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I felt I needed a better mask. Not only feeling like – was told by a bunch of experts as well as a federal agency that it’s time for all Americans to wear a face mask that fits snugly. To wear even two face masks! My favorite cloth masks, which I bought last July (and enthusiastically recommended), were still cute after months and months. They fit pretty well. But just set on the idea that a mask really should really every time I lit one, I was suddenly very aware of the gaps at the top of the mask as I felt air blowing through them past my eyeballs. I saw this as a clear sign that my masks, which at the time fit the parameters of basic health recommendations, could be better.
Sure, I could look for new, more carefully tested masks – like fancy masks with removable filters. Or I could blow through the ‘Wild West’ of the N95s, which may or may not be exactly as described by vendors (although Wirecutter, my former employer, manages to frustrate recommendations after months of work). But I still loved the cloth masks – it got me through so much. Instead of throwing them away completely, I went on a bit of a mission to try to improve them.
Double masking, which hit public consciousness after the Buttigiegs were spotted during the inauguration – and received the most hits from all the new disease proposals from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention – seems like a good place to start. I blindly ordered a box of disposable masks because the recommendation is to filter a layer under the cloth layer (and I hope the masks I chose can legally filter).
Once I layered my masks, it was clear that this setup would not work for me, at least not with my current piece of cloth masks. So many layers created a thick blanket; it feels like my breath is leaking through the sides, rather than through the filter. I suspected this could happen – the point of double masking is to have a layer that filters well under a layer fit well and can pin everything. To do this, you need a cloth mask already pas knus. It may be slightly easier to achieve this if you have mask rather than ruffles. ‘The people in the know bind it [their] heads, ”one researcher told me how and how to double.
Since I do not own a cloth mask with ties, I decided to try to fake it with a mask extender.
An extension cord’s plastic straps fasten mask loops behind the head and it looks like it could make my non-masks fit tighter. While it did adjust a bit to fit the strap around my ponytail, it was safe at first, but it was pretty comfortable. The plastic strap made one mask fit few better than what the mask does otherwise, and although it improved my dual masking setup, it was still not cozy enough to make it as safe as I would have liked. It was still a painless upgrade, if it was relatively small – and it can be especially helpful to give your ears a little relief when dealing with an increasingly intricate tangle of mask loops and glasses.
Still dissatisfied with the gaps at the top of my mask, I decided to turn to another small improvement I had been wanting to try for a while: nose bridge strips. The new CDC guidelines suggest that you wear a mask with a bridge of the nose. It was dead simple to stick on the inside of my beloved and very simple cloth masks. It’s easy to form over the nose and has successfully prevented my sunglasses from fading – which is also a good test to see if the mask can leak air (and therefore aerosols) to the top. One caveat: the strips do not stay in the washing machine, so you must wash the mask by hand, sew it on or apply it fresh after each wash (hey, even less waste than surgical masks). Unlike anything else I tried, they also just made the mask wear nicely. Obviously, they do not solve the issue of filtering, but for low-risk situations, such as walking outside or briefly going into a pharmacy, they make me feel safer than I did before, without to make me stick too much stuff on my face.
The noseband strips did not improve my canvas masks enough so that I could feel comfortable with their level of protection in higher risk situations, so I turned to mask decorators, another recommended strategy of the CDC. A mask worker surrounds your mouth and pinches the mask against your face, forming a seal and preventing air from leaking. It can be hard to find, and while I wait until mine arrives, I decide to make one of the homemade versions available online.
I opted for a design created by engineers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The design is called the ‘Badger Seal’ after the school’s mascot. The design uses materials that are easy to order: vinyl tubes, cable locks, rubber bands and elastic ropes. The instructional videos were easy to follow; Although I did not have time myself, I would estimate that it took about 20 minutes to cut and assemble all the different pieces of tubes and ties. I appreciated that it pressed the mask well to my face, but a part of the tube kept slipping because I cut incorrectly and the wiring of the rubber lathe against my face was uncomfortable. Not the most viable solution unless you are trying to tamper. But my experience with Badger Seal has made something clear: a mask that washes against your face is different from a mask that really, well, seal to your face. Although it is not comfortable – and this is why wearing a well-fitted medical grade N95 marks will leave marks on your skin – a mask mask can enable the mask to really filter the air by the mask instead of directing air around the mask, thus making it more protective for those around you.
After making my own prop, I requested one from a company called Fix the Mask. (They then experienced stock inventory, but as of this writing, it is available within a few days of purchase.) It is made of soft rubber. Mine was not too comfortable than my homemade version, but it was an improvement. Because I did not make it myself, it did not threaten to fall apart on me. Although a mask mask may be a good solution for those who prefer surgical masks – surgical masks already provide a good filter, and the mechanic only increases its effectiveness – it did not work very well with my cloth masks. The pinned material is just too thick. That said, although it is not super comfortable and I will find it difficult to wear it in public where I feel somewhat self-conscious, I keep my mask fitter on hand. A friend and former colleague gave this mechanic a positive review at GQ and assured me via text that he wears it all the time.
I’m happy because a lot of my risk reduction strategy might just be to not go in for more than a few minutes. But I still want to try to protect myself and others as best I can. This experiment underlined something I have constantly felt since the inception of COVID-19: given the resources we have, and our dwindling endurance, it is very difficult – in different pandemic situations – to find the perfect solution. Although I did not end up on a Holy Grail mask, I do have some more imperfect strategies. At the beginning of the pandemic, I could not wear a mask on my face at all, and I would become more accustomed to these options. Stranger things have happened in the past year.