ZOO (Forum Supporter) said:I usually change my mask at lunch. A fresh mask is becoming one of life's simple pleasures.
I should probably look into this. I wear two or three regularly, and I have yet to wash one. LOL.
ZOO (Forum Supporter) said:I usually change my mask at lunch. A fresh mask is becoming one of life's simple pleasures.
I should probably look into this. I wear two or three regularly, and I have yet to wash one. LOL.
When we were in the NICU with Angela, we initially didn't know what was going on and were in masks for about 40 hours straight at one point, including sleeping. This was well before COVID. I learned then that the ear loops are not enjoyable.
So, with that in mind, I have a few mask setups that I wear.
My wife made me about a dozen out of 100% cotton quilting material (basically sheeting). They are 2-layer, with the inside layer made out of one of my old oxford shirts. There is a pocket between the layers to add a third layer if needed. At the nose there is a small tube where you can insert a 2-3" length of doubled pipe cleaner to fold down over the bridge. Strap is made out of a strip of old T-shirt, stretched into a cord. It loops around the back of the neck, up through the sides of the mask, and gets tied behind the crown of the head.
They're pretty comfortable for all-day wear, since they are lined with a broken-in dress shirt. They work pretty well with glasses. The pipe cleaners are strong enough to conform but padded for comfort. The T-shirt cord has a little stretch but not too much, and you can tie as tight or loose as you wish.
If you have to wear a mask a lot and it's bugging your ears try this....
I rarely go out of the house without a ball cap on as it is, so adding a couple of buttons to hook the mask to was easy.
OK folks, home now. I dug out a few of the ones I have made experimenting with different materials. The black one is my daily, and I have been using it since March. It has held up really well. The outer is a cotton pants-weight fabric and the blue liner in it is like a moleskin, very soft but not as breathable as the other two.
The gray one uses the same weight cotton outer but with a lycra based liner. It is a thinner and more breathable fabric that wicks sweat away better than the moleskin.
The blue one uses a thick cycling jersey material for the outer layer, with a thin lycra liner. Very lightweight and breathable all around.
All of these incorporate a liner/filter pocket, but honestly I don't bother using the filters any more. You can order them on amazon if you want them though. I debated not using the liner but the inner seam was bothersome without it.
Enough words, onwards to pics!
I have some other fabrics on hand and should have some time over the next couple of days to assemble some more masks. I am also eyeing a different design that is supposed to be good with glasses so I'll post that one up soon too.
In reply to EastCoastMojo (Forum Supporter) :
Those look nice, and well worth $10.
Ours look a lot like that except instead of the elastic we have about 2 feet of T-shirt cording (cut an old T-shirt into 1"-1-1/2" strips, and tug the ends until they roll up into a cord). Thread both ends of the cord up through the sides of the mask from the bottom, so you get a closed loop on the bottom (goes around back of neck) and then tie loose ends on top of head.
In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :
Add behind the ear hearing aids to that...
ZOO (Forum Supporter) said:A fresh mask is becoming one of life's simple pleasures.
The other...
I have tried dozens and my favorite so far is from Jaanuu. They make scrubs and the masks are really comfortable to me.
https://www.jaanuu.com/face-masks?color=black&size=adult&mask_type=standard
I just got off a plane and I observed every variety. One guy was wearing two disposable N95 types plus a shield, plus latex gloves....
I saw the one again that has Velcro or something instead of ear loops, and some framework to keep it off your face. I like that but I did not ask her where she got it.
My wife started off sewing masks as soon as the pandemic got rolling. She's quite skilled, with a theater production degree in costuming.
I'm supposed to wear a commercial mask at work but I don't think that the filtration is going to be anything close to the ones that she's making. I wear her custom fitted masks. So far, no one has said anything.
The key to wearing glasses is these three things. First, you need to have the mask fit high on your face, right at the top of your nose and fairly high on your cheeks.
It must have a wire insert so that you can carefully conform the wire to your underlying face. Finally, you wear the glasses a bit forward, on the top of the mask edge, and leave a little bit of a gap behind the back of the glasses for air circulation.
A cloth mask has been shown to filter more effectively if you have a cotton polyester blend, because the polyester has a little bit of an electrical charge.
All of the masks my wife is making are two layer, which are made to allow us to insert a removable filter for the third layer. We have used two filter materials, disposal paper surgical drape, and the blue paper towel type shop towels.
The shop towel filter is the recommendation from the developer of the material that is used in making N95 masks (I heard him recommend this in an interview).
I might try the material David linked. It looks promising.
