Did you use the laundry service for your masks?

[new_cruiser]

This Fall, we will be on Star Legend for 18 days plus a few days pre-cruise and post cruise so I'm wondering how to handle getting our masks cleaned. I don't like the feel and fit of the disposable masks.

 

For those who have been on board since the restart, did you use the laundry service for your masks? We're the results satisfactory? 

 

I may have to handwash my masks since they are silk, but at least they dry pretty easily. My husband's are a heavier material.

[marinaro44]

N95 or KN95 masks are what are strongly recommended.  To my knowledge, neither is silk.  Masks are intended for protection of you and, equally importantly, others, not for fashion.  I don't believe either type should be sent to a laundry.

[marinaro44]

Sorry.  Just read silk can also be very effective if fitted properly.  Don't know if laundry can do them.

[HuliHuli]

We had cloth masks on our Star Breeze cruise and they laundered just fine.

[Pudgesmom]

You may already be aware of this but several airlines have banned fabric face masks or other types of coverings like bandannas. This article is two or three weeks old. I know you will check with your airline prior to departure. 🙂 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/airlines-banning-fabric-face-mask-coverings

[sb44]

I would never send my masks to the laundry.  As much as I love Windstar it gives me the creeps to have my underwear done in a commercial laundry,  much less something I'm going to wear on my face. We just sailed another line to Bermuda and used good disposable masks from a company found online. Maskc is the name. First disposable that was as comfortable as my reusable ones. My husband loves heavy cotton masks and he liked the black ones that Costco sells. We just didn't want to deal with washing masks and it worked out.

Edited September 13, 2021 by sb44

[Pudgesmom]

3 hours ago, sb44 said:

I would never send my masks to the laundry.  As much as I love Windstar it gives me the creeps to have my underwear done in a commercial laundry,  much less something I'm going to wear on my face. We just sailed another line to Bermuda and used good disposable masks from a company found online. Maskc is the name. First disposable that was as comfortable as my reusable ones. My husband loves heavy cotton masks and he liked the black ones that Costco sells. We just didn't want to deal with washing masks and it worked out.

I have no intention to be offensive. I’ve read numerous posts on several lines where people would not send underwear to the laundry. I know you are a regular poster here so may I ask why you feel differently about your underwear from the rest of your laundry?

 

For us, the feeling is that it all goes in the bag and then into the washer then the dryer with the rest. We assume the laundry staff wears underwear too. Is it the folding or the returning? Pardon me and feel free not to reply if I have overstepped.

[sb44]

8 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

I have no intention to be offensive. I’ve read numerous posts on several lines where people would not send underwear to the laundry. I know you are a regular poster here so may I ask why you feel differently about your underwear from the rest of your laundry?

 

For us, the feeling is that it all goes in the bag and then into the washer then the dryer with the rest. We assume the laundry staff wears underwear too. Is it the folding or the returning? Pardon me and feel free not to reply if I have overstepped.

Hi..So nice to hear from you. No offense taken. For starters, I love everything about Windstar but I am a laundry freak so I use the laundry because we're usually onboard a significant amount of time and must. I send my husband's things daily and send my shorts or cotton shirts. My good things I wash by hand and use a microfiber drying towel to get the excess water out. I really dislike the smell of the commercial detergent that they use. I use all unscented products at home so these smells really bother me. As for my undies now that we're BFF's, it's a mental thing for sure but we're all entitled to our own craziness, right? I have always assumed that my clothes are tagged with suite number because they are put in a large washer with other people's stuff. Have no idea if I'm right or wrong, just my OCD. I have no problem sending my DH's. When I get home everything gets washed. But for washable masks, I would truly gag if I had to smell that detergent all day. 

[Petoonya]

Forgive me if you already know the bag method of cleaning N95 or KN95 masks. But thought I'd add as an alternative- didn't discover it until yesterday.

I can buy 20 KN95's on Amazon for $30. I get different colors for husband and I.

 

You wear one a day, clean hands, and remove your mask by the straps and place into a lunch paper bag. The front of the mask faces the bottom of the bag. You want to tear a couple strips at the top of the bag on each side to hang the straps from, so mask is suspended inside the bag. Close the bag and initial and date the bag to tell yours apart from whoever you cohabitate with. After three days, clean hands, open bag, remove mask by straps and wear, or put on a clean surface for when you do. Safely dispose of the paper bag.

 

The principle is that the virus is inactivated after three days. CDC says you can only cycle through five times as straps stretch, and won't properly seal the mask.

 

Again sorry to those of you who already know this. Also read that the delta variant is as contagious as chicken pox even for  those who've been vaxed. For me time to finally upgrade to N95 or KN95.

 

 

[sb44]

37 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

Forgive me if you already know the bag method of cleaning N95 or KN95 masks. But thought I'd add as an alternative- didn't discover it until yesterday.

I can buy 20 KN95's on Amazon for $30. I get different colors for husband and I.

 

You wear one a day, clean hands, and remove your mask by the straps and place into a lunch paper bag. The front of the mask faces the bottom of the bag. You want to tear a couple strips at the top of the bag on each side to hang the straps from, so mask is suspended inside the bag. Close the bag and initial and date the bag to tell yours apart from whoever you cohabitate with. After three days, clean hands, open bag, remove mask by straps and wear, or put on a clean surface for when you do. Safely dispose of the paper bag.

 

The principle is that the virus is inactivated after three days. CDC says you can only cycle through five times as straps stretch, and won't properly seal the mask.

 

Again sorry to those of you who already know this. Also read that the delta variant is as contagious as chicken pox even for  those who've been vaxed. For me time to finally upgrade to N95 or KN95.

 

 

Interesting.  My problem is makeup on masks so I don't want to reuse disposables. What I tried to drum into my kids and grandkids heads is you change your underwear and your mask every day. So far, so good.

[ridethetide]

2 hours ago, sb44 said:

Interesting.  My problem is makeup on masks so I don't want to reuse disposables. What I tried to drum into my kids and grandkids heads is you change your underwear and your mask every day. So far, so good.

Why bother wearing makeup when most of your face is covered?

 

[Petoonya]

8 minutes ago, ridethetide said:

Why bother wearing makeup when most of your face is covered?

 

Yes sb44. I agree with ridethe tide.

COVID came offering one nicety of no makeup along with some other optional contraptions.

Such freedom!

I can't get by  without some moisture on my mouth, so I do with a thin covering of chapstick, or some Aquaphor. But nothing else. Not a perfect solution but has the potential of keeping me healthier than not wearing a KN95 or N95. I'll change my mask everyday and more with this new system. And keep my skin healthier with just a little moisturizer.

 

The point is that if you want to be on the winning side of this mess, you find a way to make the KN95/N95 work- and set a good example for kids grandkids etc. Nothings perfect but we can set our sights for it anyway.

 

 

[sb44]

Since I don't have a mask on 24 hours a day I still prefer to have makeup on. Thankfully we have not been ill, have had 3 Moderna shots, have already cruised and flown. We are fortunate to live in a warm climate so have eaten in outdoor restaurants for the last year and a half, but are absolutely masked up indoors in grocery stores, doctors offices,  or any place else with four walls or lots of people. We have continued our volunteer work in the community because need doesn't care about Covid. Our grandchildren are all older and all vaccinated. And I have to look at myself in the mirror and prefer an improved version.

 

Let's not be so judgemental.  We are all living the best life for our individual circumstances. 

[Petoonya]

On 9/15/2021 at 6:21 AM, sb44 said:

Let's not be so judgemental.  We are all living the best life for our individual circumstances. 

Many thanks for the reminder and I am chastened. I've no business judging one's life preferences. My apologies.