It is normal to wash face masks every day, isn’t it?

[Bvop]

Promoted by another thread - but also by a couple of friends who always seem to be wearing the same face mask: what’s normal re washing? I have one mask all day at work but it goes in the laundry basket when I get home, as do the kids’ and if we go out again we get new masks from the basket of clean ones. This is normal, isn’t it, and it’s gross to wear the same mask unwashed for more than one day?

[ComtesseDeSpair]

Gosh, mine gets a wash when I remember to wash it. I think it’s been washed about three times in the six months or so I’ve had it. But then, I only wear it because it’s mandatory.

I suspect that both your daily washing and my rarely washing are “normal” in the sense that loads of people will fall into each category.

[TheHamsterCatcher]

Fresh clean mask each day. More than one if I get in from work and then go out again to the shop later. Basket by the door for used masks to be washed, clean ones in a separate basket.
YANBU.

Some of my colleagues are clearly wearing the same mask every day without washing it though.

[thatllberight]

I wash mine every day. So if I wear one all day long at work it gets washed but if I wear one for 10 mins while I pop into the supermarket but don't wear it again that day it still gets washed. Don't know if that's normal- some people at work seem to wear the same one a few days running. My reasoning is that it's touching my face for a prolonged period so I want it to be as clean as possible.

[Archiduchesse]

Yes. Treat them like knickers - wear once, do not turn inside out, change if damp or soiled! 😀

[Spectrumofhumanlife]

I only wear a mask because I have to, and I don’t wear one for work so only in shops and for the school run (outdoors, which is mental, but there you go).
I wear whatever one is hanging around in my bag/pocket. Washed maybe weekly.

[Grenlei]

We all WFH or in locations where mask wearing isn't required, so the only time we wear masks is for shopping. Like a pp, they get washed pretty much whenever I remember, but that is probably monthly at best.

That said, the secondary school kids round here seem to be wearing masks to and from school, plus all day in school and I can imagine after 6+ hours wear, it would need a wash after a day. I'm only wearing mine for maybe 30 mins at a time.

[Macncheeseballs]

I don't wash ours often, no ill effects so far

[switswoo81]

When we used cloth masks in work the guidance was once removed it went into a plastic bag and brought it home to wash it.
Now we wear disposable once they are removed for eating etc they are disposed of. We were told they never go back on.
So I do this at home too. Just throw them into the wash every couple of days so have a few on the go

[maddy68]

I wash mine every night in the sink and hang in the bathroom to dry , I wear it the next day. They dry overnight

[cupsofcoffee]

I wash mine when I remember to take it out of the car. I only wear it for about ten minutes a week though!

[noblegiraffe]

Two a day, changed at lunchtime and then washed.

[murbblurb]

If it has only been worn for a few minutes I will reuse it after a couple of days. If worn for more than an hour it is damp so gets washed.

I have several all the same though so I suppose people may not know that!

[GlutenFreeGingerCake]

Yeah I wash by hand and dry overnight too

[TheWeekendMum]

I only have to wear a mask for the last part of the morning school run and the afternoon school run until I've got DD (she has speech issues that means she has to see and hear the words and shape of your mouth or she can't understand anything) or if I go shopping on my own so I only wash it if it's damp or I've sneezed while wearing it, so maybe 2-3 times a week if that.

[JenniferWeCantGoWrong]

@Spectrumofhumanlife

I only wear a mask because I have to, and I don’t wear one for work so only in shops and for the school run (outdoors, which is mental, but there you go).
I wear whatever one is hanging around in my bag/pocket. Washed maybe weekly.

Me too!

[LimaFoxtrotCharlie]

Mine lasts a week, sometimes two. Worn daily at work though quite often just hanging off one ear. Worn at weekends to go shopping etc. Lives in pocket, not in a plastic bag.
No baskets of masks in this house!

[TwoBlueFish]

Washed everyday here.

[EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall]

I only wear it on the school run or in shops so I only wash it when I remember probably once a week

[Wannabegreenfingers]

After every wear here.

[StormcloakNord]

Oh dear. You'd hate me lol

I have about 3 masks I often scramble to find. Bought them at the start of this pandemic and they've never been washed whoops!

I only wear them because I have to though, not because I think it offers any form of protection.

[XenoBitch]

I would hazard a guess and say the vast majority of people wear masks because it is law, and not because they think it helps.
So those same folks wont be washing them several times a day etc.

[Lockheart]

I have 6 or 7, I use a fresh one daily. I wear it for about 30-40 mins a day total.

If I'd only worn one for a few mins in a shop I wouldn't put it in the washbasket, I'd re-wear.

[ThatIsMyPotato]

1 mask per day, 2 if it feels like it needs changing sooner. No wonder people get maskne if they leave it a week all humid and breathy.

[cardibach]

Some of my colleagues are clearly wearing the same mask every day without washing it though
How can you possibly know that @TheHamsterCatcher? I have several the same that I use for work.

[FlyingLoo]

Washed every single day by hand and by the next day they’re dry, so same mask worn again.