Dear LPG,

For the past year our government has spent more time than ever telling us the best ways to make sure that we avoid getting infected by the virus that we have by now, all become so familiar with.   It is hard to watch the television or listen to the radio for long without getting a reminder about keeping your hands clean, wearing a mask when out and keeping your distance from the people outside your bubble.   

But one bit of that message, which has been included from time to time, I know has passed me by.   We all remember the whole history of if we should wear face coverings or not which was an argument that commanded a lot of attention in the spring of 2020, and the autumn and winter of the same year when the officials decided that the practice needed to become compulsory.   The detail that I know that I am guilty of overlooking is just how often they need to be washed or replaced.  It has occurred to me that many of us remember to grab one on the few occasions that we have had the need to leave home until now, but how often is it the same one we used last time and, the time before?  As the promise of getting out and about becomes more realistic, I thought it might be worth checking those guidelines and so I took a look to see what the internet has to offer on the subject.

I have heard reports that say we are going to need to wear them until the end of 2021 and, even though the paper ones don’t cost that much, having to use a new one every time we go out is going to be quite expensive, and how we wash the reusable ones will determine just how reusable they really are.  So as, we add a new item to the list of things we grab on the way out of the front door, (our money, mobile phone, keys, and facemasks), and having found some surprisingly different bits of advice on the subject, I hope that taking a look might help you to keep your 2021 facemask-buying budget as low as possible while reminding readers that we need to do more than just wear them. 

Even though the information differs somewhat, and it’s not all British, they all agree that we need to keep them clean and perhaps taking a look might help to at least remind us that they will need renewing even more often once we are all set free.

DR, Downham.

DR shares her research…

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