Most of the point of wearing a mask is to prevent you from unknowingly spreading COVID to other people. Many stores I visit have signs prohibiting vented masks.
I'm pretty sure a vented mask is at least as effective as a cloth or surgical mask in that regard, both of which mostly contain the aerosol spray rather than actually filter out small particles. I doubt the stores you go to require true respirators?
> Yes, an N95 filtering facepiece respirator will protect you and provide source control to protect others. A NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator with an exhalation valve offers the same protection to the wearer as one that does not have a valve. As source control, findings from NIOSH research suggest that, even without covering the valve, N95 respirators with exhalation valves provide the same or better source control than surgical masks, procedure masks, cloth masks, or fabric coverings.
I'm sure its fine for most situations, but you should be aware: below that entry it states that elastomeric respirators (like you are using with P100) are not included in that category:
> Until more is understood on exhalation valves, elastomeric respirators with unfiltered exhalation valves should not be used as source control in surgical and other healthcare settings due to concerns that air coming out of the exhalation valve may contaminate the sterile field.
I've been wearing a surgical mask on top of a valved N99 some of the time. That seems to satisfy. Maybe I could put more serious filtration material over the valve though.
I would like to find some affordable PAPR's (powered air purifying respirators). I see a number of places claiming to make them, but none seem that actually available to buy.
It might be interesting to measure the amount of CO2 inside a mask after a person has been wearing it for a while. There are some differences between mask types, but I don't know if any would appear between mask brands and models. Here is a study where they tested some masks that way:
I don't see how CO2 or any other exhaled gasses could possibly be an issue if the volume of air inside the mask is significantly smaller than the volume of a breath, which it is by a large factor.
Not anymore with omicron. The rules have changed, your primary focus should be filtering the air you breath. We are two years into this thing and mask compliance for the general public is at the lowest levels possible. You can only protect yourself in public, you have to start wearing masks that protect you primarily.
Because of course people wearing vented masks wear them whenever they are near another human. It’s not like they have family or friends they spend time with maskless.
The effect is multiplicative. If my mask filters 95% of the air on the way out, and yours filters 95% on the way in, that's 99.75% filtration. Add a HEPA into the room, and you're pretty safe.
