What do I do with all my old cloth face masks?

[mmbrad02]

Over time I've tossed the lesser liked ones but still feel like between the three of us I have a small drawer full in my dresser. I've not addressed that drawer yet. We primarily just wear disposable ones when required and keep a stash of those in our car.

 

[Dznypal]

I also like to burn them. I swear I can hear the little Covid germs scream as they fry. Gives me pleasure

 

[georgina]

I've still seen a few people double-masking, wearing a cloth mask over a surgical. I guess they either feel it gives an extra layer of protection, or they like the look of the cloth masks better. I find that too stifling. I'm fine with my surgical masks.

I did that for a while because the surgical masks did not fit me well. DH still wears them.

I did that before the free federal N95s became available because my face is narrow and surgical masks gap.

My doctor said double-masking helps primarily to make the surgical mask less likely to gap but does give a little extra protection.

I agree that's stifling. I find breathing through a close-fitting N95 easier.

Free N95's? where? How? Did not hear about this. I bought some KN 95s I am still wearing

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

I’m saving mine. You just never know when the next pandemic will roll around. I’d like to be prepared. Which is to say, I’ll use them to offset the TP shortage that will no doubt coincide.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Threw them away with great joy. Had it been winter I would have burned them aka bra burning in the 60’s lol
I feel really stupid for jumping on the bandwagon and buying so many. A lot of money I wasted
Along with all paper masks
I do not plan to wear one ever again so no reason to save them

 

[NannyBeBe]

Remove the binding at both ends to free up the pleats. Sew two masks together, back to back, with insulating batting in between. Sew an X design or other design onto the finished product. Makes a nice pot holder.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Remove the binding at both ends to free up the pleats. Sew two masks together, back to back, with insulating batting in between. Sew an X design or other design onto the finished product. Makes a nice pot holder.

Brillant

 

[punkin]

I’m saving mine. You just never know when the next pandemic will roll around. I’d like to be prepared. Which is to say, I’ll use them to offset the TP shortage that will no doubt coincide.

I so want to post a meme but it will probably get me points so I'm resisting...

 

[punkin]

Remove the binding at both ends to free up the pleats. Sew two masks together, back to back, with insulating batting in between. Sew an X design or other design onto the finished product. Makes a nice pot holder.

If only I could sew!

 

[thinkerbell]

We are still using ours everywhere we go. Ours have a filter pocket. I haven’t had so much as a cold or stomach bug since covid came along.

 

[tvguy]

We wear procedure masks in clinical areas but not required for admin.

I was at the blood lab yesterday and you can't even be in the building........still.....without a mask.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I was at the blood lab yesterday and you can't even be in the building........still.....without a mask.

In Illinois, anybody in any medical facility must mask up.

 

[disykat]

I had some of my masks prior to Covid because of my asthma for wildfire season. When I stop wearing them in crowds, I'll do what I always do with medical items I no longer need, put them away for if I need them again. I also have hand braces, shoe inserts, sterile bandages, etc. that are in my box of things I hope never to need again but keep in case I do. It's one shoe box in my closet. Even though disposables are now easy to access and I prefer them, I'll still keep the others on hand in case I need them.

 

[tvguy]

In Illinois, anybody in any medical facility must mask up.

We had meals out last night and tonight and I was surprised that both places all the employees were still wearing masks. Hasn't been required in a while, but I appreciated it.

 

[kdonnel]

I say make them into a quilt.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

We are still using ours everywhere we go. Ours have a filter pocket. I haven’t had so much as a cold or stomach bug since covid came along.

Me either

 

[hopemax]

I did that for a while because the surgical masks did not fit me well. DH still wears them.

Free N95's? where? How? Did not hear about this. I bought some KN 95s I am still wearing

This was back, like in January They had them at the entry way in our local Kroger. A large rack, with a limit 5 sign on it. They were the 3M Aura ones. They were there for a couple weeks, so I grabbed some when I went shopping. The old "finder" website is still on the CDC site. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/free-masks.html

As for the cloth masks, I still have them in a drawer. They may no longer work for COVID, but they worked okay for wildfires and super cold days. Not to mention other illnesses. But I still have surgical masks to work through too. The n95s I'm hording for travel days. I hate picking up something when I'm trying to get to get to my vacation destination, and then feeling lousy on Day 4. If I get sick on the way home, then it's okay, lol.

 

[nancipants]

I threw mine out, but kept others in a drawer that I liked the patterns. I wear KN95s if I’m spending a lot of time indoors, or a surgical mask if I’m darting in and out quickly (like picking my son up from daycare).

 

[DisneyOma]

We all wore cloth masks at the beginning of the pandemic and our school was pretty much COVID free for quite a long time, even when we all came back to full days, all present. Worked just fine when everyone wore them. I guess it's the double factor - blocked coming out of the infected person, blocked going into the other person.

I've got mine in a ziploc bag in the closet. Doesn't take up much space, and they are easy to access if needed again.

 

[Smugpugmug]

They're probably rotting in a drawer somewhere. I wear an N95 mask wherever I go in public spaces and I most likely will for the forseeable future. I have gotten sick way less often (minus Covid in June - had mild symptoms) since the pandemic began. I'll wear a mask and bring hand sanitizer with me if it means not getting whatever illness is floating around.