Occasionally leaking mask and clearing mask underwater

[Land Fish]

Leaking mask happens underwater and we deal with it. But during a recent dive, I found myself failing to clear my mask and I failed so miserably. It started when my mask was filling up rather quickly at about 20+m / 70 ft. Would this happen if the strap was too tight btw? I pulled in the strap quite a bit when I took off the hood on the surface just before descending. Anyway, the mask was being flooded more than I could ignore, so I had to clear it.

That’s when I realized that I couldn’t. Deep breath, holding the top of the mask, head tilted back, then blew hard through the nose. Typical OW training stuff. But what’s not typical was that every time I blew out some water, more water ended up getting in, and some droplet even got up to my nostrils. Then my eyes also started to get teary (contact lenses + seawater = irritated eyes). After a few more failed attempts, the mask got foggy and I got really frustrated. That dive was a mess.

So I have a question of elementary school level for all you diving gurus:

- How do you clear your mask and what did I do wrong?

Any tip would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

P.S. Feel free to roll your eyes and go like “such a rookie” . Just don’t tell me that please :burnout:

 

[MinimalMayhem]

You probably know this already by just in case...
When you press on the top of the mask you just need to press gently- not hard enough to lift the bottom skirt off your skin, just enough so that when you blow through your nose the force of the new air pushes the water out through the skirt under your nose.

Edit: one more thought, if it is was a very slow leak: I've found stubble under my nose and upper cheeks can be enough to cause slow leaks - which can be fixed by having a shave

 

[Neilwood]

Couple of issues to deal with - the leak and how to clear it.

Was the hood interfering with the mask seal? Seen that happen before with the edge of the mask just catching the edge of the hood. With some masks pulling the strap to tight can distort the shape so it should be tight enough to hold it in place but the pressure differential between it's air space and the water should be sufficient to seal it in place. Can you maintain a seal on the mask above water by inhaling through your nose without the straps on? It should stay in place just with the vacuum and without the strap. Are you blowing through your nose when you exhale (lessening the effect of the seal)?

You shouldn't need to blow hard to clear - I prefer a slower breathe out through the nostrils while watching the level lower. What you are trying to do is get the air to fill the space in the mask displacing the water and if you breathe too hard it can bypass the bottom edge of the mask. The slower, softer breath lets the air rise into the space.

 

[tbone1004]

not rolling eyes at you, rolling eyes at your instructor who certainly didn't go out of their way to make sure you knew how to do this properly

first: mask skirt, you have to make sure that this is not being interrupted by your hood. You can put mask on, pull hood over, or you can put the hood on, mask on, then run a finger around the hood skirt. This is part of your pre-dive buddy checks

second: mask strap. The mask strap is not there for anything other than to keep the mask from falling off of your face. It should be loose, not tight. When you see people come up with rings around their eyes it's because their mask strap is too tight. There should be essentially no pressure on your face from the strap. Also, if you're instructor had explained the basics of a mask, you would have learned that they have a double skirt to keep water from coming in. As you tighten the mask, this double skirt flattens and the outer portion flares out into the water. Bad news bears, don't do that.

Third: mask clearing. When you clear your mask, which you should be able to do comfortably, you do the following. Lightly press the top of the frame towards your forehead while simultaneously lifting the bottom EVERY SO SLIGHTLY away from your lip. Think millimeters here, you need just enough for the air to displace the water without letting any more in. Exhale slowly, if you're good, there should be essentially no air that escapes the mask, if air leaves, it is an inefficient mask clear.

You need to practice this in the pool, no other way around it. Take a weight belt and sit on the floor in the shallow end. You should be able to get a minimum of 4-5 mask clears on a single breath.

 

[Land Fish]

MinimalMayhem - I usually press my fingers firmly on the top skirt while my thumbs hold the bottom and lift the mask gently. Hopefully I'm doing it right (?) Also, shaving facial hair is one thing girls don't have deal with :blinking:

Neilwood - My mask is a bit temperamental, I think, and leaking doesn't happen all the time thankfully. I couldn't really blame the hood for that dive...I took it off before descending. Re softer breath, I was wondering whether the pressure was already pushing water in after equalizing every time, with soft breath and slightly lifted mask...wouldn't it fill up rather quickly?

---------- Post added October 23rd, 2015 at 08:36 PM ----------

tbone - Just realized that you basically answered my reply above. Thanks.

The double skirt thing...I don't remember if the instructor explained it or not when I got OW, and that was a few years ago. But I'll try to be gentle next time when I pull the strap.

About practicing mask clearing, I recall coming across a post talking about doing it kneeing down vs hovering in the mid water. I find it challenging when my feet aren't standing on a solid surface. Guess I'll have to find a pool that's deep enough...

 

[MinimalMayhem]

Lol. You should see some of the girls I know

I think you probably don't need to use your thumbs to lift, pressing at the top should be enough - in fact I find if I use my thumbs to lift I usually lift too much, hence why I prefer to just press at the top.

 

[Land Fish]

Haha~ Beauty comes in different forms

Not lifting? I think one time (not the recent dive I spoke earlier) I didn't lift enough (is there such thing??), and when I blew, some water actually flew upwards...:shocked2:

 

[Littlerayray]

Hair is a pita when it comes to leaking masks I cut my bangs short and I use my mask as a template for my beard I put my mask on grab my gf makeup pencil and outline where my mask sits then shave my mask leaks like a typical mask but when I dive without shaving oh brother I might as well not wear a mask

 

[tbone1004]

MinimalMayhem - I usually press my fingers firmly on the top skirt while my thumbs hold the bottom and lift the mask gently. Hopefully I'm doing it right (?) Also, shaving facial hair is one thing girls don't have deal with :blinking:

Neilwood - My mask is a bit temperamental, I think, and leaking doesn't happen all the time thankfully. I couldn't really blame the hood for that dive...I took it off before descending. Re softer breath, I was wondering whether the pressure was already pushing water in after equalizing every time, with soft breath and slightly lifted mask...wouldn't it fill up rather quickly?

---------- Post added October 23rd, 2015 at 08:36 PM ----------

tbone - Just realized that you basically answered my reply above. Thanks.

The double skirt thing...I don't remember if the instructor explained it or not when I got OW, and that was a few years ago. But I'll try to be gentle next time when I pull the strap.

About practicing mask clearing, I recall coming across a post talking about doing it kneeing down vs hovering in the mid water. I find it challenging when my feet aren't standing on a solid surface. Guess I'll have to find a pool that's deep enough...

sit on the bottom of the pool with a weight belt across your lap. We teach it in the shallow end of an olympic pool, so 1m deep

no need to pull the strap, the strap is only there to keep the mask from falling off of your face, the seal will be created by a slight vacuum you create with your nose.

hard breath creates excess pressure and turbulence in the water. Mask clears are about displacing water with air, this is why you only need to crack the bottom of the skirt so the water can leave. You don't want to lift it off of your face, just enough movement to break the seal, and the pressure on the top is only enough to keep the seal on top from leaking. If you do it right, you should be able to fill the mask completely, and empty it of all water in a few seconds, and repeat that 4-5 times on one breath. It barely takes a mouthful of air.

this is 6 clears with a displacement snorkel clear on one breath.
[video=youtube;mIoSmiXEIpY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoSmiXEIpY&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[TMHeimer]

I've seen instructors demonstrate slightly different methods. Using one hand instead of two, lifting the bottom of the mask very slightly (as mentioned above) as opposed to not at all, use of thumbs or not. They all work--whatever works best for you.
I notice you have at least 25 dives--- you've not had a mask clearing problem on any previous dive?