can anyone HONESTLY say they are doing this mask thing properly?

[RaspberryCoulis]

Yes it's another mask one, sorry.

Most people where I live are complying with the compulsory face coverings, in settings where they are mandatory.

But nobody I know is doing it "properly" according to the government guidance.

Disposables - clean hands before putting it on, put it on, don't touch it, clean hands before taking it off, take it off, bin it, wash hands again.

Reusables - clean hands before putting it on, touch only the straps, remove after use and immediately place in sealed plastic bag, wash your hands, launder your mask.

Or do most people do as I do - have a range of paper and fabric masks in the door pocket of the car, coat pocket, handbag, in the boot. Grab whatever's nearest and use that. Chuck it in the wash when you remember. Is there ANYONE really doing the plastic bag thing or chucking out a paper mask after a quick 5 minute scoot round the local corner shop?

No we aren’t doing plastic bags. I have a basket of reusable as in the porch and a basket for ‘dirty’ masks. So they are all changed and washed daily but I only use one for the whole day. I do sanitise my hands before and after putting it on / taking it off.

I'm certainly not. I'm doing it for 'show' and nothing else

In Japan, where I live, we have been using masks almost universally since the start of the pandemic and indeed before in many cases.

Nobody really follows those kinds of rules. You just put them on and bin them when you are done. Or, if it's a reusable one, you just chuck them in the laundry. None of this washing hands a million times guidance or never touching the mask again until removal.

I'm sure these rules are important for people who are in medical settings where there are strict hygiene rules. For everyone else, as long as you are doing normal things like washing hands when you come back into the house and after you eat etc., I don't think you need to worry.

Same. Purely for show.

No I’m not. But then my life is extremely small and I am gadfly a risk to anyone. If I were in a setting where transmission was high I’d be doing it properly.

*hardly

At work I do it properly and cry at the sea of waste it produces.
Rest of the time I have a stash of reusable ones and stick one in my pocket or bag when I leave the house. Goes in the wash at the end of the day along with the kids’ ones from school -they get a fresh one every day that goes in blazer pocket

Yes. To the letter.

Sort of. Sanitise hands, put mask on, remove by straps, sanitise hands, put in wash when I'm home

I'm not doing it "for show", I'm doing it purely to avoid a fine. I'm working at home, DH is working at home, we're in west Scotland and locked down again so there's no restaurants, bars, non-essential shops. We're going nowhere and seeing no-one.

My weekly trip to the supermarket is really low-risk and that's the only time I'm coming into contact with strangers. Agree that if I was going to visit an elderly relative in a care home or going into hospital for something I'd be more careful. But I would imagine that 90% or more of people are like me and not being careful, reusing paper masks multiple times and not doing the plastic bag for reusables thing.

Nope. As others have said, purely for show.

I think they're still pretty effective if you don't follow all those guidelines. The viral particles will be trapped within the fabric and even if you did touch them then I doubt that many would transfer onto your fingers.
I also think that if virus landed on the outside of your mask (and was thus a risk you would transfer it to your fingers) it has probably landed elsewhere on your face so you should also make sure you don't touch your face at all. The main thing is they stop large amounts of virus (mainly in droplets but also aerosolised) directly entering your respiratory passages. That will be a much larger amount of virus than any that you might get from touching the outside of your mask (where most particles will then be trapped in the fabric) and then touching your eyes or nose. (In my opinion anyway!).

So in summary I still think incorrect wearing is better than not wearing one.

I sanitise my hands before and after taking it off but I tend to just put it in my bag rather than in a plastic bag within my bag. I've not caught covid yet (although of course I may not have been exposed to it).

No. Stash of them in various coat pockets and in the car.

Chucked in the wash when I remember.

I wear them of course but it does make you think now it's getting colder and you can see peoples breath still with the masks. Makes you wonder just how much good they do.

Me, now I have “mascne” and my ears have developed eczema

I use hand sanitizer rather than wash but I do dispose of masks ASAP rather than rewear to help alleviate my issues!

I'm not doing it properly. Never wash my hands before or after and don't think I've washed one yet. I might wash them all tonight.

I gel my hands before and after but had no idea I was supposed to be using sealed bags.

Also for show. I never wash my hands before or after, and the reusable one I use gets washed only when the makeup marks are so visible inside that it's disgusting - every few weeks or so maybe. Lives in a crumpled heap in my coat pocket and loads of disposable ones live in my car/handbags and I use them repeatedly until they are gross.

Definitely not doing it correctly. It sits at the bottom of my coat pocket, festering. I put it on so I can enter the shop, remove it as soon as I leave.

Nope, I do put it on and take it off by the ear bits but I have several in several coat/jeans pockets and they get washed now and then. I wear one because I don’t want to make anyone else feel uncomfortable/worried. I never walk around wearing one outside even in between shops.

I use the same one all day and then it goes in the laundry basket. I don't wash hands before and after putting it on/taking it off but I do wash them as soon as I get home.

The main time I use it is for the school run where masks are now mandatory and I haven't seen a single person sanitizing their hands before putting their mask on.

I don't use the paper masks anyway but I absolutely hate the idea of disposing of the mask each time it's worn, so terrible for the environment. In a medical setting fair enough but for everyday low risk activities I would never want to do this.

Yes it's simply not practical to do that every time. I don't think it renders them pointless though, and I think it's another situation where 'good enough' should not be thrown out in pursuit of 'perfect' (and don't get me wrong, I hate wearing one, but can see they are part of the effort). We don't need to aim for truly 'aseptic protocol' in order to see a huge benefit from masks.

I’m not doing plastic bags but I do wash my hands before and after taking mine off and touch it by the straps.
I usually wear a reusable one but got disposables for a hospital appointment. I was concerned so I put on a new one after taking the bus there, then a third one for taking the bus back, straight into the bin each time and using hand sanitiser.
I wash my reusable ones after every wear. Presumably not doing so is one of the reasons why some people are noticing an impact on their skin.

DP and I do it for show. We keep two masks in the car for when we go shopping, put them on to nip to the shops, then leave them in the car again. Disposable ones, but we use them many times. We replace them maybe every few months (that's not as bad as it sounds to be fair, as we don't go out very often at all, only to the supermarket every few weeks) but I'm not replacing something that has only been on my face for 20 minutes at the most. I'll have a squirt of sanitiser on the way in, but again that's mostly for show.

I've had covid, so it's unlikely at the moment that I'd get it and spread it again.

Nope. Mine gets whipped out of my coat pocket for the school run along with all the other parents doing the same thing. I do wash them daily but I have a few. They get covered in make up as well.

I'm totally virtue signalling. Have to wear a mask at work, so I wear a reusable cotton one, but when I'm eating it just goes in my pocket . I do wash my hands and sanitise but I did that before because I work in a dirty environment. I don't take it on or off "properly" at all.