How to Clear a Snorkel Mask

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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If your snorkel mask fills with water during a dive, you must know how to clear it to continue your dive. In fact, you must learn this skill before you can be certified as a diver. So dive into the instructions below to learn how to clear your snorkel mask.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Go completely under the water's surface. Raise your mask and let it fill with water, then place it back over your face.
Step 2

Breathe normally through your regulator or snorkel as the mask fills.
Step 3

Bend your head back and press your fingers against the top of the mask.
Step 4

Breathe in through your regulator or snorkel, then breathe out through your nose. Exhaling forces the water out of the mask.
Step 5

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 if the attempt to clear the mask fails the first time.
Step 6

Reseat your snorkel mask so that it fits snugly on your face.
Step 7

If Step 6 doesn't work, check the mask for anything, such as your hair, that might be preventing it from fitting snugly.

Tips & Warnings

Sometimes a diver deliberately lets his mask fill with water if the mask gets foggy. The water clears the mask.
The technique to clear the mask can be used whether under water or wearing a mask above the water's surface.
Before snorkeling in the ocean, get a few lessons from an instructor.
Don't panic if your mask fills with water. Remember, you are still getting air from the snorkel or regulator. The flooded mask merely obscures your view temporarily.

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