COVID-19
Why Everyone Should Wear a Mask!
Supporting References
Featured Article:
Saving Your Health,
One Mask at a Time
COVID-19 Face Mask News
Face Masks in the Pandemic
- Medical experts in South Dakota and across the country are concerned that reluctance among some people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may prolong the pandemic, delay a return to normal life …
- At least 21 states have recorded at least a 10% rise in daily average positive cases of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data Thursday, demonstrating that the fight against the pandemic …
- Commuters wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk to workplaces … the government's new measures to cope with COVID-19 pandemic, in Rome, Friday, April 16, 2021.
- Michigan on Friday extended by five weeks a pandemic order that requires masks in public, limits capacity inside businesses and caps gathering sizes, as the state continued …
- The owner of a Massachusetts tax preparation business faces more than $136,000 in federal fines for allegedly prohibiting employees and customers from wearing face coverings …
- A Lynn tax preparation business is facing $136,532 in fines from the U.S. Department of Labor after an inspection found its owner prohibited employees and customers from wearing face masks while in …
Making Homemade Masks
- Contestants must solve common face mask problems like skin irritation, foggy glasses, and improper fitting.
- They say it's more important not to touch your face and keep washing … However, the study found that homemade masks were still better than having no protection. The household materials most …
- Nail paint: Also, keeping your nails painted with nail polish is a good way to ensure protection to your … instead. Homemade face masks: To retain the natural elasticity of your skin and enhance …
- So, it’s not there really to provide them protection. It’s there to make their masks live longer. So, it increases the longevity of their mask.” Their second type of homemade face masks is not …
- (WLOX) – Right now, masks are hard to find, if not impossible, and for those who rely on those masks for protection … were in need….of face masks. The COVID-19 outbreak has created a severe …
- (WAVE) – Doctors and nurses across the country are in desperate need of medical masks. As the need grows, people who aren’t sick are being asked not to buy them, leading to the rise of homemade masks …
Making Homemade Face Masks using Different Methods
The Hong Kong Mask
This is for social hygiene – its purpose is to protect others from you. No sewing. Everyday components. Very simple. Includes multiple layer mask and a face shield. Dispose of the mask immediately after use and scrub your hands.
The Super Simple Diaper Mask!
This is for social hygiene – its purpose is to protect others from you. It may give you some protection from others. No sewing! Takes one diaper and a pair of scissors. Cut out a square in the center of the diaper, leaving elastic on either side. Use the cutout square to make a double layer in front. You can effectively seal this mask around your nose with a pair of goggles. Includes two non-woven layers of polypropylene and two moisture absorbing tortuous paths. Easy, simple and fast. This very simple mask meets many of the requirements of a good surgical mask – as described in the “What is a Good Quality Surgical Mask?” video at the bottom of this page. Dispose of the mask immediately after use and scrub your hands.
A Doctor Explains How to Make the Safest Face Mask (HEPA Vacuum Bag)
If N95 or better masks are not available, Dr. Southworth recommends this mask as an alternative for healthcare workers. The fit appears to be very good, because he could not smell household fumes, such as bacon cooking while wearing the mask. Given the materials, this mask is potentially reusable. The integrity of this mask should be verified with the standard fit test with each use. UV germicidal light could be used to keep it clean between patients.
Face Mask with a Filter Pocket
This is a sewn version of a simple surgical mask. Hospitals are providing these to patients in the waiting area, and for them to take home for their personal use. The nose wire helps to achieve an improved fit. The replaceable filter layer(s) can be made from unwoven fabrics such as 100% rayon, cellulose, or polypropylene as found in fabric liners and diapers. The cloth portion of the mask is washable, but for safety it should be sterilized immediately after use by soaking in hydrogen peroxide. Remove the mask by only touching the elastic portions and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Nurse Preferred Mask
Which mask should I make for the hospitals? The nurse below talks about the designs for two types of surgical masks. She prefers ties over elastic because of the discomfort of wearing elastic. She prefers at least four layers in the mask. She does not want an insertable filter because when she is working it is beyond what she wants to deal with. Each hospital has different requirements – please check before creating them.
DIY Near N-95 Masks
This mask should not only help protect others from you, but may also help protect you from others. It requires no sewing, and attempts to replicate the layering used in N95 masks by using a MERV13 filter. You should verify its fit and filtering capability with a sniff test for household odors as described by Dr. Southworth in the above vacuum bag mask video. This mask cannot be washed but you can sterilize the surfaces with UV light. Remove the mask by only touching the elastic portions and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
This mask should not only help protect others from you, but may also help protect you from others. This is a simple sewn mask. It includes a wired nose piece. The DIY video explains the use of layering of unwoven fabrics to create a tortuous path which acts as a barrier to viruses and small particles. This mask is washable. Immediately sterilize in hydrogen peroxide or UV light after each use. Remove the mask by only touching the elastic portions and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
The Olson Mask (for Healthcare Workers)
This is the Olson mask that some hospitals are asking people to make in the event that alternatives are needed. Their innovative use of double sided tape got this mask to pass the hospital fit test.
The MERV Filter Mask
This is one the early DIY masks that requires no sewing. It uses a MERV13 air filter material.
The Bra Mask
This is a multilayered mask. It gives you a pre-shaped form and elastic straps using bras that many women will have in their dresser drawer. To the extent is it well sealed on the sides, this mask will help protect others from you and may protect you from others.
The Anti Viral Masks
Antiviral materials are coming. The two stories below refer to research and innovations that will allow any mask, homemade or otherwise, to be made of antiviral materials. Treated fabrics will destroy viruses on contacts.
The Salt Mask
Read the Story
The Nano Textile Sonovia Innovation – a New Long Term Sterile Mask
Now available for sale online (we are not an affiliate vendor)
Read the Story
How to Put On and Take Off a Face Mask Safely
When you remove a mask, you must treat it as if it were contaminated.
What is a Good Quality Surgical Mask?
How to Sterilize Your Mask
Doctors scramble for best practices on reusing medical masks during shortage
Can masks safely be reused and disinfected?
How to reuse and dispose your masks safely
Face masks can be used repeatedly after disinfection: doctors
7 Coronavirus cleaning questions, answered by an expert
UV LIGHT REFERENCE 1 | REFERENCE 2