Totobobo mask effective protection from smoke particles
This is a common question and there is no fixed answer.
In general, the filter should be replaced more frequent if it is used for virus or during a flu pandemic.
For anti-pollution purpose, the color of the filter give an indication of the remaining effectiveness. Therefore one can decide when to replace the filter based on the color of the filter.
Test on used filters from users from India, Vietnam, USA and Singapore shows that it is possible to use the color of the filters to determine, apporximately, the remaining effectiveness of the filters. These used filter samples coming from different countries, and different shades of grey is observed. It also show the relative level of air pollution, for example, 7 hours of use turns the filter almost black and the remaining effectiveness left only with 50%. On the other hands, 17 hours of use in California turns the filter to the second level of grey and still have 70% of effectiveness remain.
Totobobo filter color chart and remaining effectiveness
Depends on individual needs one can change the filter according to the remaining effectiveness. In any case, the filter should not be used for more than 14 days after removing the pack.
There has been a lot of media attention to the swine flu vaccine lately. A third of parents oppose the idea of flu jab for their kids, according to a poll early this month. Parents are concerned about potential side effects. If many parents with healthy kids are concerned, one can imagine the stress on parents having kids with a medical condition. They certainly don’t want to take any chances.
In order to provide some protection while avoiding the vaccine, some parents found Totobobo mask when they are searching for a small fitting mask for their children. Some of these children are going through cancer treatments and therefore are vulnerable to airborne viruses or other pathogens. I notice one of these parents, Debbie Witter, actually put up a website called Free Help For Cancer to share her experience, including the frustration, learning and joys, of their journey searching for a better cure for Kayla, her 7 years old girl.
Let Debbie’s own words to explain her intend:
Our 7-year-old daughter, Kayla, was diagnosed with Leukemia on the 4th of January 2008. Suffice it to say that our lives were turned upside down by this devastating news. To make matters worse it soon became evident that there was no simple path to follow and no easy answers.
It is my hope that the information and discoveries I share on this website will lighten the burden for others who may be going through similar experiences. Please join us in our ongoing journey in dealing with this dreaded disease.
Visitors from India keep coming in, there is no sign of slowing down. How do they come to us? A significant proportion of them are coming from the search engines (Google, Yahoo or Bing).
The search terms reflect what they are looking for. Quite a number of visitors are searching for reusable N95 mask.
For example:
- How to keep N95 mask clean
- N95 mask washable
- is N95 mask reusable or not
- for how long N95 mask be used
- N95 washable mask
On the contrary Totobobo mask is easily clean and reusable. The anti-virus property makes reuse safer. There are two types of filters available: 94% and 96%. The 96% filter is 1% more protective than N95. The high quality reusable mask combine with economic replaceable filter refill is probably the most advanced protection you can get now. Thanks to Google/ Yahoo and Bing for doing a good job in guiding our visitors.
Recently we travel to Taiwan and Hong Kong. To be on the safe side we all put on our Totobobo mask on the plane and in the airport. Who knows the one sitting next to you can be coming from a H1N1 flu infected country? This was the “acid test” to see if the mask really work in the context of air travel.
I’ve customized the masks for the two boys and Sharon in advance. So that part is not an issue. Putting it on was easy for Sharon and the younger boy, but it was confusing for the elder one. It turn out that the strap of his mask got entangled a bit and he couldn’t slide the strap along easily. I help him to remove the rubber band and disentangle the strap. He mange to put it on afterward.
A point to note about customization, it is not always true that smaller face need smaller mask. If it fit and seal well, a larger Totobobo mask is usually more comfortable to wear. So if you find the mask too big, start by trimming it a step, never jump to the smallest size immediately. You may find an intermediate size that seal very well and is comfortable to wear even for a long time.
Wearing the mask for an hour or so is not uncomfortable. In fact we pretty much forgot about it because it didn’t interfere with what we do. We all wear glasses, sometimes we read magazine, sometimes we watch TV and sometimes I was busy taking photos
We had to remove our masks when the food came. We just remove the top strap, pull the mask down such that the contracted top strap now keeps the mask closed, and we just let the mask hang around our neck while eating. We put the mask back after the meal. The elder son fall asleep and the younger one kept watching TV.
I noticed many passenger used surgical masks. One family of three used N95 cup-shaped mask. But the huge N95 mask was not fitting the child and clearly he was not getting much more protection than those wearing surgical mask.
Some curious passenger ask where we got the mask from and even the stewards are interested in it. The surgical mask they wear is not giving them the protection they really need. It’s a pity that they have to face so many people from all over the world during the trip but not getting the protection they deserved. Anyone with friends working as air steward? Perhaps you should let them know about Totobobo.
Leaving the plane, we took off our mask when we were shopping in the airport shops, there seems to be more space between people and none of the staff or customers looked sick. Keeping it hanging around the neck was most appropriate because we needed to put on the mask again when we go through the next risk spot- the crowded custom.
“Rohan is glad that the dirt is collected on the filter, not in his lung.” Rohan Kini, an online bicycle shop owner in Bangalore, India, was testing a new pollution mask. After 200 km of bicycling in the city, he was very impressed with the performance of a new mask call TOTOBOBO from Singapore and [...]
Hopeful to see Fit-Test to be lifted- Edward Hernandez, City of Hialeah, Fire Rescue says:- Thank you for proposing a study as this. For a while now this OSHA (Fit-test) requirement has been a burden to our Fire/EMS service. Hopeful to see Fit Test to be simplified-Peggie Reinhardt, RN BSN, says: I would be interested in this study, [...]
“Totobobo is far superior to any other mask on the market. Period!”” “After the Chemo Kayla is still immune compromised. This mask is our safety net that has proven its workability. When Kayla did not have the mask and went to school she ended up in the hospital for two weeks, every month, for three [...]
