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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:
Timper · 09/05/2021 22:23

@Mooda

My hygiene habits are low by MN standards but yes I wear a clean one every day, sometimes more than one if it was required say in the morning then evening. It's gross to be reusing them.

And to all the PP saying 'I only wear one because I have to' - ??? That is literally the case for everyone. Nobody is wearing them for the enjoyment of it!

No but there are many people who openly admit that they’ll still wear them once they are no longer mandatory so I guess no it’s not the case for everybody. Mine will be binned the minute they are no longer required.
PixellatedPixie · 09/05/2021 22:24

I think it’s weird that people weren’t all wearing the highest protection surgical masks. I only wore the KN95 ones because why would I want to make other people ill or contract the virus. Fabric ones are not nearly as effective. I understand now that many people have been vaccinated and so are more relaxed but I’ll never know why everyone wasn’t wearing the highest level of protection.

sansou · 09/05/2021 22:26

Yes. DC hand theirs over straight away after school. I scrubbed them in hot soapy water and they are dried overnight. They do have multiple masks but seem to like wearing the same one everyday. I make them take in 2 spares in a zip lock bag just in case. The spares are rarely used but they have lost one on occasion. I made quite a few last summer so we have plenty. I have to occasionally change the metal nose clip because they only last a few weeks before they break.

minniemomo · 09/05/2021 22:26

I use surgical ones, I'm not admitting to how many times it's worn except to say more than a few. I don't wear mine all the time at work, only if I have to deal with the pesky public, plus in shops etc of course

PiccalilliChilli · 09/05/2021 22:27

I work in a public facing role. I travel on buses daily. I have about 6 masks on a constant rotate. As soon as i get in from a shift my mask goes in the machine. My husband is the same. My daughter...not so much. We wash at 40°, dry on the line and use a hot iron. I don't like the disposable masks because I shudder as their environmental impact. As long as the cotton ones are washed alongside my usual laundry I don't feel as guilty as putting 1-2 masks a day in landfill.

Elphame · 09/05/2021 22:27

I only wear one because I have to for a quick dash around Waitrose twice a month.

I guess perhaps I should wash it more than I do....

RedcurrantPuff · 09/05/2021 22:28

Christ who cares. Honestly.

getyourfreakon · 09/05/2021 22:28

This thread is making me even more sick of the general public than I already am. How has this been difficult to grasp? Yeah, you're required to wear masks. Do you really need it pointing out that they need to be washed? How often do you wash your knickers after wearing? You're just paying (muffled) lip service. It doesn't take a high IQ to figure out how hygiene works during a pandemic.

DispensingShitAdviceSince2002 · 09/05/2021 22:28

@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.
This.

I hate the bloody things. Thank God I don't have to do a school run, because I'd be muttering about having to wear one outdoors. Indoors is bad enough.

Spectrumofhumanlife · 09/05/2021 22:29

@PixellatedPixie

I think it’s weird that people weren’t all wearing the highest protection surgical masks. I only wore the KN95 ones because why would I want to make other people ill or contract the virus. Fabric ones are not nearly as effective. I understand now that many people have been vaccinated and so are more relaxed but I’ll never know why everyone wasn’t wearing the highest level of protection.
We were told not to buy them and take up valuable supplies.
KnightError · 09/05/2021 22:30

@PixellatedPixie

I think it’s weird that people weren’t all wearing the highest protection surgical masks. I only wore the KN95 ones because why would I want to make other people ill or contract the virus. Fabric ones are not nearly as effective. I understand now that many people have been vaccinated and so are more relaxed but I’ll never know why everyone wasn’t wearing the highest level of protection.
Because the whole thing is overblown bollocks?

