best materials to make DIY masks
Posted by
zeitgeist
Apr 8 '20, 16:12
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Density is the name of the game.
Recent tests found that vacuum cleaner bags, HEPA furnace filters, fabric similar to flannel and layers of 600 thread-count pillow cases scored high in filtering out incoming particles, the New York Times reported. Layered coffee filters also scored relatively well.
Stanford Medical School had similar findings adapted from a 2013 study that assessed how well homemade masks would protect people during an influenza pandemic.
The study found that vacuum cleaner bags, tea towels and cotton mix fabric scored high when it comes to stopping viral particles, with antimicrobial pillow cases, linen, cotton t-shirts scoring mid-range and pillowcases, silk and scarves scoring lowest.
While vacuum cleaner bags scored high, Stanford’s research indicted that they can be difficult to breath through.
Not sure if a fabric will be effective? Hold it up to the light, Dr. Scott Segal, chairman of anesthesiology at Wake Forest Baptist Health, told the Times.
“If light passes really easily through the fibers and you can almost see the fibers, it’s not a good fabric,” he said. “If it’s a denser weave of thicker material and light doesn’t pass through it as much, that’s the material you want to use.”
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