Face mask tutorial

[firecat]

I have no idea whether face masks help prevent COVID-19 transmission, or which kinds (other than N95s, which should be reserved for health care workers) work best, but I've seen some talk that face masks might become required for people venturing out. I happen to have a lot of shop towels so I'm putting this here so I can access it later.

Easy No-Sew Shop Towel Mask
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mai-UqdNRi8

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/masks-diy-coronavirus/2020/04/01/20830f5e-7420-11ea-85cb-8670579b863d_story.html : "Which DIY mask pattern should you use? Even experts can’t pick one to recommend" by Sindya Bhanoo

Peter Tsai, the materials scientist who invented the electrostatic charging technology that N95 masks — the highest-quality medical masks on the market — rely on, also believes that homemade masks are an important part of the United States’ battle against the coronavirus. He offered another material for DIY mask makers to consider: nonwoven fabrics.
...
Tsai recommended using car shop towels as mask material. The towels, available in rolls and often blue in color, would do a better job of filtering droplets than cloth, he said. The material is “very strong,” he said. “And it can be washed with soap and water and reused.” There are YouTube videos that offer tutorials on using this material....The towels, he said, could also be used in conjunction with cloth masks, serving as an additional filtering layer.

Comments

[tagryn]

Thanks, good info. Hope you are safe and healthy in these times.

The guidance on face masks at this time seems unclear to me, and at times conflicting. Best as I can tell, the consensus seems to be:
* Wearing a basic face mask won't 100% prevent catching the virus, because the viral particles are smaller than what anything short of an N95 mask can block. But even a basic cloth covering can provide some limited protection. It also helps restrict touching of the face, which is one of the ways the virus is helped to be transmitted into the body.
* ...and, if you are a carrier (per-symptomatic or not), some kind of mask can block longer range spread of tiny water droplets from sneezing or coughing, so it provides some protection for those around you.
* I'd further speculate that some of the benefits from making mask wearing recommended or mandatory might also be at the societal level, in that it brings home to everyone that this situation is something to be taken very seriously, which may also make people more aware of the need to do other things, like hand washing, if one sees a lot of people around you wearing masks? If that is the case, we probably should have been telling people to start wearing masks weeks ago, to maximize those benefits.

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! I'm trying to figure out an optimum mask for personal use, so that I can go to the grocery store. I hadn't heard the shop-towel idea. I did hear that you can use vacuum cleaner bags of the HEPA filter type, so I'm going to try that.

Not that I have any way of knowing scientifically if what I do is effective. I can but try.

[firecat]

Thanks! Good stuff.

As someone whose breathing is already compromised without COVID-19 considerations, I'm pretty resentful of the trend toward requiring masks (which also includes include people shaming folks not wearing them, without thought for whether they might have a medical reason). But with any luck I will have to go out only occasionally over the next few months, so I guess I can live with it.

[firecat]

Stay safe!

[bibliofile]

This article was interesting, discussing research at Cambridge University and also testing via the company's own equipment. I think that plenty of fibers are better, thus the dish towel and not the silk. I've also heard that (probably lightweight, US fabric) flannel could work as an inner layer.

I'm figuring that something may be better than nothing. It's the possible bind of, if one must have the infection, hoping to experience fewer symptoms personally while, y'know, not making anyone else sick.

[noelfigart]

I made a few for my household's personal use according to the guidelines that the local hospital is accepting for the use of people coming in for treatment. (The pleated rectangle with the elastic ear loops).

We're using them when we go for walks outside or Peter has to go to run an errand for work. (He works for the IT training team for a local hospital and there have been a couple of times when physical presence was required. Makes me itch, but I couldn't argue with the necessity and they did their best to minimize contact)

I know some of the issues with masks, especially reusable ones, have been revolving around misunderstanding risk reduction (Those masks need to be in CONJUNCTION with handwashing and physical distancing) and sanitizing practices (You have to clean the mask properly after each use if you're going to reuse it).

We've decided in conjunction with other measures, it probably can't hurt, so we wear them outside.