Use
- The masks are for protection against particles---primarily dust, pollen, and fungal spores.
- No inexpensive paper or cloth mask will protect you from chemical fumes (gasoline, paint fumes etc.) nor airborne virus particles. However, most viruses are in droplets expelled by coughs or breathing, so this mask should catch the vast majority of virus particles to which you may be exposed.
- While more expensive face masks may be slight more effective in blocking airborne viruses, they are also probably harder to breath through.
So if your primary objective is protection against pollen and dust---these inexpensive face masks may actually be better than expensive masks.
- The low price also promotes one-time-use. A contaminated mask itself becomes a source of exposure. One-time-use reduces exposure and assures that contaminated or partially clogged masks are discarded.
How To Wear
- Expand the mask by pulling on the top and bottom, so that all the pleats open up.
- The edge with the hard metal strip inside is the top. I wear the blue side on the inside.
- Loop the elastic earloops behind your ears, with the top up. If you have a small face and the mask is too loose, tie knots in the elastic earloops.
- Pinch the top edge to your nose, so that the the metal strip will mold to the contours of your face.
- If you want a tighter seal, especially at the sides, you can tape the mask to your face with blue painter's tape. It holds well(if your face is clean), and comes off with no pain. ScotchBlue Painter's Tape for Multi-Surfaces 2090-.75A, 3/4 Inches by 60 Yards, 1 Roll. There are proper medical "no hurt" tapes that work well for this purpose, but I always have Painter's Tape handy because it has 1000 other uses (for example, makes better bandaids than commercial brands).
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