u/iso_inane

I'm looking into the omnimask so i can use it while performing (dancing, rapping), so people can be able to read my lips

I know thats a lot of movement, and i assume the mask would fog up with rapping/singing alot

I read a few reviews and people have said the mask surprisingly doesnt fog up due to anti fog coating, and that it only does for strenuous activities (which wasnt not elaborated on)

for those that own this mask,

1. Have you ever danced or did exercise while wearing it and talking a lot? did it fog up?

2. Does it get really gross to look at upon sneezing into it? Easy to doff and wipe clean?

3. Does it get humid and have condensation dripping down the inside?

4. why do people say that the original filters are not as good? is it necessary to get other filters?

Btw, im aware it muffles voices. I was thinking to attach the diaphragm (spelling?) piece from another respirator but someone else said that would cause it to be much more humid and have condensation issues. Do you guys know why that is?

i read a lot about this mask but cant find the specific information im looking for.

thanks

I played a game as a kid that felt like the most addictive and simple fun with satisfying sound effects. it burned itself into my memories for years. as i grew i always made a mental note to find this game. i think i tossed my original one bc it broke or died.

this is not easy for me to explain but, it was an lcd handheld with a purple case if i recall. the game had a dark screen, that you had to open to view the game. it was like a gameboy advance SP shape with the top part thats on a hinge if i recall. or maybe it opened like a door with two hinges on the side perhaps but i think the former feels more right.

the items and characters on the screen and the white hallway lines were see through, so it was best to play by holding the game up. you could tell what was selected/active bc there was light illuminating the active items on the screen

I remember the game was just going down an endless dark hallway. majority of the game was black, with the white hallway lines, the white/light blue gems, and the enemies that i think were green?

in this endless turning hallway, you would come up to a corner and choose to enter it by pressing left or right. i think there was either a chest with a gem/diamond that caused u to progress, or an enemy that caused you to start over if you didnt react quickly to kill it. you could also often accidentally destroy the gem if you expected an enemy around the corner and hit the attack button

i dont remember if the playable character was a dragon, but that feels right. i cant remember if it was a first person pov, or if the character is seen on screen while walking down the hallway

this has been one of my most loved, long lost games. i have others i may post about here some day. but ive been thinking about this and it would be nice to replay on the off chance it isnt super expensive to rebuy or rare to find. thanks!

I've worn these a couple years ago but ditched them since they didnt have nose foam and since then i completely forgot how comfortable they felt.

My go to masks were well before kn95 pro for a while, but i think the small is too small and the regular size is too big. Whenever i would smile or laugh loudly, the seal would break, which was a pain.

I got my order of breatheteq smalls and they fit me so much better. I think they are a bit wider than the well before kn95 which feels more narrow. I can smile and laugh and talk and yawn, and it stays in place much better.

I also added 3m microfoam tape to the perimeter, and wear them with a head strap attached. I tried wearing them earloop only for quick store trips and in the house outside of my room, and it actually feels like it fits me okay! Ive heard things like their nose wire is weak and that the earloops dont fit well, that has not been my experience. the nose wire is thin but stronger than what i remember, and im comfortable wearing them as earloops for shorter durations in shared spaces (headstrap take longer to put on when im just ducking inside quickly).

The BEST PART: they are so breathable!!!!!!!!! I work in a demanding food service job, and usually my Wellbefores were so humid and sweaty by the end of my shift, and I'd be irritated and uncomfortable. Yesterday i was fully sprinting back and forth from the garbage bin outside and breathing hard, and the breatheteq stayed dry and breathable! That's the ultimate test to me.

I have yet to do a qualitative test (cant afford quantitative) but i am planning on it. I notice that with both the breatheteqs and 3m aura, i can feel the entire mask collapsing a little in on itself when i breathe, and pushing out when i breathe outward. The breatheteq also moves with my face as i talk. the 3m microfoam tape on the perimeter does wonders for it sticking to my face. My wellbefore would feel so constrictive, again maybe i was wearing the wrong size, but my goto was small, and the regular felt too big. I may try the regular size again in the future bc i like their colors (maybe)

But im in the US and the breatheteq masks will have a 50% tariff increase soon. I just bought 20 but i may have to stock up more. I'm neurodivergent and finding a brand that works perfectly for me is hard bc its harder for me to adapt to new things. Does anyone know of another breathable mask that's US based? I'm poor and breatheteq as it is, is already expensive for me to buy. I'm not sure if i should stock up or not bc of that. But ik i most likely wont be able to afford them again if i dont :(

I got the lavender and gray, they are beautiful

To make a super long story super short, i am trying to move out of an unsafe environment by getting a van and living in it. I was considering an apartment, but they are too expensive monthly.

