Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/04/02/this-diy-facemask-wins-points.html
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Hmm. I’m gonna wait on that one until I see the Use & Care instructions, which are “forthcoming” according to the link. I’d be concerned how different filter materials would be affected by laundering, since the filter on that one isn’t easily replaceable.
In the meantime, I’m looking up patterns that are washable and have a pocket for replaceable filters (I plan to cut filters out of HEPA vacuum cleaner bags).
There’s also this, which is no-sew and adorable. I could probably tuck a filter into the folds:
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For a second I though he had repurposed a bra or a jock strap.
Hmmm. . . maybe that would work.
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Someone said used panties work too, but you might be inhaling something worse than Covid-19 depending where you source them from.
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I might have been fooling around with my girlfriends bra last week and managed to make a face mask that didn’t look like a bra on my face. But what good are such home made masks if the density of the weave just lets the virus through all easy peasy.
When my gf flew from Seattle to the Philippines a little less than a week ago we couldn’t find any masks so she used a bandana with a panty liner stuck inside. Not sure why she used that over the bra mask I made (her loss) 
Thankfully in LAX someone had an extra n95 mask and gave it to her.
ETA: check out her flight from Korea to the Philippines. Just her and one other woman on the flight. The stewardess stuck to the normal pattern of tea, coffee, wine, snack, meal, tea, coffee,… but with only 2 people it’s was irrationally fast.
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Homemade masks don’t stop the virus, but if you’re infected (knowingly or otherwise) they at least slow down its velocity and spread when it leaves your mouth and nose.
I tried the handkerchief one that Neovison.vison linked to, and it seems to work OK with shoelaces if you don’t have any hairbands.
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Makes sense, that some barrier is better than no barrier.
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i think no mask is better. why give a false sense of security.
Not a question of security. Nothing short of PAPR systems will effectively keep out the virus, N95’s decrease the load but not anywhere near perfect. That said, even t-shirt masks effectively decrease the ability of the wearer to infect others by limiting the velocity of expelled droplets. Additionally, for the wearer a mask tends to decrease the face touching that is a frequent mode of infection. Is it ideal? Oh hell no! Is it better than nothing? Yes, yes it is.
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Wow, thanks for that. I just tried it, it works remarkably well. I suggest a relatively threadbare handkerchief, or else breathing is tricky.
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I dug my respirator out of the garage. It’s got P100 filter cartridges. I bought it a few years ago when I had to clean out a nest of wood mice and I was worried about getting hantavirus. I haven’t gone outside since then, though, so I haven’t seen anyone’s reaction to it yet.
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I am jealous. Esp the replacable cartridge feature. Pretty sure that sort has not been cleared for medical use, but would beat the hell out of what we have. We finally got access to the level 3 masks, which is a step up from the level 1 masks we had been using. Still have to reuse them, though. Which becomes an increasing issue over time.
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If they do clear them for medical use, let me k ow, and I’ll send you mine. It might terrify your patients, though.
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Mask Anti-touch-your-face-device:
Using two layers of cloth that are a bit larger than a sheet of kitchen roll should result in something that is no worse than the no-sew hankerchief mask or one of the simpler DIY masks.
Hoping this helps:
tl;dr
Researchers at Cambridge University … shot Bacillus atrophaeus bacteria (0.93-1.25 microns) and Bacteriophage MS virus (0.023 microns in size) at different household materials:
Based on particle capture1 and breathability, the researchers concluded that cotton t-shirts and pillow cases are the best choices for DIY masks.
cf
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Surely the masks just have to catch the droplets which the virus rides on.
She is wearing her mask in a very wrong way.
The metal strip on top should be pinched around her nose to avoid too much air escaping there and follow her face shape.
She is also wearing it way too low on her face.
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These researchers (un-peer-reviewed) claim that two layers of paper towel are 80-90% as effective as surgical masks.
Exactly. I don’t understand why everyone keeps talking about the size of the virus – it’s well-known that these masks won’t stop a free-flying virus, but does such a thing exist? This spreads through droplets – my understanding is that the vector is about half-way between “large droplets” and true aerosolized spray. If a paper towel or two layers of cotton stop most of that, in either direction, then DIY masks help.
Honestly, if we all just wore clear plastic tubes on our heads that stuck straight up about a foot, the virus wouldn’t get us at all, despite a gigantic hole at the top, because there would be almost no logical route from the mouth of one person to the face of the next.
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