Mask leaking??

[TMHeimer]

I agree with stuart about exhaling through your nose. I think I used to do that just a little. Of course you have to do that a tiny bit when descending to prevent a mask squeeze, but I think we all do that subconsciously.
Fogging and leaking I don't think are related. For fogging, I have never had any since I applied baby shampoo to the inside of the lenses. Spit depends on the person. Mine's not good. Yesterday my mask strap broke and my spare of course had no shampoo, so I spent the whole dive clearing it.
I've bought several masks over the years. The one I have been using for the last few years was one I found while diving. You just never know. I've found several others too, so have way too many spares.

 

[stuartv]

Nope. Zero chance that was the cause. I tried my strap at all adjustment levels, from damn near falling off to tight. Still leaked. Not until I lowered the strap from above my ears to across them did the mask stop leaking. Besides, if it was too tight above my ears, placing it across my ears would make the strap tighter, not looser.

As a matter of fact, just this past weekend on my first dive, I was getting a little water in my mask. First thing I did was reach for the strap at the back of my head and realized I had not pulled it down as far as I normally wear it. Pulled it down a little lower, and Viola!...mask stopped leaking.

If you tried it where the strap was so loose that it was giving zero pull on the mask, then how could the position of the strap affect whether it leaked?

If the strap is pulling on the mask, then sure, the direction it's pulling from could affect whether it leaks or not. In other words, too tight and pulling the mask at an up angle leaks, but even tighter and pulling straight back doesn't leak is totally believable. But that doesn't mean it's not too tight.

 

[MichaelMc]

For fogging I get the whole mask interior as clean as possible, washing it and using windex at home. Removing oil, sunscreen, etc. Then at the site I just spit in it. I think this 'combines' the two approaches I understand, from here Mask Accessories | Dive Gear Express®. Their description removed some of the mystery for me as to what is going on, at least at a high level.

 

[KeithG]

I think you need to deal with fogging and leaking as 2 separate issues.

For fogging my dive buddy uses a commercial product (or diluted shampoo supplied by a LOB). I use spit. we are both happy.

Leaking can be caused by lots of things, mask too tight, hair caught in the skirt, your head the wrong shape for your mask, mask strap pulling up (mine will leak if my strap is too high on my melon, i pull the strap down until it cuts into my ears). I also exhale through my nose very often but never get a leak from that.

 

[The Chairman]

Almost all my masks leak at the temples. It's frustrating. Dozens of masks over 48 years of diving and they all leaked. The masks seal just fine in the store but add the upward pressure of the air in the mask and they leak. Loosen the strap, tighten the strap and there's no difference. I just coped with it until I went to a rebreather where a leaking mask really screws you up. I found that just a tad bit of pressure on the skirt below the temples stops the leaks. I have zip tied hoses between the mask strap and skirt to stop the leak with some success.

Recently, I have found that the Bare Duo B mask is the best in this regard. I'm also going to try OTS's Spectrum full face mask while I'm in Roatan. We'll see how that goes.

 

[TMHeimer]

You know, I recall most of my other masks leaked a bit as well. That's why I always rinse that ONE I FOUND very thoroughly and occasionally spray that stuff on the skirting. That thing never leaked one bit, for some reason. Think it is a style a couple of decades old--not great peripheral vision but good enough. If you find one like that keep it as long as you can--like a great clarinet reed.

 

[Brian Robinson]

I am going to experiment with my mask strap adjustment. Double clean the mask. And concentrate on my inadvertent nose breathing. Hopefully this helps. If not I'm going to buy the Bare Duo B.
Thanks for all of the great Advice.

 

[GreggS]

I think you need to deal with fogging and leaking as 2 separate issues.

For fogging my dive buddy uses a commercial product (or diluted shampoo supplied by a LOB). I use spit. we are both happy.

Leaking can be caused by lots of things, mask too tight, hair caught in the skirt, your head the wrong shape for your mask, mask strap pulling up (mine will leak if my strap is too high on my melon, i pull the strap down until it cuts into my ears). I also exhale through my nose very often but never get a leak from that.

So I'm not the only one that has found this to be the case.