Skill lesson

Mask Clearing Techniques

Learn three simple hand positions for clearing water from your mask without removing it.

In-Water Skills 3-5 minutes

Mask Clearing Techniques

If water gets into your mask, you don't need to take it off and start over. A quick clearing technique lets you remove the water and keep going. This lesson covers three common hand positions for clearing your mask, and the shared breathing technique behind all of them.

This lesson is about clearing water that has already entered the mask. For fitting and adjusting the mask itself, see Mask Fit, Positioning & Adjustment.

The Shared Technique

All three methods below use the same core motion:

  1. Take a full breath in through your mouth.
  2. Continuously exhale through your nose while lifting your chin and looking up toward the surface.
  3. Check whether the mask is clear. If some water remains, repeat the exhale.

Breathe in through your mouth only, never your nose, for this whole process. If there's still water sitting in the mask when you inhale, breathing in through your nose instead risks pulling that water up into your nose, uncomfortable at best, and a good way to startle yourself into panic over something that's actually a normal, easy fix.

The hand position differs between the three methods below, but the breathing and head-tilt motion is the same for all of them.

Two-Hand Method

Place your middle and index fingers on the top frame of the mask with both hands. Use the shared technique: breathe in through your mouth, then exhale continuously through your nose while lifting your chin and looking up.

One-Hand Tilt

Place your index finger on the top frame of the mask, and use your thumb to gently pull the bottom seal away from your face slightly. Use the shared technique to clear the water.

Keep the lift small, a hair's breadth, not a full pull. This works the same whether you're at the surface or underwater, say partway through a duck dive, the top seal is doing the real work either way, but opening the bottom gap too wide works against you, letting in more water than it clears, rather than helping.

Heel-of-Hand Press

Firmly press the heel of one hand against the middle of the top frame of the mask. Use the shared technique to clear the water.

Choosing a Method

All three methods work for the same purpose, clearing water without removing the mask. Try each one in calm, shallow water to find what feels most natural and secure for your hand size and mask style.

Key Takeaways

  • All three clearing methods share the same breathing and head-tilt technique.
  • The two-hand method, one-hand tilt, and heel-of-hand press differ only in hand position.
  • A continuous nasal exhale while looking up is what clears the water.
  • Repeat the exhale if water doesn't fully clear on the first try.
  • Always inhale through your mouth, never your nose, while there's a chance water is still in the mask.
  • The One-Hand Tilt method only needs a hair's breadth of lift, more than that lets in more water than it clears.

Instructor Tips

  • If your mask doesn't clear on the first try, stay calm and relax, you can just try again.
  • Always inhale through your mouth, never your nose, while there's a chance water is still in the mask.

Common Mistakes

  • Exhaling too briefly instead of continuously through the nose.
  • Forgetting to lift the chin and look up, which helps direct water out through the bottom seal.
  • Panicking and removing the mask entirely instead of trying to clear it first.
  • Inhaling through the nose instead of the mouth while water is still in the mask.
  • Pulling the bottom seal too far open with the One-Hand Tilt method, more than a hair's breadth risks letting in more water than it clears.

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