MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How Long Are N95 Masks Good For?
We’re all trying our best to keep ourselves safe as the pandemic wears on. And one of the most frequently asked questions amidst our precautionary efforts is, “How long can I wear my N95 mask before I need to throw it out?” N95 masks, which are the most effective masks available, don’t have a rigid expiration date. So, we have to use our best judgment based on our individual situations, as well as each mask’s individual condition. But there are some guidelines we can all follow.
If there is any sign that your mask is dirty or defective, then toss it out. Did it get wet? Throw it away. Is it stained? Chuck it. Maybe the straps are stretched out & it feels loose on your face? Get rid of it.
If your mask still looks & feels to be in good working order, however, you could potentially use it a while longer. According to recommendations from the CDC, it’s a good idea to keep multiple N95s in a rotation & wear a different one each day. Then, to provide your mask an opportunity for any virus particles it may have picked up to die out between uses, store each individual mask in separate paper bags or other “breathable” container to ward off contamination (of the mask, itself, or of someone or something else).
How long should you keep a mask in rotation before chucking it in the trash? Well, the CDC & a number of other experts recommend a maximum of five wears per N95 mask. But, again, if any of your masks looks to be warped or soiled or faulty in any way, even if after only a single use, you’re better off not trying to stretch its life out any longer. Toss it & get another new one.
Safety’s the name of the game, and you want to be as protected as possible. Wearing a good N95 mask is still one of the most effective ways to keep yourself & others safe until the pandemic ends (which, hopefully, will be sooner rather than later).
Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send a message via Twitter (@AndyWebbRadio), or email [email protected].
Wake Up Crew Highlights: February 2, 2022
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why The Weird Spelling of February?
Why is February spelled weird? We have a plethora of oddly spelled words in the English language, but February is pretty much the only of our calendar months to be classified as oddly-spelled. Why is that?
Well, like the eleven other, more intuitively spelled months, we have Latin to thank (or blame, as the case may be).
The month of February was known as “Februarius” to ancient Romans, from the word “februare”, which meant “to purify” in ancient Latin. Basically, Februarius was the month of purification.
The month revolved around “Lupercalia”, a wild festival that took place on February 15th & featured sacrifices, whippings, and plenty of nudity (or, at the very least, far less clothing than folks would normally wear around that time of year). Houses were purified with roasted grain & salt, land was purified with animal hide strips, priests wore crowns of leaves taken from pure trees, etc. While we don’t know precisely what Lupercalia was actually for, history seems to suggest all the purification rituals were intended to trigger prosperity & fertility.
Around the beginning of the 13th century, Middle English speakers were calling the month “Feverer” or “Feverell”, and that persisted for several more centuries before the Latin-inspired versions of the month (Februere / Februari) began turning up again in the late 1200s. And, for the most part, the latter is what has stuck around ever since.
So, why don’t we pronounce the first “r” in February nowadays? Basically, it’s because we’re lazy. Linguistically lazy, that is. Because many people have a hard time enunciating words with two R’s near each other, a lot of folks will commonly just drop one of them.
Whatever you call this month we’re in, and however you say it, if you’ve got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved send me a message via Twitter (@AndyWebbRadio), or shoot me an email at [email protected].
