How To Wear N95 Mask Straps?

To put on the N95 ear-strapped mask, you just need to put the mask on to your face and then tug two of the ears straps around the ears. Like headband straps, ear straps also help keep the N95 mask closed against the face. To put on the headband-strapped mask, pull back on the elastic straps and place the head in an empty area. You have to get the whole head through the lower elastic before you can wear a mask, while with the headband, you can fit the elastic easily around the ears.

 

The straps around your head at the crown of your head and under your ears are critical for making sure your respirator fits securely. Fitting is crucial so air flows through the face shield rather than round the edges. If there is any leakage at the edges of the mask, adjust your straps to fit further back on the sides of the head. Then, pull the lower straps back around the top of your head, and, still holding the respirator with one hand, pull up on the respirator and off.

 

While holding the respirator in place, pull the TOP strap over your head and place it on the crown of your back. While holding the N95 respirator mask in position, pull the TOP headband over your head and rest it at the crown of the back of your head. Hold the N95 respirator mask in your palm, nosepiece in the tips of your fingers, and let the straps on your head fall loosely under your hands. Perform fit testing by placing both hands fully on top of the N95 respirator mask.

 

Your local hardware store might carry a mask with the fit test (avoid one that has an exhalation valve or a port). When worn correctly, these disposable respirators offer full face-to-face sealing, feature two straps around your neck and back of your head that hold the respirator in place, and, important, are tested and certified by the CDCs National Institute for Health and Safety (NIOSH). The disposable N95 molded-cup respirator, when worn correctly, provides NIOSH-compliant protection, but if you are not careful when you are applying the respirator, you can break a strap or break your respirator.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using the N95 respirator for a maximum of five uses, stating that every time you take off the N95 and put it back on, you will weaken and re-stretch the mask strap. Virus particles trapped inside a respirator die off over a period of hours to days, so experts advise leaving your N95 or KN95 mask hung out to dry for one or two days between uses.

 

If you are sick of your neck and head getting sore because of headband ties, easily convert to an ear-friendly fit with NIOSHs Convertible N95 Canopus Masks. The N95 comes with two straps that cross over the back of your head – sort of like glasses – rather than cinching them to your ears. The top strap should rest on top of your back, while the bottom strap should rest under your ears and round the neck.