5 Hacks And Tips To Make Your Face Mask More Protective from freeamfva's blog

5 Hacks And Tips To Make Your Face Mask More Protective

With new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus spreading in the U.S., and transmission levels still very high in many places, some public health experts recommend that Americans upgrade from the basic cloth masks that many have been wearing during the pandemic.To get more news about disposable mask price, you can visit tnkme.com official website.

"A cloth mask might be 50% effective at blocking viruses and aerosols," says Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies airborne virus transmission. "We're at the point now ... that we need better than 50%."

When you're outdoors, where fresh air can quickly disperse virus droplets and smaller particles, a cloth mask is still fine, Marr says. But infectious particles can accumulate indoors, and that's when you want a better mask. "I am now wearing my best mask to the grocery store. I wasn't before," Marr says.Ideally, we would all be wearing medical-grade N95 respirators – so-called because they block out at least 95% of particles when worn correctly. But even now, N95s remain in short supply for consumers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still says they should be reserved for health care workers.

The concept of double-masking has gotten a lot of attention lately, especially after Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, touted it on the TODAY show.

Start with a surgical mask closest to your face, says Marr, and then add a cloth one on top. You want a surgical mask made out of a nonwoven material called polypropylene, because that material holds an electrostatic charge that allows it to trap particles. (Some surgical masks are made of paper.)

The downside of surgical masks is that many of them fit loosely — and a mask's ability to filter out particles depends partly on how well it seals to your face. By layering a cloth mask on top, you can achieve a tighter fit while also adding an extra layer of filtration, says Marr, who co-wrote a recent commentary recommending double-masking.

But don't keep piling on masks, Marr warns; just one additional mask is plenty. If your masks become too hard to breathe through, air will leak in and out through the sides instead. "Then it's like you have a hole in your mask," she says.
2. Add a filter

If doubling up just isn't your thing, you can achieve a similar boost in filtration efficiency by wearing a two-layer mask with a pocket for a filter, says Gandhi. The outer layers should be made of a tight-weave fabric.

Marr suggests using a surgical mask in the filter pocket. (You can cut the surgical mask to fit the pocket if need be.) She says HEPA filters cut out from the filters used in portable air cleaners work very well (here's her how-to video); a PM2.5 carbon filter should also do the trick, as long as it is flexible.

Another filter option: a material available at fabric stores called spunbond, also sold under the brand name Oly-Fun. It's made out of polypropylene, so it also uses the power of static electricity to trap particles.
3. Choose a better cloth mask

If you're still single-masking, just make sure the one you wear is as protective as it can be. As Gandhi recently wrote on Twitter, "There is a still role for basic masks."

When it comes to cloth masks, look for a fabric with a tight weave. Multiple studies have shown that 100% cotton is a good bet (think dress-shirt cotton or quilter's cotton rather than a t-shirt).

As Zangmeister explained to NPR last year, natural fibers in cotton tend to have more three-dimensional structure than synthetic fibers, which are smoother. And that 3D structure can create more roadblocks that can stop an incoming particle. That said, filtration tests have shown that some masks made of other fabrics, like an engineered knit, can be highly effective.