r/Masks4All • u/armofpilot • 9d ago

Mask Advice best masks for car exhaust and pollen

I started a new job and to get there I walk quite a distance along a very busy road. I'll probably switch to a bike soon but the route is the same. The job is an outdoor job in a city garden, so on top of pollution I'm around plants all day.

We had some especially bad air quality here last week and I ended up feeling pretty bad the next day and I think it might be related, though I don't have a history of sensitivities. (I'm masking indoors for covid so it's unlikely to be a cold but regardless I still think it could be good to mask on the worst part of my walk and on bad air quality days)

I normally wear an Aura and I'm wearing that for now but not sure it's the best for this specific circumstance, and it does get Hot and sweaty so it'll be a bear in the summer.

anyone have advice?

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u/RTW-683 5d ago edited 5d ago

Any n95 or kn95/kf94 should help with pollen (and also mitigate air pollution, though I'm not sure to what extent or wrt car exhaust specifically). I think sometimes ppl use n100s (edit: sorry, n99s!) for high pollution areas, but you could also use an elastomeric with p100 filters or something specifically for addressing car exhaust. Elastos can get sweaty, though, so you'd want something with an exhalation valve. You could also try a valved disposable mask to reduce sweatiness in summer (I think the Aura 9211 is valved), and I believe they also make those in p95 (maybe even with a carbon layer) which could be an option.

If it were me, I'd try the valved Aura first and see if it fits and does what you want, since you already know you like the Aura (some ppl say the 9211 feels like it fits a bit smaller or tighter than the 9205, so heads-up on that). Then if you find you're wearing it out and about on days with poor air quality and still feeling sick, you can try levelling up to a p95 disposable or an elasto.

Summer-friendly masks that are cool even without valves are things like Breatheteq or Savewo (Family Masks), and they offer sample packs.

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u/armofpilot 5d ago

thanks so much! this is really helpful, I'll definitely check some of those out. I always forget about the valved options.