I am working on getting my license (havent yet because of mental health struggles with achieving long term goals)

This might be my only hope of having a place to myself.

I'm planning to

- get license

- have someone look over the van (my family member is a mechanic) to make sure it is safe before buying

- buy used van

- have someone help me drive it out of state and park it outside a safe person's house

- it will not have any valuables in it. all my valuables will be stored in safe persons house.

Alternatively I'm thinking to buy the van in the new state, but id have to rent a uhaul to move all my stuff anyways, and then pay someone for a pre purchase inspection

I have taken driving lessons in the past, and I'm comfortable in a car, but theres a lot i still need to learn. I'm still not great with spatial awareness or knowing how far away the curb is when pulling over, or backing up.

I just want to know, is being a new driver and living in a van a horrible idea? Ideally i would keep it mostly parked at the safe persons house and get rides to work and back. I do want to also practice driving it around but i just dont feel comfortable driving my home around a lot

Edited to add questions:

What can I expect the monthly cost of van life to be, if I'm usually parked, and paying for gas and car insurance?

2nd Edit: i am going to continue getting driving lessons to make sure I'm a more confident and safe driver.

Today , the air quality was still very bad, the sky wasn't yellow anymore but you could see a thin layer of smoke over everything and smell it even stronger than yesterday

I was waiting for my bus and saw an older couple walk by in surgicals. I thought to myself, dang its really sad that they may not know surgicals dont do as much for protection, and i wonder if they're covid conscious or just doing it bc of the smoke? i got on the bus with them, and they immediately took their surgicals off

it makes me really sad to see people so uninformed about mask types when there are better options for protection. all this sickness could be prevented if officials made it clear that masks work and which masks are best.

i was toying with the idea of making a card briefly explaining the diff types of masks and how to protect against covid, to hand out to ppl with an extra mask. But its also difficult for me bc i take the same route every day, and im neurodivergent with very finite energy. so if i make small talk with people like that, i stand out , and they continue speaking to me every single time they see me, when im overstimulated and exhausted from working. this has been a huge source of dread for me in the past and also caused issues with my safety, thats why i stopped striking up conversations with strangers. and also, there have been a lot of violent random outburts from strangers in that area and for my safety i try to mind my business and not speak with anyone.

but i just thought id share bc it made me feel sad for the people that dont have the same information we do. but i started with no information, and i learned through listening to peoples experiences with covid and different mask types and researching it myself. so i wonder why they dont do the same.

The outside air stings my eyes, smells weird and the atmosphere is tinted murky yellow

Eating lunch in the employee closet for the first time in months. Normally i only do this if im close to fainting and cant get outside to eat

I'm not worried about getting sick, since i know i need to eat and it couldnt be helped. But im curious if others would make the same choice in my situation?

choosing to eat outside in that air quality

VS inside in a room alone

Its probably not a choice others here would have made. I used to do this all the time and then mask around my coworkers after lunch. I never tested positive for covid tho i know just bc i wasnt sick doesnt mean i didnt have it. im so much more careful now these days but didnt feel comfortable unmasking outside. even walked to work in my mask. the haze outside is awful.

I was looking at them because of the ability for people to read the wearer's lips. I was at a pride event last month, masking in a well before kn95, and the music was so loud near the speakers, that when i tried to join the conversation people couldnt hear me. and the fact they couldnt read my lips made me feel really left out.

I was considering getting those clear window masks for situations like that! Especially when i want to start going to clubs/karaoke again. i think itd be nice to not have to shout into peoples ear canals in a desperate attempt to be heard 😭

Do you think moisture build up would be a problem in the mask? is there any way to combat that?

thanks in advance for ur answers.

