HUGE shout-out to sheet metal workers’ local 73 — they have a form where you can request metal strips suitable for mask nose-pieces, for free. I put in a request for 250, and less than a week later, they were delivered to me. Union strong!
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/nose-piece-request-form
This is my first attempt at sewing one in, and while it slows me down some, I think the extra effort is worth it for people who wear glasses — definitely cuts down on the fogging up issue. And of course, it makes for a better seal overall. I’m a little surprised they aren’t an inch longer — I think the ones in the N95s extend slightly further over the cheekbones. But still, this helps.
Since the ends aren’t pointed, they shouldn’t be too prone to working their way out during repeated washing, I think — I wish our washing machine weren’t broken so I could do better testing of that. Carollina, do you have a sense of their durability with washing?
This one, I sewed in under the bias tape edging; I want to try sewing one in to a mask that uses ear elastics (which is much more standard) before I offer it as a general option on my masks. Next in queue.
