Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/22/join-the-mask-force-help-manu.html
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A lot of people say Harbor Freight items are total shit, I have had a completely opposite experience with them. That said, I thin the CEO / Owner of HF did a good thing…
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A lot of them are. There’s the old “they will usually work at least once” joke. I’ve found that you need to set your expectations appropriately. Durable items like hammers, screwdrivers, anvils, and toolboxes, or measuring tools like calipers and such are generally a pretty good value.
Anything with mechanical components is unlikely to stand up to repeated or heavy use but I find the value to be pretty good if you want a specialized tool that you only need occasionally and don’t want to spring for the high quality stuff.
That being said, good on them for that.
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The Joanne’s website has a how-to for making non-surgical masks.
That said- getting to this point is bad news.
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The wife tells me they will be distributing sew-it-yourself kits starting tomorrow AM.
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This person has thought to cut up furnace air filters with a t-shirt sling to make a mask for himself.
These are not for sharing with hospitals, but I thought it was interesting.
And I have no idea about efficacy.
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You don’t want to use moisture wicking materials. That’s going to end in tragedy for a virus spread by coughs… Electret filter material is good, cotton is terrible.
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The thought occurs that brassiere cups could be fashioned into face masks. You would think that one of the major bra manufacturers could transition from padded bras into useful face mask manufacture PDQ.
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Saw this on twitter earlier today.
The surgical mask had the highest filtration efficiency when challenged with bacteriophage MS2, followed by the vacuum cleaner bag, but the bag’s stiffness and thickness created a high pressure drop across the material, rendering it unsuitable for a face mask. Similarly, the tea towel, which is a strong fabric with a thick weave, showed relatively high filtration efficiency with both B atrophaeus and bacteriophage MS2, but a high pressure drop was also measured.
And from the conclusion:
Improvised homemade face masks may be used to help protect those who could potentially, for example, be at occupational risk from close or frequent contact with symptomatic patients. However, these masks would provide the wearers little protection from microorganisms from others persons who are infected with respiratory diseases. As a result, we would not recommend the use of homemade face masks as a method of reducing transmission of infection from aerosols.
Twitter thread:
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DIY t-shirt mask from researchers at University of Pittsburgh, although not as effective as an N95.
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The face shield might not be surgical quality but it strikes me that a lot more people could use them, delivery drivers, shop workers etc.
Many of the people sheltering in place could be PAID for doing work, material or intellectual, that would help slow or stop COVID19. I’ve compiled some ideas and opportunities for such at “Crowd Sourcing Solutions to COVID19” (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/3/22/1930022/-Crowd-Sourcing-Solutions-to-COVID19).
If we devoted the time we usually spend on sports and Presidential politics on dealing with this pandemic for the next two weeks of quarantine, we’d probably improve our personal and collective situations enormously.
Just avoid the “peephole” models from the erotic novelty stores.
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Don’t mind me. Everywhere I look I see face masks - or something to bury my face in.
As somebody super busy running a sewing factory, may I please beg for this to be replaced with a “moisture wicking materials will kill people” thread? Please?
I dont follow. Can you explain.
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