Leaking swim mask?

I have a new pair of goggles I bought at a dive shop.

They appeared to have a good seal around my face when I tried them on, however when I used in the lake today, they repeatedly leaked. I had to stop every 30 seconds to empty the mask.

They appear to be a very tight seal until I use the snorkel.(I think they are leaking at the edges of my nose.)

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions as to how I can improve the seal?:confused:

You should always keep in mind that the shape of your face changes when a reg or snorkel is in your mouth so keep that in mind with your next mask purchase.

You might be out of luck on getting the perfect fit now, but what you might try is some silicone grease (make sure it's NOT silicone sealant!). With my moustache, I have to use it to help with the seal if I forget to trim or don't do a good enough job of it.

Hope that helps :)

Sorry, I can't tell by your Username if you're male or female, but if you have a mustache, it's harder to get a good fit and its recommended to use something like vasaline to make a sure fit.

The other recommendation that I have is I found if the mask it too tight to begin with, it will leak.

I am female so my mustache isn't that that bushy yet! LOL I know not to have it too tight.

I wondered about vaseline...thank you, both good suggestions.:)

It is a comfortable $50.00 mask, I hate to scrap it just yet.:(

I am female so my mustache isn't that that bushy yet! LOL I know not to have it too tight.

I wondered about vaseline...thank you, both good suggestions.:)

 

It is a comfortable $50.00 mask, I hate to scrap it just yet.:(

If it seals on dry land, it'll seal in the water. You must be doing something wrong. Heck, you see kids slap on a mask from a tour boat and snorkel away.

Are you absolutely, 100%, sure there wasn't some hair blocking the seal? It doesn't take much. You say you have a good seal without the snorkel, but for how long is your face in the water sans snorkel???

When I say hair, I'm not alluding to your shapely moustache.:p

I agree make sure all of your hair is away from the seal, how about any lotion left on your face make sure is washed off. Make sure the strap fits at the ball of your head.

I am thinking that if its around you nose area is your skin extremely greasy around that area?

Good luck

or you might be doing alot of "nose breathing" causing the seal to break? if yes, try to breathe both in and out thru your mouth/snorkel....

:( No hair (I have hair but I wear a bathing cap :D )

... no grease, no lotion, no nose breathing.

My hubby tried my mask today, and although it didn't leak for him, he said he felt water around his nose.

I tried his mask..and although I hate it..it didn't leak. His has a flange "seal" that I found uncomfortable.

So there you go.

We are going out again tomorrow and I will try some Vaseline.

It is definitely something that occurs once I put the snorkel in my mouth.

I am thinking, there isn't enough space between the snorkel and my nose to create a seal without having that gawd awful flange I have always used before. It hurts after a bit.

(Does it help to know I can touch my nose with my tongue:o ?There isn't much space between my upper lip and my nose.)

I have snorkeled for 40 years, and for the first time I have a mask that doesn't hurt...and it leaks. Perhaps I do need one with a flange after all.

Quite a learning experience.:rolleyes:

I have 120 days until our next cruise to sort it out.

I do appreciate everyone's input! Thanks!:)

Greetings,

For whatever it's worth, my husband and I have snorkeled for about 40 years also. He loved his old black neoprene mask and was heartbroken two years ago when it began to leak. He has a mustache, but he has had one for as long as he's snorkeled and never had a problem before. We spent hundreds of dollars on new masks before an observant female dive master working in a shop on Provo looked at him last fall and said, "You're not going to find a mask that fits you because you have a deep groove, on the inside edge of your cheek, right beside your nose" (one of the consequencies of aging, I guess). I have discovered that I have a groove there also, though mine is not as bad. If I put my mask on around my neck, then bring it UP into place, that helps a lot. If I bring it down from the top, I get leaks, though, again, not as bad as my husband.

A diver friend who was with us on the Provo trip suggested that my husband buy a good quality swim mask, attach his snorkel, and use a nose plug. Unfortunately, there were no nose plugs to be found on Provo, and my husband refused to enter the water with a bag clip on his nose, so the jury is still out. We are off to French Polynesia very soon, however, with his swim mask, snorkel, and every nose plug in town. I tried to sell him on the idea of botox injections instead, but to no avail.

I hope this will give you a chuckle, if nothing else. Good luck!

Mary Sue

Ha ha, that occurred to me as well.

The lady at the Dive Shop mentioned to stretch the ridge at each side of my nostrils with two fingers to smooth the skin before putting on the mask.I am not sure how many hands that would take but I am sure it is more than two.:D

I will try your suggestion.Thanks.:)

We are going out again tomorrow and I will try some Vaseline.

