To those who wear fabric masks...

[blackribbon]

Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

 

[Tra Phull]

I wash mine every time
It's not often cuz I hardly ever go anywhere, but every time I use it, it goes in wash

 

[Lost4words]

I cant get one to fit my snout....

 

[Ricky M]

Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

And what do you do with a paper one?

 

[ewq1938]

Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

Can such masks even block a virus?

Bacteria vs Virus - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

"Viruses are the smallest and simplest life form known. They are 10 to 100 times smaller than bacteria."

 

[chevyontheriver]

Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

Good point. Wash them.

The common surgical masks are the same way. Reusing them doesn't work either. But they can't be washed. They are disposable and need to be disposed of and a new one used. Only the rarest of respirators is intended for continual reuse.

I see a lot of people using face masks wrong. Maybe it's better than nothing, but often case not much. For one thing that nose thing should be conforming to the bridge of your nose. And a person huffing and puffing through a mask is probably worse off than another person breathing calmly.

I see a lot of glove issues too, where people touch things with their gloves on, then take their gloves off, then touch the same things again. It defeats the purpose. Mostly I see this with cell phones.

 

[chevyontheriver]

And what do you do with a paper one?

Use a new one each time.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Can such masks even block a virus?

Bacteria vs Virus - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

"Viruses are the smallest and simplest life form known. They are 10 to 100 times smaller than bacteria."

They might catch some of them, maybe the ones which hitch a ride on a bit of dust. I'm not counting on a mask to save me.

 

[Ricky M]

Use a new one each time.

Is that really possible? They're in short supply

 

[Ricky M]

They might catch some of them, maybe the ones which hitch a ride on a bit of dust. I'm not counting on a mask to save me.

Actually, they don't stop you from getting the virus, they stop you from giving it to others.

 

[ewq1938]

Actually, they don't stop you from getting the virus, they stop you from giving it to others.

Not if the mask is so porous that the virus simply flows right through it. Cotton and similar masks aren't made of material intended to stop the very tiny virus molecules.

 

[Ricky M]

Not if the mask is so porous that the virus simply flows right through it. Cotton and similar masks aren't made of material intended to stop the very tiny virus molecules.

True, the virus is too small for all but the most restrictive masks to stop, which is why they won't stop you from getting it when you inhale. But when you exhale it, the virus usually catches a ride on a water droplet, which CAN be stopped by a cotton mask. Thus the push, to keep asymptomatic people from spreading it.

 

[ewq1938]

True, the virus is too small for all but the most restrictive masks to stop, which is why they won't stop you from getting it when you inhale. But when you exhale it, the virus usually catches a ride on a water droplet, which CAN be stopped by a cotton mask. Thus the push, to keep asymptomatic people from spreading it.

I hope that does happen. In the meantime the government needs to get real masks that are meant to protect from this tiny enemy and these need to be issued to every person.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Is that really possible? They're in short supply

Of course it's not possible. There never were enough for everybody to use, dispose of properly, and pull out another one day after day after day. There were enough for hospitals for critical care, for industrial and construction and DIY carpenters, and that's about it. But we never had enough for this. And it's unrealistic to think that without a major industrial retooling we could have enough disposable masks for everyone to use them correctly. That retooling is happening, but it doesn't happen overnight.

 

[KarateCowboy]

There was another thread where I posted some study where they tested different fabrics. A mask made from a cotton blend stopped about 85% of particles that were five times smaller than Wuhan virus

 

[chevyontheriver]

Actually, they don't stop you from getting the virus, they stop you from giving it to others.

They reduce the chance of you giving it to others. They do not eliminate it.

 

[chevyontheriver]

I hope that does happen. In the meantime the government needs to get real masks that are meant to protect from this tiny enemy and these need to be issued to every person.

Sadly that is unrealistic. That would require the equivalent of a moon suit. Masks only help a little bit. They aren't THE solution.

Nor are gloves, although they help. Except when they too are not used right. It takes a lot of training to use gloves right. You have to think like everything you touch is black paint and you get that paint on everything else you touch. Mostly there would be black smudges over everything, including your face and your car and your cell phone and your kitchen and your newly purchased groceries. The proper way to use gloves is to change them often. But then again, they're in short supply. We never had enough for this. Someday soon we may, but at present it's unrealistic. Washing hands and avoiding touching everything is far more realistic. Social distancing is far more realistic.

Sorry to sound so pessimistic.

 

[Richard T]

While you should wash your mask, if you are going to wear it again soon (within 3 days or so) the virus does not replicate outside of a host. Thus, time wears off any virus that is not inside a person or other effected animal. The time it takes depends on how well it can live on the surface. Plastics for instance take longer than metals. For those with paper masks, you could spray the mask with lysol or something similar but over time that might harm the mask. I personally, do not reuse the mask for at least 3 days or more. If you have a couple of masks you can easily go out every other day. Coronavirus survives on surfaces up to 72 hours — how to protect yourself

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

There was another thread where I posted some study where they tested different fabrics. A mask made from a cotton blend stopped about 85% of particles that were five times smaller than Wuhan virus

People, here get really fixated on pore size and the size of the particle. When it comes to air filtration, the electrostatic attraction is probably the single greatest factor, and it affects particles of all sizes. It's imperfect, but it really helps.

Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

You sound like you're talking about bacteria. The virus won't grow on a filter. It just accumulates. However, there are a pretty good number of bacterial species, respiratory pathogens no less, that can propagate on not much more than the moisture of a person's breath. That, alone, makes your recommendation important.

 

[expos4ever]

I cant get one to fit my snout....

I will bet this pandemic has really curtailed your butt-sniffin' activities......