Kind of a straight GQ, but it’s about the virus. Who’s making masks, and out of what?
I want to make some masks. I can sew a pattern and have stuff available. The best patterns create a pocket to put a disposable filter in them. What to use. One Doctor develops, with the help of his wife, a mask from a Hoover vacuum cleaner. Traps 99.9% (or something close to that) of all particulates. But the comments all say that HEPA material is some kind of glass product that shouldn’t be near your face. There isn’t much of a consensus. So, HEPA. Safe for mask filter or not? And how about furnace filter material. Filtrite brand says it’s effective, partially, against viruses. Anybody involved in this with some insight?
I was thinking car air filters.
This seems a lot like what people during prohibition would have been posting.
My mask is made for these PM2.5 filters. They are fairly inexpensive.
HEPA filters can shed glass fibers that irritate the respiratory system. Supposedly if they’re sandwiched between layers of cloth, it’s not an issue. More to the point, however, is that they are very tough to breathe through, so people tend to push them out of the way or pull them away from their faces now and then–both of which contaminate the hands with any virus on the mask as well as defeating the purpose of the mask.
I remain unconvinced masks do much good, but for those who insist on wearing them, the best advice is to make sure they are snug to the face at every single point, which means you should use wire to get them tight to the skin on and around your nose and elastic under the chin. Also, you must still keep at least 6 feet away from people and wash your hands thoroughly after removing the mask. The mask then goes directly in the washer. Do not reuse a mask without washing it first.
One of our health department folks recommended double paper towel or cut up swimsuit material between cloth layers and definitely no hepa filters because of coatings
I would say furnace filter material would be the most likely type to contain fibreglass to get some heat resistance. HEPA filters come in all shapes and sizes, it seems very unlikely a domestic disposable vacuum filter bag would contain any fibreglass, I couldn’t recommend cutting up some type of permanent industrial filter.
This company is making masks/filters using HEPA air filter material. Not yet approved.
Also see:
There’s also this thread: Why can’t you use HEPA material to make masks?
HEPA filters for vacuums, air cleaners, and furnaces all have air sucked through them forcefully, that air then being circulated into habitations. Would having a piece of HEPA filter closer to your face, at a lower air pressure, contain significantly more of any detached fibers or particles?
Can’t imagine why. The filter is on the inlet side of the furnace - before the air is ever exposed to any heat exchanger.
It seems pretty easy to tell if one can breath though such a filter? Anyone got one to test?
If you’ve got one and want to test it, make sure you sandwich it between layers of cloth and fit it tightly around your nose and mouth–no gaps. Masks are good if you’re trying to ensure you won’t spread COVID that you already have, and that’s about it.
From National Geographic (all bolding mine):
Since the CDC gave the green light on homemade masks, people have been making and wearing them like crazy, convinced they protect them from COVID. They don’t, but the CDC, operating as it is in Full Desperation Modes, is hoping widespread mask use would slow transmission rates. Wear them for that reason, not out of a misplaced sense of protection.
Wife’s Kotex maxipad (new not used), dog’s charcoal pee pad, a 2016 Honda oil filter, cofee filters, or the pink attic insulation material? Need answer fast.
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
pink attic insulation material (i.e. fiberglass) is a poor choice. People who work with it wear actual respirators to avoid inhaling particles from it.
Oil filters often have a one-way valve to prevent backflow. Even assuming reasonable pressure drop characteristics during inhalation through it, you’d need another passage in your mask with a checkvalve on it to allow exhalation. Like an actual respirator.
My understanding is that the “mask” purpose is to block particles and especially droplets of water, like when somebody sneezes. Filtering out virus is a daunting standard. Understatement of the Year Award.
I have given up on the HEAP filter thing. It’s not cheap and I generally avoid situations that might warrant a filter. I’m just using a regular old mask so noone thinks i’m gonna get them sick.