Hi,

Please don't use Vaseline. It may be a short term fix but in the long run will break down the silicon in your mask skirt. From Scuba Diving Magazine:

Seal mask leaks. One solution for a leaky mask is to smear a bit of silicone grease on the skirt. This is especially helpful with facial hair. Don't use Vaseline: it's a petroleum product and will attack the silicone of the mask.

If you already used Vaseline (you said yesterday you were going to try it today, make sure you wash your skirt well).

Randall

P.S. I forgot to mention that all those new masks did, indeed, appear to seal when he held them to his face in the dive shop. I think positioning one's mouth around the snorkel deepens/widens/lengthens the groove, resulting in the leak. If the swim mask/nose plug combination doesn't work out, next time I'll insist he try on masks with his snorkel in his mouth (despite the pronouncement of the gal in Provo). Snorkeling is the only outdoor activity we've enjoyed together, and "enjoyed" is an understatement. Our last two trips have been disasters, so keep your fingers crossed for us, and I'll do the same.

Mary Sue

I took Vaseline with me but didn't use it.

I Also took some alcohol swabs and cleaned the "groves", put the mask on from below, and also smoothed out the groves on either side of my nose..

Eureka!

Thank you everyone!:D

Good luck on your next trip Mary Sue, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.:)

I know it also helps to keep your face very still while snorkeling/diving. My mask leaks all the time and I know its because I 'make faces' under water. I smile, go 'oh!', crinkle my nose, etc and anything like that can break the seal when you have a reg or snorkel stuck in your mouth. When I dive I look like the guy in the v8 commercial - you know the one who smacks his forehead cause he could've had a V8? Constantly clearing. The upside is I'm comfortable diving with a fully flooded mask - lots of practice!

:D You are so right!

Last March we were snorkeling in Cozumel at Chankanaab National Park

(http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/CozumelChankanaab.htm)

I was using an underwater camera, and a little fish must have thought I had food because he came straight at me.

When I put my arms down, he kept comming and his nose thunked on my mask.

I started to smile..(actually I think I laughed..bad idea), and I had a mask full of water in no time!:)

:D You are so right!

I was using an underwater camera, and a little fish must have thought I had food because he came straight at me.

When I put my arms down, he kept comming and his nose thunked on my mask.

I started to smile..(actually I think I laughed..bad idea), and I had a mask full of water in no time!:)

Hi,

You encountered what I think is one of the most viscous fish on the reef, the damsel fish. Even though they're small, they're VERY territorial. The problem is most of us don't know where their territories are so we unintentionally encroach and they 'attack'. I've laughed when I've been 'attacked' as well (doesn't really hurt and doesn't happen that often). Must really p*ss them off since they're really serious. :) Heck with sharks, most of their attacks are from mistaking us for their normal food, these little puppies are out to get you. :D

Randall

Yeah, laughing underwater fills my mask every time. :) I get to practice my mask clearing several times a dive. :D

Regarding the masks, you might also check your stap position on your head, sometimes a slight difference in position can help with leaks.

:D I snorkeled every day the past week after cleaning and smoothing the greasy nose creases, and checking the strap position on my head (no smiling either) ....no leaks!

Thanks everyone for all your help! :)

:D I snorkeled every day the past week after cleaning and smoothing the greasy nose creases, and checking the strap position on my head (no smiling either) ....no leaks!

 

Thanks everyone for all your help! :)

Glad everything's working out. Now to hit those reefs! :D

Randall

I have a mask that leaks in the corner of the where the eyepiece meets the plastic frame. I made sure that's where the leak came in so as not to have a facial seal issue that would be easily resolved. Any ideas on how to repair?

I have a new pair of goggles I bought at a dive shop.

They appeared to have a good seal around my face when I tried them on, however when I used in the lake today, they repeatedly leaked. I had to stop every 30 seconds to empty the mask.

 

They appear to be a very tight seal until I use the snorkel.(I think they are leaking at the edges of my nose.)

 

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions as to how I can improve the seal?:confused:

We recently switched to the tribord full-face masks. Love it. Just make sure you get the real thing (there are a lot of cheap knockoffs out there).

Note: because they hold so much air, they're not good for diving, just snorkeling.

Azevedan, I recently saw the Tribord full-face mask & I'm really interested. Where did you find your mask? We have a western Caribbean b2b coming up in April & a 14-night southern ABC island cruise in November & Id love to be able to break one in for them

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