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

[focusondisney]

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

New York too

 

[MICKIMINI]

I have quite a collection of pretty Vera masks, some not worn. When I start packing for November, I will go through our Disney stuff and toss them. I bought them for $3-4 each/free shipping online early on so not a great loss. Of course, the colors and patterns were bought for specific outfits LOL!

 

[GoingSince1990]

Why throw them away when you never know if a new pandemic may come along one day and masks might be needed again? And if (as we all hope) that never happens, they would be good props if a grandchild asks me one day to help with a school assignment on the Covid pandemic.

 

[Kittyblue]

Make a quilt?

 

[Brett Wyman]

Well, cloth masks, while they may look neat, are, as we have learned over the past 30 months, pretty useless by themselves. If you would like to finish off an effective 95 or surgical with a nice looking cloth, keep and use. Otherwise, maybe toss.

Yup. Its best to trash them.

 

[DisneyHardin]

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

I picked up my free N95's from Kroger, but it has been a while ago.

 

[DVC-Don]

Burn em.

 

[mrodgers]

Everyone relating not getting sick in the last 2+ years to masks. I've never had any masks, only getting one to go to any doctor/dentist office. I also have not been sick at all in the last 2+ years.

I do suspect I had Covid late 2019 over Christmas break. I'd never been that sick in my life with several days all I could do was stand or sit prim and proper on the edge of a seat or I couldn't breathe. I have no way of knowing what I caught during that time though.

 

[Princesca]

I would keep them. It's not like they take up a ton of room. When we couldn't get N95s, we doubled up on cloth or did a shop towel folded up into a cloth mask, or a paper mask under the cloth mask.

At the rate we are going, we will have another pandemic someday and you might be glad you still have them.

Plus, while I do not have fond memories of COVID as a whole, I do have fond memories of the early days when people genuinely came together to make these to protect others. Almost like a quilt, all my early masks have a story behind them, who made them, etc.

 

[_19disnA]

Whether or not you think masks work to prevent covid is a different issue from what to do with old/used ones. I would toss them in the trash once covid is behind us. If there is some other pandemic in the future, you would probably want to buy new/clean ones anyway.

 

[MamaMermaid]

We tossed ours.

 

[Sinder]

Have a burn party

 

[Sinder]

New York too

Not in any medical facility, my ds's dermatologist doesn't require masks.

 

[focusondisney]

Not in any medical facility, my ds's dermatologist doesn't require masks.

The hospitals & doctors offices in my area still do.

 

[Sinder]

The hospitals & doctors offices in my area still do.

Some here do too but not all of the medical facilities in NY require them. I was surprised when we didn't have to wear them at the dermatologists office or the eye doctor's. I assumed it was any/all medical offices but I guess that isn't the case anymore.
We did have to wear them at Urgent Care and the ER (last week) and security was on top of anyone who didn't have one, or had it pulled down. They weren't messing around.

 

[Christine]

Some here do too but not all of the medical facilities in NY require them. I was surprised when we didn't have to wear them at the dermatologists office or the eye doctor's. I assumed it was any/all medical offices but I guess that isn't the case anymore.
We did have to wear them at Urgent Care and the ER (last week) and security was on top of anyone who didn't have one, or had it pulled down. They weren't messing around.

So far every medical facility I've been to (and it's been a lot) in the last few months has required them. I asked my orthopedic about it on my last visit. He says it's voluntary, but all the doctors are choosing to continue with the masks because it's the only way they can keep their facilities running with minimal staff disruptions. He said if I get 3 nurses out, then I literally need to start cancelling patients.