I don't have any redimasks, but i have a pain in my gums and i may need to go to the dentist soon. Do you think taping another mask on the area around my nose using double sided tape would help? all i have at home are 3m aura, a kn95 bifold, and wellbefore kn95s (regular and pro). Do i need to cut the mask to fit just over my nose before taping?

I've never done the hack before, but I assume its worn under a cloth mask over both nose and mouth that you remove once youre in the chair. I cant imagine people are walking in with a mask only over their noses (I am severely socially anxious, i know this may not matter to other people)

I am sorry if i spelled redimask/readimask wrong

As i was finishing taping the shroud i ran out of aluminum tape so majority of the border of the shroud isnt taped down, only the bottom. Can i still run it and will it work or should i wait until i get more tape?

this is my first CR box and i built it with a 20 inch box fan, the filters, cardboard shroud and the aluminum tape. i dont know anything and i am learning. thanks in advance for ur patience with me

i tried to build this in one night after a long day and oh man the fact i ran oit of tape and its not finished AND im so sleepy sucks

EDIT to add: what do i do with the second filter. how do i store it. should it be covered up. thanks for answering and sorry for any typos i am dangerously tired

hi guys. i live with family and i mask outside of my room. I've even started brushing my teeth and washing my face in my room, and masking in the shower. my folks go to a lot of gatherings and theres usually a visitor over every other day. when i learned about how covid lingers in the air it made me want to start masking at home again. ive been masking again for about a year or 2 in kn95s in public. now ive just been a lot more consistent with it.

my room is pretty small, and i usually have the window cracked or open all the way (depending on if rain), and a fan going. i never open my room door for long anymore. i used to keep it open to bring in more air circulation every now and then, but i stopped bc of being more covid conscious.

Now, I've been masking wearing kn95 (mainly from well before but also breatheteq) and ive never done a fit test in them. i cant afford the quantitative test (most likely never will unless i get rich) so i was going to buy the supplies to do a diy qualitative test with the bitter solution and a nanomister sprayer. i dont know how well my masks fit me, and i wear them everywhere in shared public spaces and sometimes outside if a lot of people are around. but i dont know how well they work since ive never tested.

However since im now realizing keeping a shitty fan blowing in one corner and my window cracked is probably not doing that much to move the air in my room, especially bc i never keep my door open.

So i wanted to build a CR box to help clean the air. i don't make a lot of money and have other expenses each week. so i cant buy both the CR box and the qualitative fit testing materials at the same time. i need to get one before i get the other.

if you were in my situation, which would you prioritize getting first?

i also suspect there is mold in the house, which is a big reason i wanted to get an air purifier as well. my folks dont care and wont listen to my concerns so im trying to do what i can to protect the space in my room itself. i havent seen mold in here but ive seen it in the basement. my room is upstairs away from it but our laundry is washed and hung in the basement. not sure if mold spores can travel on them or even through out the house in general. Yea its distressing and theres a million other reasons why i dont feel safe here and am trying to save money so i can move out asap

Ugh. and im actually feeling sick today even tho i mask everywhere and its bumming me out that it might be bc of either the air in my room or my masks not fitting right. or maybe bc last work shift i ate inside (alone) because it was raining outside and i was going to faint. could be either of those i guess. I cant afford to buy covid tests either so idk what im sick with.

Months ago, i noticed a girl with cool hair at the train station. she would get on and off the train at the same cities as me. I never said hi, because i knew the moment i did, i would have an unskippable small talk cut scene whenever i saw her, whether i had energy or not.

One day i go to the store down the st from my job, she's on the register. She gushes about how cool i dress and how she always wanted to say hi but was too shy. It didnt bother me, it was pleasant and kind conversation. I thought i learned her name, but i forgot it. Every time i saw her at the train station afterwards, i would confidently say "Hi [wrong name]." One day she came up to me and said , "Hi i just wanted you to know, my name is [correct] not [wrong], its okay tho!" From there her coworker walked up to us and suddenly we 3 got on the train together, sitting together and chatting. a few weeks of this go by. she makes a racist joke. i text her saying i enjoy sitting on the train alone to destress before work, please dont take it the wrong way, but can we please just keep our greetings as a passerby thing instead of an invitation to sit on the train together? that was the best way i could manage, texting is easier but its scary waiting for the reply. she was completely fine with that and is still friendly towards me, greeting me and keeping it moving

