pollen mask Archives

May 9, 2021July 16, 2021

Best Mask for Gardening and Outdoor Activities

Spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner. Time to get outside and enjoy the warm temperatures and fresh air. If you have allergies and like to be outside, it can be a challenge. Don’t reach for another dose of antihistamine; stop allergies before they start. Reach for a pollen-protecting mask. Reach for the Qmask. We think it is by far the best mask for gardening and many other outdoor activities.

The Pollen Problem

Spring brings tree pollen and summer brings grass pollen. If you are gardening outside, you are going to breathe pollen.

It is in the air and on the plants. Depending on the wind speed, the pollen doesn’t even need to originate in your yard for you to be exposed. The wind is important to pollen dispersal. Plants depend on the wind. The pollen you can breathe in your yard can come from plants miles away. The minute you go outside you are exposed!

Reduce reactions to pollen by reducing your exposure. This doesn’t mean you have to stay inside. It does mean that before you go outside you should put on a mask that stops pollen. Be sure to pick a mask that doesn’t let in pollen and doesn’t restrict your airflow. That’s where the Qmask comes in.

What Makes QMask Best Mask for Gardening

Gardening is physical. Digging, pruning, carrying debris, watering, mulching, and more. All of this physical effort is good exercise. When you exercise your muscles need oxygen. The last thing you need is a mask that restricts your airflow and your oxygen.

Breathe easy with the Qmask. The revolutionary material won’t clog and it won’t restrict your airflow. Instead of trapping pollen and other debris, it blocks and repels them.

In a nutshell, pollen hits the mask and bounces off. You breathe easy and you breathe pollen-free.

Wear glasses? Not a problem with the Qmask. The flexible edges conform to the contours of your nose and cheeks easily and comfortably. Your glasses or sunglasses will not fog up and the Qmask won’t compete with your glasses for valuable real estate behind your ear.

Instead of wide straps, the Qmask uses soft ear loops to keep your mask in place. It won’t interfere with your hearing aids either!

That’s just the start. Unlike cheap paper-style masks that you use once and throw away, the Qmask is reusable. Just rinse to remove any pollen and let it drip dry. Wear it over and over and over again. Al season long you’ll agree that the Qmask is the best mask for gardening.

Be Cool

With all that exercise, you can work up a sweat. Be cool with the Qmask. It won’t get hot no matter how strenuous your activity. Mary-Margaret “says it is cool, easy to breathe, and totally prevents inhalation of pollen You can’t ask for more in a mask for gardening.”

Other Ways to Avoid Pollen

When you come inside, head to the bathroom and remove all your clothing. Your hair and clothes are like pollen magnets. When you come inside you bring all that pollen with you. You don’t want to spread it around the house.

Shower and wash your hair to remove pollen and mold spores. Deposit your pollen-filled clothes in the hamper. Do not keep the hamper in the bedroom!

During Spring and summer months, check your pollen forecasts at Pollen.com. Don’t hang clothes out to dry these days. Keep pets inside as well. Their fur picks up pollen and it will hitch a ride inside.

So grab your Qmask and get gardening! Tell us what you’ve grown in the comments below

Til Next Time

Cheryl

May 8, 2020July 16, 2021

Best Face Mask for Cutting Grass

The calendar doesn’t say “summer” yet, but it is hard to tell that to the grass that is growing like crazy. If you suffer from summer time seasonal allergies, grass pollen is the major culprit. If you do your own lawn work, you need a good mask for cutting grass.

The seasonal allergy cycle starts in the Spring with trees and in the Summer transitions to grasses. Come Fall season, it will be the ragweeds responsible for the pollen in the air.

You can do your part to reduce air-borne pollen in your neighborhood by keeping the grass cut short. You have to balance on that thin line between grass that is not too short so you can conserve water use and grass that is not too long so that it begins to produce pollen.

However, you can only control the grass in your yard. If you live near fields or undeveloped lots (or homes in foreclosure and the bank isn’t mowing) there can still be lots of pollen in the air.

Over the last couple of years, we have found that our U2 Sports Mask is becoming as popular with lawn care professionals as it is with ATV and motocross riders when it comes to a mask for cutting grass and other lawn work.

It started with the tree trimming company in Hawaii. Their workers were adversely affected by pollen and the masks they had tried to block the pollen also restricted air flow. You don’t want to be short of breath when you are trimming trees.

Then, there was the church that owned a large retreat property that had to be mowed. Once again, the employees needed a mask that would stop the grass pollen and still be cool and comfortable.

My favorite is the man that had no problems with pollen but instead his riding mower kicked up dust and loads of small annoying black gnats. He was just tired of gnats in his nose and mouth and found the U2 Sports Mask did the trick.

Now that was no surprise to me. During the summer I love to ride my bike on the trails around the lake by my house. There is just one spot that I always pedaled double speed, because it was always full of these little black flies.

When we first carried the U2 Sports Mask, I discovered that I could wear the mask, breathe easily no matter how hard I was riding, and it kept all the black flies out of my mouth.

So, if you have a riding mower or just a walk behind like mine, if you want protection from air-borne pollen, molds, dust, dirt and bugs then the U2 Sports Mask is the perfect mask for you.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

April 28, 2011August 26, 2014

Pollen – Little Particles Big Problems this Pollen Season

It is getting to be that time of year again. Spring is in the air for much of the country and that means the beginning of pollen season.

Pollen Season Cycle

The pollen cycle usually begins with trees in the spring, transitions to grasses in the summer, and ends up with the ragweeds in the fall.

The pollens that cause allergy problems are carried by the wind. They are the very light, white variety. The plants with showy flowers and big yellow pollens are not the pollen problems. Those plants use bees and insects to spread their pollens. The real culprit is the plain, nondescript plant that is using the wind to spread its pollen.

Pollen Season Masks

We carry several masks and this time of year we get lots of calls about which one will work best for pollen. Pollen is pretty large, as far as small particles go. Wind-borne pollens can range from 30 to 200 microns.

If you want a great mask for wearing while working in the yard, the U2 Sports Mask is great. It will stand up to rigorous activity and filters particles as small as 18 microns. That is more than enough for particles.

If you want a mask that is re-usable and light-weight, you might want the Q-Mask. It uses the same filtering media as the U2, but is a lighter design. It also stops particles as small as 18 microns. If you have pollen allergies, try to stay indoors in the early morning and early evening. This is when pollen counts are the highest. Of course, when you come inside it is best to shower, wash your hair, and change your clothes. Those light-weight pollens will hitch a ride inside if you aren’t careful.

Cheryl
The Allergy Store