You have more than I have. When stay-at-home hit, all I had was a scarf, which worked but was uncomfortable. A friend who sews made 2 masks for me. I have only gone out for groceries and must haves, so 2 is plenty for me. If I were working I might need twice as many. My masks are basic quilting fabric with an opening for a dust mask insert. When a mask needs washing I take the filter out, then wash the mask. The filter gets set in the sun (which is sufficient to kill anything on it) then placed back in the mask to use again.

Remember that the mask is better at protecting others from you by preventing your aerosols from getting into the air. This virus is most often spread by close contact with other people during talking. A mild case without symptoms can infect others with more serious consequences. Wearing a mask, therefore, is IMO being considerate of others.

I have four that fit and three that don't. It took a bit to find the right style for my face.

8, but I give them away. Making more for my DSIL's, none of them sew.

I have a dust mask that maybe, as the manufacturer says, protects from pollen, dander, etc. that I would wear only when required. I don't go to any places that require a "cloth mask." Or any mask. My dust masks sits in my truck when i go shopping. And to the beach!

I have about six masks. Due to my sisters and one job I have been unable to completely isolate. So I am constantly changing and washing my cloth masks. They have a place for a filter. I wash the filter as well.

I am considering getting a clear face shield to wear over my mask as well as few people are wearing masks around me as a courtesy. I can't help my sisters or keep my work if I don't stay healthy.

My dust masks sits in my truck when i go shopping. And to the beach!

Why have a mask and not use it?

Like drewsmaga a paper dust mask for DH sits in the truck when for he does the shopping. He's used it a couple of times. I cut an old bandana in half to make it lighter that I have in the truck in a zip lock baggie in case I absolutely have to do the face covering thing somewhere. So far I haven't had to use it anywhere.

I have 2 that I made from bandannas. I've only been out in public (grocery store) twice since this whole mess started, so I feel that is sufficient. I am very careful to be sure I am at least 6 ft away from any one else. A couple of times some inconsiderate nincompoops got pretty close in the store, but I had space to back away quickly. I wear my mask to protect others from me, I wish others would have the same consideration and wear their mask to help protect me from them! Thank you to all of you that are wearing masks when out and about!

Rusty

I have several disposables that a friend gave me and bought a cloth mask from eBay. I keep it in the car for when I venture out to pick up my groceries. That way I know I will always have it when I need it. A friend picked up 5 lb. of KA flour and 5 lb. of Pillsbury flour for me today, along with some mega rolls of Charmin. T.P. and a large package of paper towels. She hit pay dirt. I don't need a grocery run for a week or two.

We're both freely wearing them by choice and out of respect, and think we each have about 8 washable now. I have a few disposable. I know a mask will be required when I'm able to make a hair appointment, not a choice in this state. I have a periodontists appt Tuesday and have been told I must be masked as I enter. I have no problem with that. I'm to call when I arrive and someone will meet me in the parking lot, screen for health and take my temp. I have no problem with that either.

If I don't feel beat up when leaving, I'd like to stop at Costco and no one can shop there not masked. It's OK with me.

My bank will be open as of Tuesday, from 10-2 weekdays. For the last two months, we've either had to make an appointment to go inside, or use the drive up. The letter I got said masks are required. I'd be wearing one anyway.

About a week ago I found 4 unopened n-95s in my garden supplies. I had bought them in 2015 to wear while spraying horticultural oil in my little orchard.

They have a thin sponge to cushion the bridge of the nose, but that sponge was turning to dust. I'll see if there is a way for me to replace that, or whether they will seal well with it simply removed.

2.

One pink one that was given to me by the other night minion. His house cleaner sewed it. The other was given out by my employer,and it honestly looks like it was made out of someone's undies. I don't think anyone wears those, though it was a nice thought.

I only wear the pink one. I wash it every time I wear it. It is very thick and quite difficult to breathe in,but the 3 doctors appointments I had required me to wear it,so I did.

I carry two with me, freshly laundered, in Ziploc bags. I rarely need them. I made them myself out of "little girl" fabric that was left over from sewing projects for my Grand-Daughters. Pink polka dots and pastel stripes so far. I may skip the baby giraffes.

Probably 10 that I have sewn and a package of 20 disposable medical masks. I sew a few each week and offer them to friends and neighbors who might need them. DH and I each have 2 that we leave in the car in case we go to the store.