Just a suggestion.

mswales · 09/05/2021 22:30

I'm confused... Does everyone who washes their mask every day also wash their clothes every day? Any viral particles landing on the mask could just as easily be on your clothes... And anything you were going to breathe in you would have already breathed in before taking the mask off. Genuine question, I'm not clear on how washing the masks a lot makes you safer

99victoria · 09/05/2021 22:30

I can see if you have children wearing them at school and maybe have to wear them at work it makes sense you would need to have lots and you might as well just to put them in the wash on a regular basis.

In our house though we don't really have a life that requires wearing them. My OH and I only have one re-usable one each. We use them for extremely short periods of time so washing them isn't really something that is ever on my radar

Teenagehorrorbag · 09/05/2021 22:31

DCs have to wear them all day at school and they have two each, plus some disposables if needed. I have to admit I just wash them all at the end of the week. DH hardly uses one and I only need mine for shopping so it's not so bad for us....Smile

RedcurrantPuff · 09/05/2021 22:32

@AnUnoriginalUsername

We have a pack of disposable ones because I cba to wash masks and hate them smelling of washing powder and being on my face. Gives me a rash and headache.
Same here also I am menopausal and find cloth ones too hot.
Spectrumofhumanlife · 09/05/2021 22:32

@VictoriaLudorum

My goodness, in Germany we are not allowed out in public unless wearing an OP or FFP mask.
We haven’t been able to see friends or family indoors since January. Or since November for those in high tier areas 🤷🏻‍♀️
nocoolnamesleft · 09/05/2021 22:32

If I have worn a cloth mask during the day, when I get home it goes in the washing machine, awaiting the next wash, and a clean one goes in my coat pocket. It may not be apparent that it's a clean one as I have quite a few the same.

Penchantforfloralpatterns · 09/05/2021 22:32

I have to wear one for work so it’s straight in the wash when I get home and then a clean one goes on if I have to go out again.

PiccalilliChilli · 09/05/2021 22:34

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

I sleep in mine (can't be too careful) and then shower in it in the morning. They can get a big soggy after a couple of days and I have had to poke some disintegrated bits down the plug hole with DP's toothbrush. But yes, providing I have a shower, it is washed every day.
Confused You wear your mask in bed and in the shower? Confused
fiheka · 09/05/2021 22:34

@mswales forget covid. Masks should be washed every day from a basic hygiene point of view. You are breathing moist bacteria breath onto fabric. Not to wash them is very unhygienic.

StripyHorse · 09/05/2021 22:35

Sometimes I will wear it for 2 days - if I have only worn it for 10 mins or so. Any longer and it gets washed every day.

But, I made my masks myself and most of them were from fabric left over from a dress, so I have about half a dozen the same. I have also bought some in packs where each mask had the same design. It wouldn't be that unusual for someone to have a few the same - so they may be clean masks for all you know.

MinesAPintOfTea · 09/05/2021 22:36

Washed every wear. If I’m out for a few hours I will get through 3-4 as I take them off to have a drink etc. I made several three-layer masks from my scrap basket to permit this.

But I have oily skin, and when I have reworn, have had spot outbreaks. That’s no excuse to not wear a mask, but makes me strict on mask hygiene.

Babyfg · 09/05/2021 22:36

I have a few and at the end of the day the one I used is thrown in the laundry. I don't have to wear it much during the day so if I had to wear it a lot I'd probably use two. Tbh it's only because I'm worried a dirty mask will give me spots rather than anything to do with COVID

getyourfreakon · 09/05/2021 22:36

@mswales

I'm confused... Does everyone who washes their mask every day also wash their clothes every day? Any viral particles landing on the mask could just as easily be on your clothes... And anything you were going to breathe in you would have already breathed in before taking the mask off. Genuine question, I'm not clear on how washing the masks a lot makes you safer
Well once clothes are worn they go into the wash basket and get washed before they're worn again. Is that not a thing?
TheHamsterCatcher · 09/05/2021 22:36

@cardibach I know colleagues are using the same (unwashed) mask daily because they are visibly dirty/grubby!

I know there are plenty of people who have multiple identical masks, but that's definitely not the case with the colleagues I'm thinking of.