As good as the N95 mask? No. The blue surgical masks? Pretty close, especially those which have a layer of OLY.

The blue surgical are very convienent and great to have on hand. But have you noticed how many of those you see littering the ground? OMG! They are everywhere and it is disgusting. As is any litter. Or maybe it is the people who don't dispose of the masks properly who are disgusting.

Bottom line - the masks of any style and material need to fit and be worn properly.

[Spider Jerusalem]

11. I use a cloth mask with a nose wire, a PM2.5 filter and adjustable ear loops

it has to fit snugly because I wear glasses and they'll fog over if it doesn't (anti-fog spray helps but only up to a point).

[nolabear]

13. One of the better side effects of wearing glasses

Is you have to seal the thing as well as possible against your nose. I must have a dozen masks and hate most of them but I have found some that fit well.

Adjustable ear bands, too.

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. Yep! Two things help a bit, also:

Anti-fog spray and ear hooks for glasses (otherwise they have a tendency to slip because of the ear loops being under the earpieces).

[Buckeye_Democrat]

24. Clear medical tape (hypoallergenic) works great too.

Beyond helping to create a better seal at the top of the mask, the tape prevents the fogging of glasses.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

28. Oooh good idea!

[tavernier]

14. Ok, correct me if I'm wrong...

Lately I have seen articles that say all masks are helpful because if a small fraction of the virus gets through, it is almost like a vaccine effect and one develops a bit of immunity.

[Mariana]

22. That's what my husband's doctor told him.

Early on, when masks were hard to come by, I knocked up some cloth masks for the family, the best I could. The doc said even the crappiest cloth mask is far, far better than nothing. Some of the droplets upon which the viruses ride get caught up in the fabric. The ones that don't are deflected so they lose velocity and don't travel so far. I don't know about "a bit of immunity" but they do impede transmission. None of this applies, of course, if someone's beak is hanging out, or if they pull the mask down to talk or whatever.

[Catherine Vincent]

15. Agree

If you can't get a hold of N95 masks, I think the best alternative are the surgical masks that you tie behind your head and not the ear loops. The ties helps the masks fit more snug on your face.

[Aristus]

16. If it did,

I wouldn't put it on my face...

[Chiyo-chichi]

17. I strap one of these frames over an Olson mask.

https://www.gardentowerproject.com/products/diy-face-mask-frames-family-6-pack?_pos=1&_sid=16383e03e&_ss=r

Works very well to eliminate any gaps.

I use filters made from double layer unscented dry Swiffer duster cloth, which was an early recommendation on a hospital website.

Last week, I swear, I saw a lady in the grocery store who was wearing pink lacy underwear on her face... and the part that “covered” her mouth & nose was just hanging free... not that the lace would do any good even if it were tight. I got away from her as fast as possible!

[JuJuYoshida]

18. After I realized I was gonna be wearing this thing for ahwile

Went out and spent the money on a decent no nonsense mask at Banana Repuplic for about $15. Totally worth it.

[Rice4VP]

20. The mask by itself doesn't work...

in certain scenarios. In the supermarket when you don’t socialize with people, I feel comfortable with just a cloth mask BUT I don’t get within 6 feet of anyone. During the height of the pandemic I would just fold a bandanna in about 5 layers and use that when I went to the supermarket. Would I feel safe in a rally setting or in an ICU with a cloth mask? No

I also have the stylish cloth mask with the pocket for a filter. I feel safer with those. Sometimes I even put the blue disposable surgical ones under my fancy mask

[Amishman]

21. Still working through my pre-covid stash of N95s

Under 20 left though, I might need to go to something else in a couple months

[BainsBane]

23. That's not true

They don't have to be sealed to help. Ever sneeze in a mask? The gunk stays inside rather than spewing on the people around you.

This is the sort of misinformation that prompts people not to wear masks and results in more deaths.

[LisaL]

25. If you want mask to help you, it needs to seal to your face.

That's why nurses and doctors do test fit on their N95 mask.
The better it seals to your face, the better it is also in preventing your germs from getting to others.

[BainsBane]

27. That is categorically false

Certainly sealed masks are better, but masks help regardless. All the info from the WHO says as much.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-and-masks

Here is an NIH article showing that cloth masks do have some efficacy:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27531371/

This evaluated different materials used in cloth masks: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32584542/

Obviously if you are working with COVID patients it's another story, but most of us wear them them to go to the grocery store. Moreover, N95 masks are still in short supply. Medical staff continue to have to reuse them. Telling people they must wear a N95 or it does no good is the same as arguing for not wearing a mask, since we can't get our hands on N95s, and if you do you are taking them away from the medical professionals who need them to preserve their lives.

Mask mandates are premised on the assumption that people will use cloth and paper masks. The scientific evidence shows they are not useless, as you and the OP insist.

Enough with misinformation campaign. It's deadly.

[sinkingfeeling]

26. Try this to make blue pleated masks better fitting.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213922374