How many times to clear a mask?

[SparticleBrane]

4 times? Wow...usually in our classes we say you should be able to clear your mask 5-8 times on a single breath (the stress being able to clear it at least 3x on a breath), rather than trying 4x to clear it once. It would appear that no one taught you proper mask-clearing technique. Several of the previous posts, while they might work, they aren't efficient and aren't necessarily the best way to clear a mask.

Mask clearing is an essential safety skill -- if you have trouble clearing your mask, you likely have issues breathing with no mask on your face, which would certainly lead to issues if your mask suddenly flooded or was kicked off your face.

Here is a video of a student from several semesters ago performing several mask clears and a snorkel clear on the same breath. I have posted several times on mask-clearing and no-mask breathing, if you'd like I'll dig them up and repost them.

 

[Prostar]

1. No, do not tilt your head to the side. Water will run to that lower corner and stay there till you straighten up and find a nose full of water.

2. Practice, lots. We had a student who was trying to rush mask clearing in the pool. The instructor took one breath and showed in slow motion how easy it is and how the student did not need to blast.

 

[eponym]

Hi again, Kat.

Don't exhale too fast through your nose. A controlled, deliberate, and prolonged exhale will push out more water than will a sharp snort. (Yes, you're getting conflicting advice in this thread. Try both and decide for yourself.)

Don't pull the bottom of the skirt away from your cheeks. If that's a temptation, try loosening your mask strap a bit instead. I discourage my students from touching the bottom of the mask frame when clearing.

Don't tilt your head back until you've started exhaling through your nose or you'll get water up it.

Ask a buddy to observe and tell you whether you're exhaling through your mouth as well.

Keep 'em coming,
Bryan

 

[RonFrank]

You should be able to clear your mask in one shot. If you can not, then you must be letting more water in as you clear.

There seems to be enough advice on how to do this. You may want to post more specific info like the type of mask you use, and the process you are trying.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

The best advice i can give is to keep trying and to look at another mask. I have 4 hanging next to me right now and they were all more expensive then:

Dive Masks by Dive Rite - Dive Gear Express

which is the best mask I own hands down and it is claimed to fit almost everyone.

Generally speaking mask clearing should be a simple procedure that you dont have to think about, you will have to build some muscle memory though.

oh and I dont tilt my head back so...

 

[TSandM]

Kat, Bryan has some really good advice. I had a heck of a time with mask clearing, but part of it was that I was so anxious and determined to get all the water out of the mask that I overdid everything. A slow, gentle stream of air through your nose WILL remove the water, if the mask fits well, and you put very gentle pressure on the top of it. You're more likely to force air out your mouth if you are trying to clear violently (which was my failing). I would also recommend doing some swimming around with a flooded mask on your face, to get used to the feeling. I don't mind being maskless, but I HATE having a flooded mask on my face. It makes me claustrophobic, and I've had to practice a lot to get past that.

 

[LouieLouie]

Two fingers on the top edge of the frame, and blow some air through your nose. That's it. No tilting of the head or other sorts of odd rituals.

I was diving with a leaking mask for a year until I found the time to get a new one. After 30+ dives where I had to clear my mask at least every minute, I can do it in my sleep. Slightly annoying, but at least your mask is never foggy...

 

[bleeb]

This question is aimed mainly at the experienced instructors out there. While the suggestions about technique seem more likely to be the issue, what are the chances that a new student might not be breathing deeply enough? Granted this is harder to diagnose over the Internet, and would probably be fairly obvious to a competent instructor when dealt with face to face, but is this something you've seen? It wouldn't be too big a deal at the mask and snorkel stage, but you probably become one once they move to compressed air.

 

[Walter]

My methods may sound unrelated to your problem at first, but they will work. Often, important skills are left out of OW classes. Take your time and practice each step until you are comfortable before moving to the next.

Leave your SCUBA gear in your bag. You only need 3 things at the pool at this point. 1. Mask 2. Snorkel 3. Weight belt with weight.

At no point will you leave the shallow end of the pool.

Take your snorkel off your mask and put on your weight belt. With your mask on the pool deck, your snorkel in your hand and your weight belt on, get into the shallow end of the pool. You should be where when you stand you are no deeper than chest deep, waist deep is even better. Put your snorkel in your mouth and breathe from it. Now, bend over and breathe through your snorkel while you dip your face into the water. If you are comfortable, stay awhile until you feel natural. If you have difficulty, think about drinking through a straw while you practice the excercise. Remember, you can always stand up straight to end the excercise at any time. If you need to, you can slowly build up your time until you feel comfortable.

Next, practice dropping underwater, allowing the snorkel to flood and coming up to blast it clear, leaving your face in the water. Continue until you are comfortable

At this point, you have accomplished three important things.

1. You lowered your anxiety level by working in a no risk (shallow) environment.
2. You became an expert in no mask breathing.
3. You know you can breathe with a flooded mask.

Now, put your snorkel down and pick up your mask. Put it on and drop down to your knees. Break the seal just enough to allow a small amount of water in. Clear the mask. Do not pull out on the bottom, merely push in on the top while looking up. The biggest mistake most people make is not looking up. The second most common mistake people make is not exhaling through their nose. Keep your mouth closed. Repeat this until you are comfortable. Don't forget to stand up and catch your breath between clearings. Now, increase the amount of water you allow into the mask to about ¼ flooded. When you are comfortable with that level, move to ½, then to a fully flooded mask. When you've reached the point you can clear it easily every time, see how many times you can clear it on one breath. After you are at this point, clearing your mask will be easy. You will have reached it in a step by step manner that was easy to accomplish.

Remember, you can always stand up if you feel uncomfortable.

 

[Walter]

what are the chances that a new student might not be breathing deeply enough?

Chances are fairly good that this is a problem, but totally unrelated to the issue at hand. Everyone can learn fairly quickly to clear their mask at least 3 times on one breath. A shallow breath might reduce that to once or twice.