Hi All - I’m looking for a mask I can use for protecting against pollen. My main requirements:

• Breathability (they don’t need to go way down on particle size, but want something comfortable)
• No smell out of the box. Many masks like the Aura smell bad out of the box (with the aura, it’s the foam that smell toxic)
• Good seal to prevent pollen from going around

Any recs?

Need to get an mri on Saturday and don't have time to get a readimask. My breathe99 elastomeric seems to be mostly plastic and fabric except for a tiny spring in the tightener toggle. If I remove that part and tie the straps around my head can I wear that to an mri?

For some reason I want to go as a moth for Halloween. And for some other reason I believed that pancake filters in black would be easily available and make great insect eyes.

And when I realized that I was wrong, I believed I could easily transform the regular filters… Guess what? Wrong again!

On the right I tried covering the filter in rhinestones and while they sparkle really nicely (doesn’t show in the pic), they also make the mask quite heavy. On the left I tried some glitter tape which doesn’t weigh much but unfortunately doesn’t stick well. So covering the flat part of the filter is the most I can do.

At this point I’m ready to just use the plain filters without modifications. Likely, nobody will get the insect eyes anyway…

Also, I think my costume took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up more firefly than moth. Also also, my entire costume is being held together by safety pins because obviously I can’t sew. I like it, though. :)

Whatever, I’m wearing a respirator. That’s what matters!

Does anyone have any suggestions for a vertical bifold N95 that will fit a smaller face? It has to fold vertically (i.e., no duckbill styles). I’m looking for an N95 with head straps. Any color is fine.

I’ve already looked for RespoKare N95s in size small, but I can’t find them in stock anywhere online.

Hello, Masks4All community! I’m hoping to tap into the collective wisdom here as my husband and I prepare to introduce our almost-two-year-old to wearing masks. With his upcoming birthday and the holidays approaching, we want to start slowly and set him up for success.

Some context:

• My husband wears the Powecom KN95 (earloop), and I use the Dräger X-plore 1950 (headstrap).
• So far my son has been a bit sensitive about his ears being touched, so I’m uncertain about earloop masks.
• From a protection standpoint, I’m leaning towards headband-style N95s for him, and we’re considering the Flo Mask based on recommendations from a recent post. Not sure how practical or tolerable to expect that to be.

If you have any advice on:

• Introducing masks to toddlers or building comfort over time
• Specific strategies that helped your child get used to wearing a mask
• Any thoughts on headband vs. earloop masks for toddlers

I’d be so grateful! This community has been invaluable, and we appreciate any insights or experiences you’re willing to share.

Thank you all for being such a resource!

Sorry if this is not allowed. I bought the Triple Exhalaron in June and am looking to resell. They work perfectly well, although the filters will probably need to be replaced since I have cats. Passing it on due to moving into a much smaller space.

The new models are selling for $359, so I would like to get around $150-200 for it. But the price is negotiable because there’s no local resale market and I want it to go to another Covid Cautious person.

Please let me know if you’re interested and if you have any questions! I can’t post a video or pictures here, but I can send you pictures in a chat or a video one of it running if you would like.

Original link: https://www.cleanairkits.com/products/triple-exhalaron-stylish-compact-for-medium-rooms

Hey there, a google search brought me to this subreddit so decided to make a post. I’m a groundskeeper, and with Fall now seemingly in full effect, which means it’s pretty much a given I’ll be mulching and/or bagging leaves nearly every day for the next month or so. What’s a good mask or respirator that’ll help out dealing the dust from said leaves and potentially other allergens as well?

Thanks for any recommendations

Please give me some suggestions! Preparing for the holidays.🥹

i loved my envomask(s) but this is the second time the gel seal part has split from the rest of the mask. can anyone recommend other gel seals that don't break so easily? for sensory and facial hair reasons, gel masks/and ideally ones that don't cover my entire face are a lot more manageable. i know about flomasks but have some concerns about their lack of certifications. thanks!

Hi,

I have a quite rare form of epilepsy that is triggered by certain smells, or food items I consume.

The smell or taste of anything with berry flavour, be it strawberry, blueberry, raspberry etc.

The smell of the concentrates that are added to detergents for washing cloths.

Both of these can trigger grand mal seizures if the smell is strong enough. Mostly I get a whiff of it and can move away, but there are times when I can't get away from it, like on a plane, train, car etc.

What I need is a disposable mask that blocks a good deal of the smell that I can carry around in my pocket, just in case I find myself in a situation with said smell and I have no quick exit route.

