Inhaling water when clearing mask

[jupitermermaid]

Exhale only through your mask while you're clearing it. When you feel like you've exhaled completely, replace the mask on your face, whether it's empty or not, and take another breath through your reg. Then tilt your head back and continue to empty your mask. Practice makes perfect......you'll get there.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[Winterpeg]

Do NOT, repeat NOT, feel guilty about canceling your open water dives when you knew you weren't ready. The best advice my instructor gave me when I did my OW was that he MADE me cancel my OW dives because he could see I wasn't ready. I felt terrible; I so badly wanted to succeed. But he said "if you are not 100% comfortable with all your skills in a 16 foot pool, you will not be comfortable in the lake. We will not let you drown, but you will spook yourself and never come back to complete your OW". He was so right, and I know it in retrospect. Instead of 4 pool sessions I needed about 7 or 8 (I lost track). At issue was the mask removal and clear - what else? I was so lucky that my LDS does not charge by the pool session - they charge a flat fee to complete the OW course no matter how many sessions it takes. (Well it makes sense, doesn't it? If you don't finish the course eventually, they will never make any more $ off you!) After those extra pool sessions I went to the lake prepared and confident Good luck completing your course and don't let anybody make you rush it:no

 

[Koi Fin]

Wow! I have been on more than a few boards over the years (since back in the dialup BBS days) and I have to say hands-down you guys here are the friendliest and most helpful. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and support. This has been a really valuable thread to me.

Vixtor, that 'blowing out birthday candles' explanation makes some sense to me - the idea I get is that you're just trying so hard to suck down enough air that it comes in both the mouth and the nose. That goes hand in hand with the suggestion that I'm trying too hard.

Bleeb and others also pointed out I might be tilting my head too far back, and also possibly too fast. I think this is most probably the case, I've been quickly tilting my head back almost as far as it can go. I also am not sure that I always start exhaling out my nose before I tilt my mask. I think in general I was trying to rush the procedure, which was probably linked to my anxiety about needing to 'hurry up and learn' in the few days I had before my open water dives. Now that I canceled them I feel more relaxed to learn at my own pace.

In summation for other people who might find this thread later with the same problem, things we can try are:

In general:
Go slow. You don't have to rush or clear your mask all in one breath.

Inhale:
Take a good deep breath from the regulator before you begin.
Then begin exhaling out your nose before you start to tilt your head.

Head Tilt:
Tilt slower.
Don't tilt as much.
Don't tilt at all on the first exhale into your mask.

Nose:
Try pinching your nose as you inhale and gently release as you tilt.

Mask pressure:
Try pressing on the top of your mask (in the middle or on both upper corners).
Or try loosening your mask's seal at the bottom with your fingers from either edge.

And of course, practice!

 

[peterbj7]

mask clearing is one of the hardest skills to learn

I actually don't agree, though it is the way PADI teach it. I tell students to breathe out through their nose while still looking forward or even slightly down, without touching the mask with the hands. That will remove most of the water. Inhale (through the regulator) and have another go. Once you know that no further water will be expelled that way, simply exhale again through your nose and look up high as you do it, using your forefingers to keep the top edge of your mask against your face (you may not need to do this). You should easily expel the rest of the water without ever having got water up your nose.

 

[MattC007]

I'm confused...You said "But when I attempt to do the tilt head up, press mask to face and blow out my nose maneuver" The way that I was taught was that you tilt out the bottom of the mask so that the top is pressed against your forehead. Is that what you are doing, or are you doing it wrong? I don't know much about teachings of NAUI or anything besides PADI

However, it could be, like many ppl have said, that you are tilting your head back too far. I hardly even tilt my head, and I can do it fine. Maybe that will help.

Hope you get this worked out!

 

[peterbj7]

I very much doubt, and I certainly hope, that you were NOT taught to tilt out the bottom of the mask. That is most certainly NOT the way PADI prescribe. They specify, and for once I agree with them, that you should use a finger from each hand to hold the top of the mask against your face. You should not touch the bottom at all during this manoeuvre, as by so doing you'll probably end up admitting fresh water.

Bears out my contention that much scuba teaching is very sloppy.

 

[H2odiving]

Make sure you are already exhaling before you tilt your head back. Its a difficult skill for a lot of people.

Ditto that was my problem. Now I start exhaling as soon as my mask is filled with water, then tilt my head back. Works like a charm.

 

[TSandM]

I had this exact same problem when I was trying to learn to clear a mask, and it was due to reading the instructions and following them precisely.

The problem is one of anatomy. When you look at a person's face, it looks as though their nostrils go upward along the length of the nose, but it isn't so. The air passages actually go straight back into the face, and then curve down and intersect the mouth and throat. If you are kneeling in the water with no mask on AND you are not breathing out through your nose, it is easy for water to run along the base of the nasopharynx and down into your throat. If you tilt your head back from a normal, upright kneeling position, it makes it even easier.

The head tilt instruction is designed for a person in a normal DIVING position, i.e. close to horizontal. In that position, if you are looking down toward the bottom, the lowest point in your mask may be the lenses. In order to get the bottom border of the mask to be the lowest point (where the water will go when you fill the mask with air) you have to tilt your head back. It is NOT at all necessary to do this when kneeling!

A couple of other points: The volume of air it takes to empty a mask of water is FAR less than the air you take in in a single, normal breath. You don't have to use a whole lungful to clear that mask! You also don't have to blow HARD; it's the air that does the work, not the force. You can trickle air into the mask, and it will accomplish the same thing. (These points are even more important when you have to do this while actually diving; the instinct is to take a big, deep breath and WHOOSH to clear the mask, but this actually screws up your buoyancy, which is a bigger problem than water in the mask!)

 

[DandyDon]

You've already received plenty of good advice. I have to wonder about this last part...?

I have other friends that are certified and have their own gear, and they rented a tank and took me to a pool for a few hours to practice. But I'm still having this issue, so I just canceled this weekend's open water dives with the shop... I'm disappointed in myself but I just don't want to go down to 40' when I'm still having this problem.)

You have buddies who are Dive Masters, or
You have buddies who are not qualified to be diving with a student - or
Shudder: You're not going in alone I hope?!

Sounds like you need one-on-one time with a dive pro, but don't let it get you down. Many have challenges with some skill or another. Most people are in the habit of breathing thru their noses; life long hay-fever allergies actually gave me an edge from all my mouth breathing experience.