Community Chat

[Baylie]

My husband is a doctor and prefers the disposable masks. He says they protect you more than the cloth and I think they are more comfortable. A friend of mine made cloth face masks and put a slot in at the top to use a pipe cleaner in the nose area and she left a space to put a dried sanitized wipe between the two layers. They are my first choice in cloth masks.

[Tique]

---

@Marp wrote:

---

---

@Moonlady,  please clarify the highlighted portion of your post. There seems to be confusion as to whether you are referring to face masks being washed after every use or the reusable grocery bags being washed after every use.

I read the statement as referring to the grocery bags but now I'm not sure if others are misinterpreting what you wrote, if I am misinterpreting what you wrote.

---

@Marp   let's add a third option to the mix. When I read the statement I interpreted it to mean she was referring to both the face mask and the reusable grocery bags.

ETA: Would be nice if she would return and explain.

[patbz]

@CaliKat : Go to CDC website, they have good instructions for making bandana/husband variety.  I made several of these until I could locate locally made masks(I use local Facebook group and also a local Mormon lady who must make them after work and sells them for $5 each.  Another option is when you see someone in a mask you like, complement them and ask where they got it (that's how I found my $5 masks).

[kaydee50]

---

@kitcat51 wrote:

@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.

---

@kitcat51  Thanks for the info!  I just ordered a face shield from Etsy for $11.99. Don't know if it's the same one you got but it does attach to eyeglasses which I wear and highly rated.  Free s/h, price is right. Thanks again!! 

[Mominohio]

I don't care for the cloth masks I've picked up. They are much hotter, and I get a bit of a sore throat with them on over time. They are home made ones, and maybe there are some commercial ones in a better fabric than what I picked up locally.

I prefer the disposable ones that are so readily available right now. Not as hot, easier to breathe through, and less fogging of my glasses.

I did try an N95 and it was super hot and hard to breathe.

[stuyvesant]

---

@Mominohio wrote:

I don't care for the cloth masks I've picked up. They are much hotter, and I get a bit of a sore throat with them on over time. They are home made ones, and maybe there are some commercial ones in a better fabric than what I picked up locally.

I prefer the disposable ones that are so readily available right now. Not as hot, easier to breathe through, and less fogging of my glasses.

I did try an N95 and it was super hot and hard to breathe.

---

I completely agree with you!

I use cloth masks for some things - throwing my garbage down the compactor means I'll be in the common hall for a minute, as an example - but the surgical masks are just better and cooler.

I believe in the future people will wear masks in public for their own reasons without causing comment.  I can see wearing an attractive mask in the dead of winter when it's windy, for example.  But that's just regular living, not pandemic living.

[germanshepherdlove]

---

@Baylie wrote:

My husband is a doctor and prefers the disposable masks. He says they protect you more than the cloth and I think they are more comfortable. A friend of mine made cloth face masks and put a slot in at the top to use a pipe cleaner in the nose area and she left a space to put a dried sanitized wipe between the two layers. They are my first choice in cloth masks.

---

The disposable masks that finally arrived from China (didn't say what city) have an odor and that bothers me.  I'm supposed to trust them??  A close relative of mine said she saw disposable masks being sold on Amazon yesterday directly from Wuhan.  Who would buy those???  I wish I knew from which city mine came.  I'm telling you, they smell from the inside and then you breathe that in when it's on your face!  The one's from qvc do not have an odor whatsoever....and yes they too were made in China.  So...it's cloth for me with a filter because the ear loops on the qvc masks are too long for me and it results in a poor fit on the sides. @Baylie   Maybe your husband has some insight as to the odor emanating from my masks?  Thanks. 

[patbz]

@germanshepherdlove :  You can twist your loops one or more times (to tighten) , you can knot your loops (did that for 7 yr old grandson) or you can purchase "mask extenders" from Amazon for about $1@; you fasten your loops to these, rather than your ears (I even gifted one of these to my pharmacist, who said loops really bothered his ears).

[Happiness Is Inside JOB]

---

@Cakers3 wrote:

---

@Moonlady wrote:

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.

---

@Moonlady   Please point me in the direction that supports your assumption that people who say they wash their cloth masks are lying.

Are you checking in at every window, Mrs. K?

ETA:  Not sure if this is about the masks or the bags. Either way, it's not cool to say people are lying.  How do you know???

---

My husband is an essential worker.

He started wearing his masks EARLY on  So I have accumulated a large number of masks.

He has at least 25 cloth masks now.

When he comes home from work he takes of all his clothes including the mask and it all goes in the hamper!

He only had one mask for about one week and I quickly realized that washing a mask by hand every day WAS NOT THE ANSWER!!!

I have purchased from several places including -- Lo s Angeles apparel, etsy, etc

and I know he will be wearing masks for a while she to his asthma situation!

[CaliKat]

@Cakers3  @patbz ,

On May 30th I posted a question to Cakers about directions for making no sew masks. I so appreciate you both taking the time to answer my question, and I apologize for not responding to you at the time. 

This is not the first time, nor unfortunately, will it probably be the last time that I have posted a question, and then completely forgotten that I ever posted it. I don't come on the forum very often, and didn't realize that I had notifications until I logged in today.

In my senior years I have developted a horrible short term memory problem. If I don't write things down and keep them in front of me, I completely forget about them. It drives me crazy!

I thank you both, and again apologize for my late response.