I understand that no disposable mask is going to be 100% effective and it doesn't need to be, it just needs to lower it as much as possible until the smell passes (i.e. the food item has been eaten or I can get away from it).

My face is quite full, rounded, I'm a middle aged guy.

Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance.

Is Uline a trusted source to get 3M masks?

Hey everyone

My brother in law is coming back soon from Europe (Austria/Slovakia) and he can bring me some masks with him, so I wanted to ask you about options for small faces that are on the cheap side on the European market.

Thanks in advance

i typically wear auras. they fit me decently well, but due to slight variations between batches, sometimes i notice that the area under my chin has a little more space than i’d like. i’m able to tighten it such that the space is removed, although this can become painful over time. i have passed a qualitative fit test with this mask.

i also have some vflex masks, which fit more snugly on my face, but if i talk or yawn or move my mouth much at all, the seal breaks. i have not fit tested this mask yet, but i already feel like it wouldn’t pass.

so since the flex is too small and the aura is too big, does anyone have any recommendations for masks that are in between these sizes? i’m happy i can modify the aura to pass a fit test, but it would be nice to experiment with a more comfortable option. figured i’d post here in case anyone has had this sort of experience and has tried more masks than i have.

thanks in advance!

At my current job, which is retail, I wear a 3M Aura N95. I admittedly have not done a fit test but from what I can tell it's fitting me fine and I have yet to have a problem with it. My retail store is closing down in a month and I am looking to move into a position outside of retail. I don't want to compromise on wearing a mask, but I believe I will appear a bit more professional wearing something with ear loops, as the 3M Aura does not suit me very well when it comes to appearance. I have longer hair and none of the tricks to have your hair fall over the straps have worked for me.

In the past, I have tried the Good Day KF94s and Bluna FaceFit KF94s. The former didn't give me much issue, though the ones I had purchased had been from Amazon and I am unsure of their legitimacy. I bought the FaceFits through a vetted supplier and while I don't mind them, the ear loops are very thin and cause pain after a couple hours of wearing them unlike what I experienced with the Good Day ones.

I've been looking to try the BreatheTeq KN95 masks. I've seen many people say they're one of the better ear loop respirators, even recommended by Aaron Collins as a top ear loop mask. I know they have a multiple size sample pack, but I feel a bit wasteful spending that money when most of the masks probably won't fit that well. I measured my Aura and the measurements are closest to BreatheTeq's size large masks. I'm unsure whether to buy the medium size or large size. Does anyone have a recommendation for how to go about this? Should I buy a 10 pack of each and try them both? Or try the large size first as it's measurements are closest to my Aura? I assume whichever one doesn't fit as well I could find a way to adjust to make the fit better. I'm just concerned about buying the size sampler because of the $7 shipping fee when I don't think 3 of the 5 masks would fit me enough to be usable.

Maybe a stupid question but does anyone know if I'm allowed to wear a mask when voting? Our polling location is extremely cramped so I'd rather not go without and they declined my vote by mail application so that option is out.

Hi all!

I normally wear my 3m aura (have tried both blue and white head straps and prefer the white ones) but have heard the 3m vflex has better breathability. Since i wear these to work, and move a lot throughout the day, that would be really nice.

I also see there is a small version of the vflex. i have a pretty small head and love the aura because of its tight straps. the chin area is a little big (extends really far toward my neck and can loosen if i wear the mask too long) but otherwise fits very well.

can anyone who has worn both compare how they fit? what should i buy for my first try of the vflex? thanks!

Hi I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get a fit tested professionally in upstate ny , I work in the medical field and it is not required for me to get done but I would feel a lot safer walking around my surgery center with a respirator on properly.

i’m sitting in a crowded hospital waiting room, the only person wearing a mask, wondering if 3m vflex masks actually work? they’re a lot cheaper than an aura, and i can breathe way easier than i can in most any other mask. which i love, although when i’ve tried to look up ratings for the vflex online i see no references to covid or viral protection anywhere, even in 3m’s own literature - although they are listed as n95 & niosh on the mask. has anyone done any fit tests on this mask to be sure they’re reliable for covid? would love to hear people’s takes / experiences

I was fit testing with a new mesh nebulizer, and almost everything was passing which is good, but then I got paranoid about the particle size. The mesh, UNOSEKS, says "1μm-2.3μm.", which is actually better than some of the "Ultrasonic" nebulizers on Amazon, with "<4" or "<5".

