Does Your Homemade Mask Work? Researcher Shares a Simple Way to Test It
If a surgeon arrived at the operating theatre wearing a mask they had made that morning from a tea towel, they would probably be sacked. This is because the equipment used for important tasks, such as surgery, must be tested and certified to ensure compliance with specific standards.
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The ubiquitous blue masks are rubbish.
Have you tried the black off-the-shelf masks? The look a bit better but appear to leak badly around the nose.
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I was delighted to see that about 40% of the face masks at Aldi on Friday were home made, including repurposed dust masks, and including an N95 mask.
> find someone who “vapes” and film them breathing out the vapour while wearing a face covering.
Not really. Two issues here. One is that it should be breathing in that is more important, and that’s not the same. The other is that, well, who vapes?
> Do coverings that loop around the ears work better than scarves? How far under your chin does a covering need to go? What is the best nose fitting? How do face shields compare to face masks?
Now we’re getting somewhere. What’s the answer?
You missed leakage around the edges and back pressure. The higher the back pressure the greater the leakage around the edge. So for two identical masks with a finer and coarser weave, the coarser weave can be better because the back pressure from the finer weave causes more leakage around the edges.
You also missed comfort and fit. Loops around the ears chafe and can’t be adjusted for different head sizes whereas those around the back can slip if looking up and down repeatedly.
> Given that coronavirus particles are about 0.08 micrometres. “vaping” particles are about 0.1 to 3 micrometres – significantly bigger than the virus.
They don’t travel alone. They typically travel in droplets 5 micrometres in diameter and larger, according to Korea. That’s still small compared to most weaves.
> we should be wearing specially designed PPE such as FFP2 (also known as N95) masks.
:-) But see edge leakage. Have to shave first.
How about free coronavirus mask testing stations?
The masks for general outside wear do not need to be surgical quality.
buffy said:
The masks for general outside wear do not need to be surgical quality.
in any case we thought they’d already addressed the shortage, or did complacency hit hard again
*Wanders into local vape shop *
“Hi, I’d like to test a vape… thing… to see if my mask is working.”
Yeah nah, I’m not taking up vaping to see if my face covering is working.