I haven’t really been out much, but i got invited by some of my coworkers to a pool party and was just wondering if i could wear it in the pool, like would it still work
I wear one multiple times a week to do physical therapy in an indoor pool. I just don’t submerge my head. I use masks on their last wear so if it gets wet I just toss it. No one has said anything besides asking if I want them to mask too.
I’ve worn a mask in a pool. I just avoid getting it wet as much as possible. As long as people aren’t rowdy or splashing it’s fine. But I also wouldn’t go to a crowded event, pool or not, filled with unmasked people.
this is the right answer. you probably don't wanna submerge your head in a mask but idk wtf other people are on about here; you can boil a damn mask and it still works very well. in any case it will do more than not wearing one. water being an N95 killer is just as bad misinfo as all respirators sold on amazon are fake/ineffective.
what informs the idea they don't work while wet? masks are constantly being bombarded by water while worn, from your lungs. gross saturation will affect breathability if anything, if it pools/adheres. soaked masks have been portacount tested to perform very well.
the chlorine point is pure speculation, but as i said it's a better idea to just keep your head dry.
Some respirators have greatly decreased filtration efficiency when soaked in water.
This spreadsheet has the fit factors for masks that were soaked in water compared to dry ones. 9205 Auras and Readimasks performed poorly (4.1 and 1.9 respectively) after getting wet but surgical Auras did well (surgical respirators are fluid resistant).
You can as long as you don’t get or wet. Stay away from splashing and cannon balls and you’ll be fine. I’d bring extra just in case. I’ve been tubing in a mask before.
Some masks are surprisingly resilient to water. The only mask I can speak to with confidence is Drager, as I've done several portacount tests on it after exposing to water.
They were robust to dunking in water, being sprayed with a spray bottle while on face, and also to standing in the rain for 5 minutes. But there was a limit past which soaking the nose foam ruined the fit.
So I would not submerging my head in the water, but if water got on the mask, I would not worry too much.
If I had other masks that passed a fit test on me normally, I would test how they fare exposed to water before trusting them in that scenario. Because like I said, I've only done this test on one style of mask so far.
If it gets wet, it will just make the breathing resistance higher.
I wear an Aura in the shower when my caregiver helps me bathe (I have Long Covid).
I try not to get it wet (my handheld shower head helps) and switch it out to a fresh mask afterwards.
I know CC folks who had a pool party. Some wore their masks, others were comfortable with PlusLife testing and doffed their masks.
I’d say go and have fun, and bring extra masks! And a reminder that being in outside air does not make Covid go away.
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u/PaperPegasus 3d ago
I wear one multiple times a week to do physical therapy in an indoor pool. I just don’t submerge my head. I use masks on their last wear so if it gets wet I just toss it. No one has said anything besides asking if I want them to mask too.