*Disposable AOSafety Mask*
I had some insulation to move around, and bought some of the AOSafety masks at Home Depot. I tried both the N95 round mask, as well as the folding mask; both had valves. The valves seem to be different than the masks made by 3M that the Rubicon Experts recommend for use for during pandemics, and don't seem to open up enough for exhalation.
I had a lot of "blow-by" around the mask because there wasn't enough flow through the valve. Also, I couldn't get a good seal around the nose area. One of the main differences that I saw was non-adjustable elastic band that is supposed to secure the mask to your face. I ended up breaking out a 3M N100 mask from my preps storage, and using it instead of taking chances with the AOSafety mask.
I thought I'd pass this along and save a few people the trouble and expense of buying something that didn't seem to work that well.
Some of their higher end respirators may be ok, but I wouldn’t recommend their disposables. My lungs are worth more than the $10 that I MIGHT save in buying one of these over the 3M N100 masks, but if I'm sick or dead due to a mask flaw, I'm not really saving anything, am I?
Jon
www.alpharubicon.com
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