But then there's this cheapo nano: https://www.amazon.com/GIVERARE-Rechargeable-Moisturizing-Hydrating-Extensions-Pink/dp/B08LGCQQPP/

claiming 0.3 microns. That sounds great for testing... but is it plausible, at all or with Bitrex solution?

Hi everyone, I'm new here! I work at a small store in a major city that gets extremely packed during holiday season and none of my coworkers on our team of approx. 10 masks except me. 90% of customers do not mask. I can't open the doors during winter :( Some coworkers already complain when I open them now!

I am mostly worried about illnesses spreading amongst staff since we work in close quarters, do a decent amount of physical labour (difficult to breathe in headband N95 for me), and we do not get paid sick days (I know...) so some of my coworkers are coming in ill. I'm currently writing this on my day off and I am seriously considering taking the pay hit by giving away my shifts if coworkers are sick, though I probably will not learn if others are sick until I show up at the store. :(

I've tried to gently push coworkers towards masking and I genuinely don't know why they won't, even with me buying KN95s for the workplace.

I wear CanadaMasq CA-N95 or Q100 N95 earloop masks. The last time I wore a headband mask at work I truly felt my body overheating and it always gives me a headache since I run around and have to talk a lot for 8 hours.

Any tips from fellow retail/public-facing workers?

Either way, thank you for reading <3

EDIT: Thanks for your recommendations. i should add that I have a small face and live in Canada. + Just woke up to a message from yet another coworker reporting that they're sick sooooo that's great :( Might just endure a headache for this week's shifts and wear a 3M Aura since that's the best mask I have on hand rn. Alternatively I'm considering calling in sick myself this week to try to avoid catching illness from coworkers.

Ideally a step below full face gas mask but heck i'd be willing to go there.

COVID disabled me in 2020, and 4+ years later i am starting to be able to be more independent, so I applied for Access Paratransit so I can go places in my new electric wheelchair solo. They picked me up to go to my evaluation and -- I was in a van tightly packed with 3 other people (masked, which was nice) and the driver, who refused to wear the mask i offered him and talked nonstop. Obviously i'm petrified now that i'm going to get it -- please send me good thoughts.

If i am to use this service moving forward, I need more protection than my everyday N95, any suggestions?

I bought this mask: https://ppeo.com/goods/3m-1212-half-facepiece-reusable-respirator-with-particulate-filters/ But I can’t find any info on it. It’s a china-market exclusive, I think, so it wouldn’t be on the 3M English website.

So far this is the only mask that fits me, as a person with a small face and a low nose bridge. Does anyone have any advice on this mask or if I could call 3M and have them verify the product somehow? I wouldn’t bother with this mask if it wasn’t the only thing that has fit so far. I’m concerned about verifying the filter efficacy. Is that something I could test myself with a rented portacount?

Hi all! Looking for recommendations for black n95s. Currently my household is wearing white 3M 8210+ with the braided straps...which are being discontinued and are getting harder and harder to find. The straps are being switched to cheaper, more brittle elastic, which will not be sufficient for multiple wears. We've tried several earloop KN94 options and none have fit well. The 3M Auras also do not fit right. Whatever we get, I would love it in black because it would be nice to be a bit more stylish while being safe. Any and all recommendations would be very appreciated!

ETA: Wow, thank you all so much! I will be looking into all of these. You guys are the best!

I have dentistry work I need to get done, bad cavities, and I'm going to be using the readimask hack. I've had problems with it fogging my glasses and I believe it's not a problem, but the best deal I can get still fogs my glasses.

I cannot afford to get sick, my immune system is absolutely fucking shot. I was really unsure of how I'm going to do this without putting my health at a severe risk, and then I come across this. I want to believe it would help reduce covid/viral particles within a foot or two even of the machine, and used in conjunction with the readimask hack of course; but considering it's $300 CAD I don't want to buy it just on the hope that it will do something.

I would like to know that it would actually clean the air around my face if it was, say, placed on my upper chest just under my neck or something during the entire procedure.

I've seen conflicting comments on these in this sub, so I'm looking for someone with some knowledge and expertise in the matter to weigh in. I'm not asking if it would replace masking, but if it would provide a realistic, even somewhat significant reduction in viral particles near my nose and mouth when kept within a foot or less of them. Is there science to support this? I can afford it if it would help, but if it wouldn't do anything I don't want to waste my money.

https://x.com/thevertlartnic/status/1849902853357265015?s=46&t=I1_aUhllXbEte21tRHSenA