Homemade Coronavirus Mask

[bigbonner]

My wife is wanting to make some homemade mask as they are in short supply.
She was making cancer hats and knitted head ware for kids with cancer and babies.Those hats was handed out for free at local treatment centers.
My question is? Is material woven tight enough to stop a virus from making it inside your lungs?
Material micron sizes VS Coronavirus micron size?

 

[rcb216]

My wife was gonna make some as well. Had the same questions. You can get 50 micron fabric off of amazon but don’t know if it is sufficient.

 

[kyoutdoorsman]

That would be a great idea and sell for 5.00 a piece. I have been wanting someone to knit or crochet me a blaze orange boggin

 

[Brit's and Birds]

You cannot make a homemade that 100% protects against the virus like the ones hospitals use. However, the ones that do protect from the virus are in short supply and only those that are on the front lines are using them. Many other healthcare workers are using lesser/homemade masks as some line of protection as something is better than nothing. Will not hurt to make them and send them out.

I would also be very careful if you are selling them for profit as to how you market them. I would not say anything to the effect of them being able to prevent the illness.

 

[Wildcat]

NO!!! Nothing homemade can get it that small.

The "N95", in the N95 mask, is a government efficiency rating that means the mask blocks about 95 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns in size or larger.

The N95 rating meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for protection against tuberculosis and anthrax spores, as well as the most foreseeable bioweaponry, which ranges in size from 1.0 to 5.0 microns. So the N95s are more than capable of preventing their inhalation.

Anybody got one of those True HEPA Air Purifiers? Look at those high dollar True HEPA Filters. They are good enough to stop up to 0.3 microns. That means you will have to have them as good as a True HEPA filter is.

You would need 0.3 micron fabric which is going to the big mask companies right now.

 

[Meatstick]

We were instructed by our higher ups to donate our n-95s to the nearest hospital. We always keep them on hand for the dam cement and fly ash.

 

[KYote-Krusher]

Wonder if a true "Gore-tex" fabric wouldn't stop a large percentage of the germ population in a pinch?? Have no real idea but it sure works with water ... especially when it's brand new. Might be better than nothing ... dunno ....

UPDATE: Tried to find out how small the openings are in Gore-tex and came up with this:

How does the GORE-TEX® membrane work?
The GORE-TEX® membrane has 9 billion pores per square inch, with each pore 20,000 times smaller than a water droplet. These tiny holes are too small for water and wind to pass through from the outside, which is how we can guarantee you'll stay dry and warm in a garment made with GORE-TEX® fabric. But these same pores are large enough for moisture vapor to pass through, so your body's perspiration is able to escape and you don't get clammy and uncomfortable.

One of you math whizzes out there can figure out if those openings are smaller than 0.3 microns.

Sounds to me like it would stop the virus but you might die of asphyxiation!!

 

[PhilpotHunter]

Message from our local hospital:
https://www.owensborohealth.org/news-events/news-media/2020/fabric-surgical-masks-information/

 

[bird whisperer]

If you make mask be sure to add something like a pipe cleaner in the top seam to allow the wearer to from the mask over the bridge of the nose for a tighter fit.

 

[Carl]

This would be like making a rubber with a sock, with a hole in it.

 

[bigbonner]

My wife is looking into make some for family and friends. It may or may not help but may be worth a try . It would be better than nothing.

One thing I am wondering is will mosquito's and flies spread the virus?

 

[Carl]

Anything is worth a try. Prayers for everyone that no one here catches this gift from the Chicoms .

 

[Mt Pokt]

The one thing a makeshift mask will do is keep your hands out of or away from your mouth, or make you aware of how often you're touching your face so you can wash your paws more often, which is the most recommended defense second to staying home.

 

[Carl]

The one thing a makeshift mask will do is keep your hands out of or away from your mouth, or make you aware of how often you're touching your face so you can wash your paws more often, which is the most recommended defense second to staying home.

Good idea.

 

[Wildcat]

If it makes one feel better then do it but remember there is a reason doctors and nurses do NOT use them. Remember how doctors and nurses wear "colorful" caps and gowns, that's just to break up their uninform a little. They would do the same with masks at the drop of a hat if they could but they know it doesn't work so they stick with what does work.

The real help you will get is not FOR PROTECTING YOURSLEF from germs, because you WILL still catch any germ with a homemade mask, but to keep YOUR OWN droplets from coming out of your mouth when you speak. That is what the 6 foot rule is for, to stay away from the droplets we each make when we speak.

Just do not try to sell them with the idea they will protect anybody. Lawsuit waiting to happen. All it takes is one person buying one, getting a receipt, going to his lawyers and heading to the courthouse to file suit.