topic Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks in Community Chat

Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Jordan2 — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:03:28 GMT

I have mostly worn cloth masks, I did my homework and bought a box of 50 disposable masks. I bought the box of masks for when I’ll go to the salon, dentist, and doctor. I wore one today when I went food shopping. I like the cloth mask so much better. The disposable mask did have the wire at the bridge of the nose, however I found there was too much movement, I had to keep readjusting it on my face, the cloth mask is a much more comfortable fit.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

kitcat51 — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:24:16 GMT

Threw all my masks away, switched to a face guard on an eyeglass frame & it's great...no breathing problems, it's cooler, my eyes are covered & I can clean it anytime anywhere with an alcohol wipe.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Lucky Charm — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:32:07 GMT

I prefer my KN95 mask and it stays in place.

I've worn the disposable blue medical masks also and they are comfortable.

Only one cloth mask is my favorite and I've bought a TON of them.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

kaydee50 — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:34:04 GMT

@kitcat51 That's my next step. Can't stand wearing any sort of mask. May I ask, which one did you get? Amazon has many, none with great ratings. TIA!

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

SeaGal — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:34:07 GMT

@Jordan2 , were you pulling the paper mask down far enough under your chin? I had a problem with them shifting too but once I learned they need to be pulled under further, no prob anymore.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Deree — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:49:08 GMT

@kitcat51 wrote:
Threw all my masks away, switched to a face guard on an eyeglass frame & it's great...no breathing problems, it's cooler, my eyes are covered & I can clean it anytime anywhere with an alcohol wipe.

@kitcat51 I just ordered a couple of those for the summer when it will be too hot to wear the 3 layers I currently wear - 2 masks and a cotton insert. I figure one mask and the shield will be good. The only thing is I've heard criticism of the shield because air flow goes upwards through the bottom but if hospital workers wear them that's good enough for me.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Lucky Charm — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:50:54 GMT

I guess I wish my cloth masks had the nose wire. My nose is small so I have to wear sunglasses to keep the mask down in place. Most of my sunglasses are large framed and I wear them on top of the mask.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

piperbay — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:56:48 GMT

I've bought cloth masks from Ebay. They do stay in place and are heavier than the paper masks, but also can feel hotter wearing them. For cleaning, I steam both sides of them.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Deree — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:57:45 GMT

@Lucky Charm It's a good idea to wear glasses to protect your eyes which also have mucus membranes as a possible point of entry and you'll need to have the glasses sitting on top of the upper edge of the mask to keep your breath from fogging up the glasses. I also wear clear lens glasses over my mask on cloudy days.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Jordan2 — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:05:10 GMT

@SeaGal wrote:
@Jordan2 , were you pulling the paper mask down far enough under your chin? I had a problem with them shifting too but once I learned they need to be pulled under further, no prob anymore.

@SeaGal I thought I pulled it down enough, but you do need to keep part of your nose covered too. I live in NYC and it isn’t that hot yet. I don’t know what I’ll do when the 90’s weather hits, sweating under the mask!

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

CelticCrafter — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:14:29 GMT

@Lucky Charm wrote:
I guess I wish my cloth masks had the nose wire. My nose is small so I have to wear sunglasses to keep the mask down in place. Most of my sunglasses are large framed and I wear them on top of the mask.

@Lucky Charm you can whip stitch a pipe cleaner or a tie wrap or florists wire over the nose so you can make it pinchable.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

SeaGal — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:22:57 GMT

@Jordan2 , right, I pinch it on my nose and pull it basically as far under my chin as I can, so the folds in the mask are gone.

My poor hubs, he was let go from his job for 9 weeeks just starting back this week, he works outside but still is required to wear a mask. It has been hovering near 80 here this week, with the mask and needing a haircut he said it is not pleasant! He comes in the door and into the shower he goes! But he's thankful to be back to work, thankful he has a job to go back to!!

eta~ 9 weeks, geez that went fast!

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

haddon9 — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:23:26 GMT

I wore a cloth mask yesterday for the first time...OMG! I could NOT breathe and started to get light headed...I quickly took it off and good thing I had a paper mask in my purse. I still like them the best. They are light weight, less hot and I can breathe while wearing one.

As for the shield, I'm willing to try one but I also think that might get very hot if wearing it outdoors over the summer.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

skatting44 — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:26:18 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
I have mostly worn cloth masks, I did my homework and bought a box of 50 disposable masks. I bought the box of masks for when I’ll go to the salon, dentist, and doctor. I wore one today when I went food shopping. I like the cloth mask so much better. The disposable mask did have the wire at the bridge of the nose, however I found there was too much movement, I had to keep readjusting it on my face, the cloth mask is a much more comfortable fit.