I like the ties instead of ear loops since I'm in one for at least 9 hours on my work days. I started wearing a surgery cap every day, so I don't have to deal with trying to keep my hair out of the knot.
The custom fit is so good that a few hours in her ear loop version is fine, but I wouldn't want to do all day every time I work. Also, she makes the loops adjustable, so they're not too tight.
This picture also shows the two layer construction. It's open all of the way across the bottom.
She also has made some drape type masks. I don't know if they filter as effectively. I suspect not, since they're open at the bottom.
Here's an example of a drape type. The fabric was some left over scrap from her friend's house. It has velcro to fasten behind the neck, and can be tucked in to your shirt, if desired.
One change I made at the onset was to begin shaving my cheeks. I've worn my current beard since September 1996, and I really don't want to shave, but a mask is far less effective if you have a beard under the edges.
I'm not at all a fan of the look, but at least I still have a beard.
+1 on sewing buttons on your hat. I also find toggle buttons work better than rounds. More secure.
Glasses... I've stuck to contacts mostly. My plastic frames, wayfarers, SUCK with a mask. My wire frames are almost passable, depending on the mask, but then I have to consciously breath in a certain way to reduce fogging.
Work is very strict on acceptable masks. Over ear only, no tie behind the head, but some people get away with the behind the head plastic things. Solid color or simple patterns. No words or logos. I believe you can wear a shield with a doctor's note.
Mad Engine masks from Walmart are comfortable and cheap, my current set is $10/5. Most of my masks are nice stretchy ones for $5 each. No idea the brand, they have them at dump bins by the registers at Wegmans. I made a few early on, but ultimately I didn't care for them. Outside of work I will wear a gater for compliance, but that is only 1-2 hours a week.
I've also been dealing with chronic sinusitis for several years that has since progressed to sinusitis vertigo in the past year. Some masks trigger episodes so I need to be selective. I also have a fat head, so finding ones that fit can also be an issue.
Mrs. Kazoo got me one of these for Father's Day from Blipshift.
Not sure it's terribly effective, so I don't wear it in any "higher risk" situations. It is, however, super comfortable and I pretty much know anyone who likes the mask is a kindred spirit.
I've got a few from blipshift that I use to ID gear heads. They work surprisingly well for that purpose. Not sure about their actual mask performance however.
kazoospec said:Mrs. Kazoo got me one of these for Father's Day from Blipshift.
Not sure it's terribly effective, so I don't wear it in any "higher risk" situations. It is, however, super comfortable and I pretty much know anyone who likes the mask is a kindred spirit.
I got one of those as well before they sold out.
I got 4 from Blipshift, two for me and two for my oldest for school. I don't know how effective they are but they are comfortable and look "the business".
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
That Filti filter material does sound promising. They just released these respirators. Promising as well.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
OSHA does NOT consider a NF95 a respirator, They are considered a "dust mask. Although they may have modified their standard in the past year! So bear that in mind. And NF95 dust masks not provide any more protection from a virus than a "surgeons'" mask. Either will help protect from spray, where that is a concern! Almost all home made ones will as well, even around a beard (a respirator will likely not seal around a beard)
I just happened to read this article about masks.
This paragraph, in particular, caught my eye:
Dr. Scott Segal, a professor and chair of anesthesiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, has been putting various cloth masks to the test since March. He shared this rule of thumb with NPR earlier this year: Hold up the fabric to a bright light or to the sun. He says if you can "see the light outlining the individual fibers in the fabric, it's probably not a good filter. And if you can't, it's probably going to filter better." He and other researchers say a tight-weave 100% cotton material is a good bet.
So I just did some unofficial testing using my desk lap. It's really bright, and I held the filter about 3 inches from the bulb. Don't ask the bulb wattage. I don't know. It's really bright. Here's a photo of it:
Without a filter, if I try hard, I can see a tiny bit of light poking through my Couch mask. Couch says that it's made from "Double thick cotton layers." I had to flex the mask a bit in order to see any light penetration. It wasn't like the light came blazing through.
With the Filti filter, I can't see any light poking through at all.
Then I tested my Couch Ripstop Army Green Face Mask. According to the site, this one is made from "Ripstop + cotton layers." This filter is also newer than the others. I want to say that it has only been through the wash twice, while the other ones have been in regular rotation. It does feel stiffer. Without a filter, I can't see any light poking through.
I know that this isn't scientific, but still found it interesting.
Generally, I keep to myself. But if I'm going to be near people, I do wear a mask and sunglasses or regular clear glasses. (I might have been wearing them at the Challenge--can't remember.) Figure that adds a little more protection, maybe.
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