Between DH and me, we have 3 pleated masks and two plain squares masks that I made using my sister's sewing machine. But we found we both like the cup style masks better, and I've hand-sewn four of them so far. I find it relaxing, so I intend to hand-sew another 2 or 3 cup-style masks for each of us. That should be sufficient, we don't intend to up the frequency of going to places where we'd re-breathe other peoples' air until this thing is much better understood and dealt with.

We only wear a mask one time, then carefully put it in a baggie to take home and machine-wash & dry, then I iron them. Never in my life have I ironed so often! Since Covid, I plug that ol' iron in once or twice a week for maybe 10 minutes -- hope it can handle the strain, lol!

I bought 2 bamboo fabric masks from Headcovers.com that are wonderful. So comfy and fit wonderfully. They have a place for a filter and I added a disposable paper mask in that spot. But I find I'm not getting enough oxygen with them, so am going to skip the filter next time, or just wear the disposable one. I bought some Johnny Was masks that also fit very well. I will probably wear those without filters, too, to keep from oxygen shortage. I do not go to any high risk places, just the grocery in off hours, so i think that will be ok. I have some N95s but they really leave me short of oxygen, so I'm not using them any more. I haven't washed any masks. I wear them such a short time, I just hang them up to decontaminate for a week or more. Same with the paper masks and rubber gloves.

I made a few masks and have one for me and 2 for dh...the first I made for him had the elastic ear loops which were interfering with his hearing aids, so then I made him a new one that ties on...much better.

I wash them by hand in dawn and very hot water and hang the outside to dry in the sun as soon as I/we get home.

I'm most thankful that we live a state that requires masking in public places where you might be in close contact. Everywhere I go, people comply. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to go for essentials in an area where people are not masking. It seems so irresponsible and inconsiderate. It flies in the face (literally) of all we know about how this deadly virus is spread. At this point, our nation is having the equivalent deaths as 9/11 every 3rd day. Plus I'd hate to be in the position where I might be the vector that leads to someone else's sickness and death. That's too heavy a burden to bear....a *lot* heavier than a mask.

I saw a good meme the other day...if you don't like wearing a mask, you're really not going to like the ventilator.

I have a few medical masks. I suspect all the homemade masks are too thick to work properly, you're just breathing out the sides and top. If your glasses fog your mask isn't working, I even saw that one guy was recommending breathing out of a straw sticking out the side of the mask, that's completely defeats the purpose.

There are still counties in my state that are yet to report a single positive. The other counties in the area are reporting < 1 case per day.

Raye, that is crazy -- a straw to breathe through? are people really that stupid? No one answer that please, it makes me sad to think it. :-(

I have probably about 30 in my possession right now. I sew masks. I have given 141 away at this time. I am constantly making... and end up giving away masks.

Now I saw a post about the Navajo Indians in desperate need, and will sew and mail many to Arizona.

I finally did cut out, sew, turn, iron, pin, sew again and iron again one mask from start to finish. It takes me 26 minutes to make one mask, to my satisfaction... :) I like to do things right. But, mostly I cut out a stack, and do the work in stages... such as sew the interfacing on a stack, sew the square all around with the elastic added... etc. etc.

Back in late April when I had no elastic it took me longer, as I used strings of all sorts which had to be cut to size.

I have always had masks in my car, and my luggage... as I have allergies and will put one on, if allergens of pets or feather pillows aggravate me. I still have the same kind in my car, in a zippered pouch, and they come inside and get washed after use. I now have a couple really nice made by me masks in my car as well. Mine are made with interfacing, sewn in across the center of the masks, rather than using a filter that most people will quit using sooner or later anyway.

Anyone really needing a mask, gets one for FREE... but I do appreciate payment for postage.

Moni

PS, I have a mask along when I ride my bike (now, but never in the past)... but don't wear while riding... one just never knows, what situation could arise and I want to be prepared.

There was a study I saw that talked of how even masks that are not N-95 can block the virus due to clumping. A buddy of mine compared it to a 6' wide doorway which one line backer can get through easily, but if 5 tried to get through at once, they'd be blocked.

Oly, I got a mask from headcovers.com too. I like it in many ways but wish it had a wire for the bridge of the nose and came up a little higher. Maybe it’s my face. Kinda pricey at $15, but we’ll be using masks for quite some time.

