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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

527 replies

Bvop · 09/05/2021 21:38

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?

OP posts:
kowari · 10/05/2021 20:18

@saraclara

This thread's not about the efficacy of masks though. It's about putting something next to your face that has days/weeks/months worth of dried saliva and snot embedded in the fabric. And breathing through it.

I bet loads of these posters wouldn't wear a bra twice, and shudder at wearing pants more than once. Yet they'll breathe through a bacteria and snot storage unit.

Why would I wash my bra everyday? I did if I got milk on it when I was breastfeeding, but otherwise it doesn't get any dirtier than my jeans.
woodhill · 10/05/2021 20:18

[quote LST]@Barbie222 why? Do you not see that people aren't like you? And comparing someone who doesn't shower everyday to someone who lived in the middle ages is just being a goady arse.[/quote]
Yes, it's very silly. We should never take the abundance of hot water washing facilities and machines for granted especially with climate change

mathanxiety · 10/05/2021 20:18

Agree with @RainedOn

This thread is unbelievable.

kowari · 10/05/2021 20:20

@BetterThanKleenex

I wash them after every use, and if i need to wear disposable I bin them after each use. Whether it's a ten minute stint or 4 hours, they need washing.

Mask controversy aside, why do people think it's big and clever to wear the same piece of manky fabric over their face? It's ok, you can wash it and still be quirky and pretend covid isn't real x

Why can I wear a mask for 4 hours but not 10 minutes twice?
LST · 10/05/2021 20:21

@BetterThanKleenex

I wash them after every use, and if i need to wear disposable I bin them after each use. Whether it's a ten minute stint or 4 hours, they need washing.

Mask controversy aside, why do people think it's big and clever to wear the same piece of manky fabric over their face? It's ok, you can wash it and still be quirky and pretend covid isn't real x

Nah. My mask isn't manky because I've had it on for 10 mins. I wear a scarf over my face in the winter to walk the dog. I don't wash that after every use either.
Whatalottachocca · 10/05/2021 20:22

I thought I was being very “eco” by not washing mine and by re-wearing disposable ones until they fall apart. 😄 I’m doing my bit for the environment!

Spectrumofhumanlife · 10/05/2021 20:23

@Whatalottachocca

I thought I was being very “eco” by not washing mine and by re-wearing disposable ones until they fall apart. 😄 I’m doing my bit for the environment!
Someone has to, the rest of the world seems to have forgotten that caring for the environment was a thing, before Covid!
thenightsky · 10/05/2021 20:26

@Whatalottachocca

I thought I was being very “eco” by not washing mine and by re-wearing disposable ones until they fall apart. 😄 I’m doing my bit for the environment!
You are! Sick of seeing the bloody things in gutters and pavements, blowing around in the wind. I wonder how many end up in the seas and oceans.
Helspopje · 10/05/2021 20:26

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-tyne-53526244

Treat your mask like your pants
Don’t wear dirty ones
Don’t wear a ripped or holey one
Make sure it covers the necessary bits

So yes - fresh masks daily please!

kowari · 10/05/2021 20:29

I don't think the cheap disposable ones should be widely available outside of medical settings, they are a huge littering problem.

thenightsky · 10/05/2021 20:32

@kowari

I don't think the cheap disposable ones should be widely available outside of medical settings, they are a huge littering problem.
^ This!
LST · 10/05/2021 20:35

@Helspopje

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-tyne-53526244

Treat your mask like your pants
Don’t wear dirty ones
Don’t wear a ripped or holey one
Make sure it covers the necessary bits

So yes - fresh masks daily please!

I don't wash my pants after 10mins either..
ChardonnaysPetDragon · 10/05/2021 20:38

I'm always agog at the people who don't wash bras, tops etc after each use and who don't shower every day. I wouldn't have fitted in well in the Middle Ages.

Who on Earth washes their bra after every wear?

kowari · 10/05/2021 21:05

I don't wash my pants after 10mins either.. I don't change mine everytime I go to the loo. I wear a swimsuit more than once on holiday too, just let it dry out.

LST · 10/05/2021 21:08

@kowari

I don't wash my pants after 10mins either.. I don't change mine everytime I go to the loo. I wear a swimsuit more than once on holiday too, just let it dry out.
Exactly!
museumum · 10/05/2021 21:29

If I put pants on for 90 seconds to two minutes (eg decided they were wring fir my outfit) then I certainly wouldn’t wash them!

BackforGood · 10/05/2021 21:42

Exactly kowari and LST

User123456777 · 10/05/2021 22:39

I don’t know I couldn’t care less anymore, il use a disposable mask more than once. Life’s going back to normal soon there’s hardly any covid around. I can’t say I disinfect they trolleys either or wash my hands after being in the shop, I’m so over it all.

Ollinisca · 11/05/2021 02:28

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted

TwatWaffleTwinkleToes · 11/05/2021 13:28

@TheAlphaandtheOmega

This thread is like a typical MN towel or sheet washing thread
Yep.

Presumably it gives some people a much-needed chance to feel better than someone else for a few seconds...

It's not 'enough' to say "I wash my mask every minute/hour/day/week/month/year [daa] because that's what I think is best for me".

It has to become "anyone who doesn't do that is a dirty bugger who should be ashamed of themselves".

I blame politics Grin. No longer does anyone try and debate on the merits of their own viewpoint, instead they just insult the opposing views.

MargaretThursday · 11/05/2021 14:16

Mine, I come home go in a boil wash and are normally dry by the next day, but I do alternate them.

Ds and dd2 have both got several masks that look the same.

You can't tell.

csigeek · 11/05/2021 17:19

I keep one in the car for the week of nursery drop off and pick ups, worn for approx 3 minutes per day 3 days a week. Then it gets washed.
New mask for every other outing.

LexCake · 11/05/2021 17:39

At the moment, on most days I don’t wear a mask at all because I’m at home or outside for a walk or run. At the weekend if I pop into a shop or get a takeaway coffee then I might wear one for a few minutes. Definitely not washed ever day, therefore.

browneyes77 · 11/05/2021 17:47

I have several of the same mask.

I work from home and only wear the mask when I pop out to the shops, so it might get worn for a few minutes max, a couple of times a week.

So as I rotate between clean masks anyway, I don’t need to wash the same mask every day.

cakewench · 11/05/2021 17:50

If you've been WFH and are only going out for the odd shopping trip, I can see going quite a while without washing them.

However, having to work with the mask on (on and off- in a school, so not on full time in the classroom) means I wash them fairly regularly. I have a few of them, enough for a week, and I hand wash/soak them and hang them up for when I need them.