Her coworker however, i really enjoyed their company, at first. whenever i saw them, they would chat with me and sit with me when the train pulled up.

but even though i think they are a cool person, i really dont like the expectation to sit with someone and have half n hour of small talk when i have to regulate my emotions and mentally prepare for an already highly social day at work. I dont enjoy constant socializing, and i struggle with feelings of shame when they talk about certain things i cant relate to. i tried offering to talk about my book i brought with me (which i really wanted to read) and they just stared at me and waited for me to stop talking

Its hard because some days i cant tell if i really do enjoy the conversations, since i am still unlearning people pleasing behavior, i will sometimes leave a highly energetic friendly even funny conversation, and think it went well. then days later i realize i was ignoring my own desires of resting, being nonverbal, having 0 expectations to laugh or listen, and not be perceived by someone staring at me as i want to sit in stillness and look out the window and daydream.

the other day i saw them get on the train, and i walked past their seat and sat in the same car. i was able to enjoy a quiet train ride in pure bliss, reading. i got up at our stop, they got up and went over to stand with me, happily saying "omg we were sitting right near each other and we didnt know the entire time" and i wanted to say "actually i saw you, but i wanted to read." but i stopped myself bc they were so friendly and excited and it sounded harsh.

theres not rlly anything inherently wrong with socializing on the train. but i am a person who prefers to be alone unless its a hangout somewhere. i really dont like when i see people ik on the train and they sit and talk to me. i am really tired of denying how i really feel in the name of people pleasing/appearing normal

How do i go about this? do you think its reasonable to text them the same thing i texted the other person? im worried that if i try to do it in person when i see them, ill be too anxious to go through with saying i want to sit alone. i rlly dont know how to handle this. its making me want to hide at the train station but hiding has never helped me.

I was using Well before kn95 3D masks (the pro version fits me better but it seems to go out of stock alot), and the nose seal is absolutely terrible for me. I can feel lots of air coming in when i breathe. For a while i was using double sided mask tape (i think Mask Tite is the brand?) and even tho it helped a lot it was a wildly uncomfortable experience. I work in food service and all the running around at work and then trying to run outside in the heat to catch public transit made my mask tape get gooey after a few uses. The feeling of that tacky gooey residue on my face made me want to scream but I had to play it cool until I got home. I also need to remove my mask alot thru out the day to drink water/eat. So it was pretty awful feeling my mask peel slowly off my skin like a sticker, and also made me way more anxious removing it in front of people.

Someone suggested buying 3m microfoam medical tape since the foam is slightly tacky and it adheres to skin pretty well. I bought two rolls from medical monks and just put some onto my masks. Let me tell you, the ability to don and doff my mask without having to deal with that awful peeling away sensation of tape is just pure bliss. It also helps the mask stay in place snug against my nose and not slip around, just like using the tape.

I'm really thankful for this hack and wanted to share in case anyone else isn't aware. I also folded and stapled the bottom of the mask to help it fit more snug at my chin. I normally only put tape at the top of my masks because i lift up the bottom to drink water thru a straw alot and i like it to be easily removable with nothing in the way. But im gonna try to put the foam tape on the bottom as well to see if that helps any.

Just wanted to share my experience in case this helps anyone. I have yet to do a fit test. (Definitely need to, but as of right now this is my setup) i am much more comfortable and the fit feels a lot more secure than without the foam.

I only included brand names, and website names in case people were wondering exactly what product im using and where to buy it

EDITED to fix typos

I haven't fit tested yet. I know its very important, but i also wondered what to do if it turns out the 20+ KN95 3D masks i have in my possession arent effective? I read here that even if they arent as effective if the seal isnt perfect, its still better than nothing. I also use mask tape and other things to make the fit better, like putting a headstrap through the ear loops and wearing it around my head that way.

What did you guys do with your masks when you found out they didnt ace the seal test? And how did you know which ones to buy that would?

I am low income, so the idea of not using the masks I already have, and buying a fit test, and buying a bunch of masks (i dont even know if you can buy less than 10 at a time) to try out to see if the seals are better seems stressful to me financially.

I'm also neurodivergent and pretty comfortable and confident in my current masks, so possibly having to change them is hard to cope with.