Effective masks need to be 3 ply and as many others mentioned have a nose clip to pinch over the nose. I wear the cloth mask over the paper masks . The bottom tie strings on the face mask are then tied on top of yoiur head so it does not fall off easily then the top ties on the cloth mask are tie behind the head at the top of ear level. this keeps everything in place. When I get home I wash the cloth mask . The face guards- am not sure how many layers but if they are very thin they may not be effective at all. Check with manufacturer.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

kitcat51 — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:36:51 GMT

@kaydee50 Happy to share. I got the shield with the eyeglass frames, it's sold as a set...the shield attaches to the arms of the glasses, it sets on the bridge of your nose so it doesn't touch the rest of your face & if you wear prescription glasses (I do) it can be worn with them. I stayed away from the face shields with the head straps because I didn't want anything setting on my forehead & I wanted an easy on off. I'm really pleased with my choice & lots of the negative reviews I saw are about the shield being cloudy...they forgot to remove the protective covering on both sides, it just peels off. I bought mine on etsy along with a pack of replacement shields. Hope this helps & be well.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Sushismom — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:39:26 GMT

The only time I've seen healthcare workers wear the face shields is WITH a face mask on underneath it. I'm not too sure how safe a shield would be without the mask.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

SeaMaiden — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:40:53 GMT

I received this email from our local Hospital. Thought I would share. I often times see people wearing these masks with the exhalation valves on them... guess they only spread the virus....

Why Masks with Exhalation Valves are Not Permitted at Valley
(and Are Not Effective for COVID-19 Prevention!)

Right now everyone at Valley, including patients, staff and visitors, must wear a mask to decrease the spread of COVID-19. But did you know that masks with exhalation valves do not protect against the spread of the virus and can transmit it? The Centers for Disease Control says respirators with exhalation valves don’t prevent the spread of infectious particles because they do not keep droplets from your breath contained within the mask. The bottom line: Please wear a mask when you come to Valley, but not one with an exhalation valve. If you arrive without the correct mask, we’ll be happy to supply you with a free mask that helps decrease the spread of disease. My mask protects you, your mask protects me!

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

germanshepherdlove — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:47:04 GMT

I too always wondered about those masks with the valve and have read that some are wearing another mask without one over it. It seems to help they have said. When I saw people in my area wearing one I always "knew" but never had confirmation that their mask, because of that valve was not protecting anyone. Now that there is confirmation, I wish those companies would stop selling them.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

Moonlady — Fri, 29 May 2020 16:48:36 GMT

I use the disposable surgical ones exclusively.

When I see cloth masks, all I see is unhealthful mouth-breathing, and all I envision is spit, snot, and pathogen-infested material. One big yuck. And like randomly-tested reusable bags (ironically now banned in many venues in favor of single-use plastic ones, shown to be petri dishes), those who say they're laundering them after each use, are lying.

The surgical masks far outnumber the cloth masks here. Maybe that's because they're the ones being distributed by local public agencies. They're also easy to breathe through, and obviate the need for some to breathe through their mouths, or to breathei n a labored manner.

And the disposable masks are now so accessible that they're being disposed of after each use, at least by us. There's no excuse now for people reusing them. Wegmans has them, Tops has them, a number of pharmacies have them-- even Big Lots is now selling them. And they're affordable, too.

Notwithstanding the debated efficacy of wearing a mask to prevent or reduce transmission of this virus, disposable surgical masks are the way to go.

Re: Cloth Masks vs Medical Disposable Masks

germanshepherdlove — Fri, 29 May 2020 17:02:24 GMT

My husband has a box of disposable masks from qvc and I finally received a shipment directly from China after about 2-1/2 months of waiting and giving up...was shocked to see them arrive the other day..

I took them apart to see which was better as they felt different. They both had 3 layers but the top layer of the masks that came from China was not made of the same type of material that the qvc masks were made of...they feel different, almost like they are treated with something to prevent permeability by liquid. I did the spray test from the inside with a water bottle and both passed.

The final test was fit. The qvc masks do not fit me. The China masks do and the difference is in the length of the ear loops. Qvc's are longer and so do not give me a snug or secure fit. Also, the accordian folds on the qvc masks expand wider for a bigger face yet they both are constructed with 3 layers.

Each came with a spec sheet that was not understandable when I googled that information. It was like comparing apples with oranges and strangely both not using the same jargon as the industry uses. So that was futile in my attempt to find out how affective each was in preventing size of droplets getting in.