I have a whole drawer full.

Mamagoose lol!

I have two, made by a neighbor. They are cute fabric, one is really soft and nice. They have a pocket for filter and a nosepiece. She makes a larger size for larger heads, DH likes that one. I bought a couple for all of us, sent one to my son, two for my aunt. I’m sure the guys are not diligent about washing their masks.

Hubs and I have about 8 each. I started sewing them back in February. Made our family several. Probably made about 200 mask. There is a park close to our home so I washed each put in plastic bag and hung in the trees. Would leave a few each day and would replace as needed. Years ago folks ask that we leave hats or scarves in park for folks . I was very happy to help as I had lots of yarn for knitting. So it was great using my yarn stash and knowing someone would use. Sewed a little tag in hats, just signed love. When I see someone wearing hats or scarves I made brings a smile to my face. Sewing and knitting keep me busy and very happy.

Socks, my masks from Headcovers do have metal bridges! I wonder if you could add a pipecleaner inside where the filter goes?

I work at the county food pantry, and one of the other workers made cloth masks for everyone. This is in addition to the boxes of paper masks provided for us. I have three of those cloth masks so I can swap out daily and have time to launder.

Then, a friend gave me one that is a cowl type, don't know what it's called, but it's pretty and covers well.

Then, the county brought in cloth masks for us, I have ten of those. Plus another ten that have strings to tie behind your head. I keep about five in a baggie in the car at all times.

I share when I find someone who doesn't have a mask and needs it. Saw an older lady going in the grocery store the other day without a mask, and went back to the car and got a spare. Inside, I found her and offered it to her. She was so grateful! She didn't know where to get one, and had been afraid to go to stores looking.

One of our grocery stores now carries disposable masks that they're giving away for free to any customer who needs one.

I have 5 and a 10-pack of disposable which I will wear in a pinch. I have 4 in the car and one in a plastic bag in my purse.

3 cloth masks. Two thin ones given to us at work. One given to me by a coworker a couple weeks before our employer gave them out. I also have a couple dusk masks I had bought last year.

I have 3, made out of t-shirt sleeves. Easy-peasy to do, no sewing, and since you use the whole sleeve, it's double-thickness. Cut the hem off the bottom of the shirt and thread that through and tie. It works great.

Of course I have nay-sayers on the local news sites when I mention mine. I use mine as an example as a rebuttal against those that say they can't find, or afford masks (just excuses not to wear one).

I made 4 double layer nuzzles with a filter pocket. They are a PIA. They fog up my glasses, hot, reduce breathing and muffled talking. So I made 2 out of a pkg of reusable wipes I had hanging around. Single layer, light, breathable and cooler. I probably will have to make two more cause sometimes I'm out several times a week. Unless visibly dirty I just rotate them.

I'm not sure. I started with three N95 from a past project. I've made several. I mailed four to my sister. I used pretty fabric. My kids latch on to the ones they like. Some of their friends are requesting them too.

Wow, Oly, I wonder why mine does not have the nose wire. Mine is made in Vietnam, by the way. I'll go over there and ask which have the nose wires. It's one of my most comfortable masks, very soft, and I do reach for it even tho' I have several disposables.

I have a lot, 5 Johnny Was, one alantude, one that my cousin made, and three that a company sent just because I had purchased a shirt from them at Christmas! Funny though, the ones I purchased from an Etsy shop in March still have not arrived. She will be getting a bad review when they finally show up. She keeps sending me messages with excuses.

Socks, mine were from Vietnam,too. On one of them, the wire had slipped down from the top so I had to wriggle it back into place. Maybe feel around in yours, perhaps that's what happened and they are in there?

mamagoose...lol!!!

We've always worn them when sanding taping joints, demoing or scraping acoustical ceilings.....so a stack of N95's and plain ones...and others we think are too big or bulky. Now....I wear bandana masks. :0)

About 12--we keep them in a basket by door. We wash and then return to the basket.

I've made some that were not really practical, as I used silk that was too thick. But I did bring some silk chiffon and silk organza back with me the last time I went to L.A. I read that combining silk chiffon with cotton was more effective than just cotton, and so I will be making more masks out of cotton with silk chiffon/organza lining.

I have only one and yet to use it. I don't go anywhere that I need to.

Sue