We have a big basket of masks, probably like everyone. What are you doing with your cloth masks? I figure I'll keep some, but mostly now if we need to mask we have to wear surgical masks or KN 95s anyway...so what to do now with the multitude of old masks?
Thinking of just throwing them in the Goodwill bin.
I'm keeping them because I'd like to keep up the practice of using them while we're sick with whatever to keep the entire household from getting it. Yes, we need to wear KN 95s for COVID but there are plenty of other things where the cloth mask might be helpful? IDK, that's my general line of thinking. I'm just kind of keeping them in our first aid area.
We still use ours. My toddler and I have to mask to go through the federal building lobby for daycare drop off and pickup every day, but he does not generally mask in his classroom. I'm not buying, and throwing away, a fresh mask every day just for that.
We have so many. I just stuffed them all into a bag and will put away for now. I got rid of some of the really old ones from the start of the pandemic. Giving them to Goodwill; they aren't on the prohibited list and our Goodwill is actually the place we go for textile recycling.
Post by gerberdaisy on Jun 8, 2022 21:14:53 GMT -5
Went through and only kept the ones in really good condition. Just put away for now, who knows for the future. I know one camp is requiring masks in the bus and might just send cloth ones.
I'm holding onto some of the nicer ones and will probably toss the others. We're still masking pretty regularly with KN95s and will probably do so still this summer, but who knows what the fall will bring.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
If you have a lot, fabric recycling. I’ve read the fabric degrades over time with washing so they really should be replaced after heavy use (which I assume yours largely were?). Kinda like car seats? After a certain amount of time & use, they really don’t keep you safe (or others, in the case of masks)
Good question. No idea what we will do with ours. Mine are all shoved in a bag. Haven’t touched them in almost a year. We still mask at all times indoors around people, but use kn94s or regular disposables.
Post by Velar Fricative on Jun 9, 2022 6:53:57 GMT -5
We kept the ones still in good condition and stored them for when they’re needed. Otherwise we had been using disposable masks for a while now so we have extras of those stored too.
DH still prefers the cloth masks when he’s had to wear masks (which was over the last couple of weeks at work after I tested positive), but the kids and I prefer surgical ones but we want a few cloth ones available if we are ever short.
We've kept the ones that our son liked and are still in good condition just in case. He never liked the disposable ones. Other ones I cut the elastics out and have been using them as reusable dusting cloths.
H and I much preferred the disposable style and have just kept the last open box we had left.
I still use ours, no plans for them other than recycle when they get holes. I haven't found a disposable mask that doesn't give me hives, so I wear the cloth under surgical masks, masks are still required at my job. DD hates paper masks, so she uses her cloth masks where needed. I actually have been wearing them when cleaning, helps with my dust allergies.
They're in a ziploc by person (although the kid and I are basically the same size). My mom was a machine sewing them for us, so I don't want to just throw them away if they're decent. Since they aren't taking up space (at the moment), I don't mind saving them.
For upcoming travel we're going to use disposables anywhere we may need to mask.
I still wear them sometimes. I’ll keep most. Some I’ll put into textile recycling. I’m sure we will need them again at some point the way things are going.
I should probably get rid of a bunch of DS1s. They got a lot of use and are looking a bit sad. We never did disposable for the kids.
We still use ours. My toddler and I have to mask to go through the federal building lobby for daycare drop off and pickup every day, but he does not generally mask in his classroom. I'm not buying, and throwing away, a fresh mask every day just for that.
omg when are you moving to your new daycare? this month right?
I gave all of mine to fabric recyclying. We still have to wear masks fairly often, but it needs to be a surgical mask, KN95, or n95. I have no use for cloth masks anymore.
We've been still wearing ours off and on. Mainly when we don't feel comfortable someplace because it is super crowded. I've been wearing mine when I've been outside to help with my grass seed allergies. I need to find a place that does textile recycling.
I threw ours in the trash. We still do mask regularly but use disposable ones. I hate the environmental impact of all of this, but cloth masks are not nearly as effective as surgical or KN95s so I don't really see the point in wearing the cloth ones anymore now that better masks are available everywhere.
Wait, why are we all getting rid of cloth masks? Was there some sort of announcement or something? We still use ours every day - they are three layers with a filter layer in the middle.
We still have a basket of masks in our mudroom. We wear them less frequently than disposable at this point, but I like to have them available if needed. Call me paranoid, but I figure as soon as I throw them out, some new variant will emerge that brings them back full time.
Wait, why are we all getting rid of cloth masks? Was there some sort of announcement or something? We still use ours every day - they are three layers with a filter layer in the middle.
The general recommendation has been surgical or kn95 for the best protection for awhile now. I know not all cloth masks are likely created equal so no real way to compare what everyone has to the specifics of what we know about surgical and kn95 (and n95, but those aren’t made for kids). A lot of people here still mask and a lot of kids are wearing non cloth masks, but I do know it can be difficult to find a mask that kids will wear so totally understandable if it’s a "pick your battle" kind of thing with kids.
For me personally since I’m an adult I’ve worn kn95 or n95 since March 2020 but I have the privilege of working in healthcare so I rarely have to buy my own masks (I bought a large supply of n95 back in spring 2020 when things were crazy). I have a few cloth masks and Sometimes I wear one over the kn95 just for "fashion" to add some color to my day!
We still wear ours, but when we have tossed some old ones I put them in the textile recycling at our donation place. I think many of them have textile recycling, but they all collect it in different ways. At ours we have to bag it separately and label as recycling.
Mine are just in a basket off to the side. We use other masks now when needed.
Someone put a bunch on our Buy Nothing group the other day, and there were a LOT of people interested in them, even in our area where almost no one wears masks anymore.
Post by sunshineandpinot on Jun 10, 2022 11:54:25 GMT -5
I washed them and put them in a gallon ziplock, high on a shelf to hopefully never been seen again! My kids can discover them years from now and talk about how wild 2020-2021 was. I'm not confident enough to toss them.
My DD refuses to wear k95 or anything like that, so we pick our battles. She wears a two layer mask with filter when necessary, so we've kept all of hers.
We've put ours to the side because I think we'll use them with other illnesses.