As speech-language pathologists across the country wrap up the 2019-2020 school year, we’re thinking about what fall may look like for therapy. The CDC continues to share the knowledge that direct contact with droplets is how COVID-19 is shared. SLPs are going to be required to avoid direct contact with air droplets from talking while working up close and personal with children and that seems impossible for a specialty that focuses part of our work specifically in their mouths for speech sound production.
The sewers of the world have created several homemade masks with clear windows over the mouth but they leave a lot more questions than answers. Do they stop droplets from the speaker? Are they breathable? Do they touch your lips? Most importantly, won’t they just fog right up when you start speaking?
I tested two fog prevention methods this week on a mask I bought online. Check out the video below.
Fog be gone! I predict when I head back to therapy I’ll be rocking the clear mask and carrying a salad dressing container full of Dawn dish soap in my purse.
The spray fog preventer can be found here on Amazon, although it only lasted about 5 minutes before re-fogging. I would go with Dawn because it lasted an hour!
The mask shown in this video was purchased from FabSewFinds on Etsy. I don’t have any affiliate with Phyllis, but did reach out to tell her I was mentioning her store in my article. She said she plans to restock the ” window smile masks” soon. Check back soon if they are sold out of the style you would like. When purchasing a window style mask beware of the style. I purchased several and there were some HERO and ZERO! Some of them touch your mouth when you speak. Check back next week when I’ll share another video to compare the styles of clear masks so you don’t end up with something you can’t wear at all.
If you’ve tried a clear mask and had luck keeping it from fog with another option I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment here on on Instagram.
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One of my coworkers used a product called scuba spit and it worked really well!
Apparently a lot of divers use baby shampoo.
You used dawn Platinum. Have you tried regular Dawn?
I used a bar of soap, but haven’t done the duration test yet. Here is a video of someone applying soap… starting at timecode 1:17 , https://www.facebook.com/BBCLifestyleHealth/videos/722636688481919/
I cannot find Phyllis from FabSewFinds on Etsy. Any suggestions? Don’t want to order a dud:)
Thanks so much for sharing this information. Could you share the dimensions of the the mask you demonstrated? (In case site you mentioned is still sold out.) It would appear the dimensions /size of the of the overall mask would affect whether it touched your mouth or not. Thank you again for the video, and your baby is beautiful!! Congratulations …
Odie
Love your ideas all the time! You have a fun and fresh approach to all things speech therapy!
I’ve developed a 3D mask with window where window doesn’t touch face, just working on antifog solution and so far dawn is what i have i have been using, but anything else that lasts longer than an hour yet?
Love your ideas! How do you clean your mask? I’m assuming they can’t go in the washing maschine!
Hi Annie! I just hand-washed in the sink.
I heard somewhere that a bit of a gel toothpaste rubbed in circles onto the clear part works. Masks I purchased came with alcohol prep packets—didn’t work for fogging.
Almost anything oily would work… chapstick, Vaseline, even body lotion. Simply add a small dot or two, grab a tissue and rub it across the surface. Wait a minute, then clean off! If you don’t have anything available, spit! Spit almost always works for antifogging. (Not for extended periods) Always remember to wash your hands afterwards!
I just want to remind everyone that we need to be aware of what our masks are made of and what we’re applying to them. I was at the dentist and she let me know that many masks have metals within them and some of the plastics off gas and we inhale it. I hadn’t really been thinking about this before my conversation with my dentist. Stay safe everyone!
Please consider captioning your videos for the hard of hearing and deaf!
I’m researching clear masks for my upcoming homebirth (I am hoh), and this video is not accessible to me.
Thanks!
Bend Shape Mask – Quartz General Purpose is amazing! Anti-fog built in and lasts a long time! With care and washing instructions.
https://bendshapemask.com/products/mask