In "Sans Rendez-vous" this Wednesday, when autumn and the rain are already our daily lot, doctor Jimmy Mohamed responds to a listener who wonders if the mask loses in effectiveness when wet because of the rain.
After having put up with the mask against the coronavirus in the torpor of summer, autumn imposes a new challenge on us: to wear it in the rain.
A major challenge since a "wet mask loses its effectiveness" recalls in "Without Appointment" this Wednesday the doctor Jimmy Mohamed.
"Just as a surgical mask has a finite lifespan, you have to change it when it gets wet."
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A wet disposable mask is "safe to throw in the trash"
“When you speak and when you breathe, you are expelling air, specifically carbon dioxide. It will make the mask porous and therefore it will be less effective.”
A degradation which occurs in the same way if the mask is wet, specifies the specialist.
It is therefore "safe to throw in the trash".
Things are naturally different in the case of a cloth mask: once it gets wet, you can "wash it with your clothes" and let it dry before wearing it again.
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As to whether it is possible to simply dry a disposable mask, Dr. Jimmy Mohamed considers, in view of "ease of access" today, that it is better to avoid.
"In March [in the midst of a mask shortage, editor's note] my answer would have been different, but now we can give ourselves every chance not to fall ill. Especially since hypermarkets have slashed prices and we find masks for almost 10 cents each. "