1. Sign our petition calling on Cochrane to withdraw their review of Exercise Therapy for CFS here.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Guest, the 'News in Brief' for the week beginning 18th March 2024 is here.
    Dismiss Notice
  3. Welcome! To read the Core Purpose and Values of our forum, click here.
    Dismiss Notice

Question: Coronavirus & home sewn masks?

Discussion in 'Epidemics (including Covid-19, not Long Covid)' started by Keela Too, Mar 11, 2020.

Tags:
  1. Amw66

    Amw66 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    6,261
  2. cyclamen

    cyclamen Established Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    63
    I have used the free pattern of https://diymask.site/ for women and men. They are very similar to the pattern Keela Too is using and fit astonishing well. Besides the description there is also a video showing how to sew them.
     
  3. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    @cyclamen

    Interesting they say that kitchen paper can act as a filter inside the mask. The article I linked up thread didn’t test actually kitchen paper, although it tested various other textiles.

    Linking it again:
    https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/

    I wonder how much efficiency adding the paper actually adds to cloth masks?

    The beauty of using only cloth is that you can take the masks straight off, bag them and later wash them, with very little contact with anything contaminated.

    With an added filter there would be considerably more handling of the contaminated mask and filter, prior to it going in the washing machine (as you couldn’t wash the kitchen paper without the paper disintegrating).

    I wonder would this angle make the addition of filter paper counter productive to the whole exercise?
     
    Yessica, JaneL, Perrier and 2 others like this.
  4. JemPD

    JemPD Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    3,915
    The other issue is that the harder it is to breathe through the more air will simply be sucked in around the gaps at the sides as I think you mentioned earlier (or someone did). So I cant see the point, unless you can make the thing airtight around the edges, & then you wouldn't be able to breathe. The N95 masks are not easy to breathe through but they do have an airtight seal when worn correctly so the air has to be sucked in through the filter. With the homemade kind if you make a strong filter at the front the air will just be sucked in from around the sides - same as if you cup your hand over your nose/mouth. So I think your design without them is better @Keela Too
     
    Yessica, JaneL, Ebb Tide and 4 others like this.
  5. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Agree @JemPD - only change I have now made is to add a little green garden wire to the nose area of my masks. I’ve curled the ends of the wire over with pliers so there are no sharp edges. This gives a better fit round the nose, and the rest is as good as cloth gets. :)

    Edit: I have distributed half a dozen so far, and have another dozen available so far.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2020
    JaneL, Comet, Ebb Tide and 2 others like this.
  6. Perrier

    Perrier Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    788
    I certainly agree. I have been wearing mask when in crowds often even before this outbreak. My ME daughter picks up all sorts of stuff from me, so I have had to be very careful. This chap makes a good deal of sense. Bravo,
     
    MEMarge and Amw66 like this.
  7. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    I did a series of photos on how I make my masks
    6803DE67-4A51-4B0B-93F2-377B259A93EA.jpeg 20BCE534-96FF-4218-BC24-4FBCE4CE5A54.jpeg 4611AC5D-758F-4735-8610-07734E55C08B.jpeg 6F32175F-F35A-4128-8A7B-4FAFE9DECFAE.jpeg 7C30761C-3170-48D4-A8BD-20434CF6AD28.jpeg 2FB52AB5-6687-4E7F-9765-AB94FF01B1A9.jpeg 57E8152C-999C-4311-A18A-2016063FC802.jpeg 05F83E81-BE12-4A7A-A5B9-0FA9BE397DEC.jpeg .
     
    Chris, MSEsperanza, JaneL and 6 others like this.
  8. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    4A79A507-06BD-4F54-9FDA-0792D2DC2191.jpeg F74829F2-EA06-438F-82DF-0350835F8F55.jpeg CCE27D9A-AD43-42C6-80B9-A35954B0D6E1.jpeg 36FF7ECF-BD22-4135-8BB9-3EE30E54DF38.jpeg D1DAF184-1124-48FE-A35F-4A156A2DE267.jpeg 575ACFCF-18F8-469E-9591-472253FFC167.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2020
    ballard, Chris, MEMarge and 13 others like this.
  9. Lucibee

    Lucibee Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,483
    Location:
    Mid-Wales
    Nellie, MEMarge, JemPD and 4 others like this.
  10. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    13,140
    Location:
    UK West Midlands
    I don’t know anything about sewing but how about adding a pocket that vacuum filter or kitchen roll could be placed in and then removed to be binned before the mask is washed?
     
    JemPD and Perrier like this.
  11. Trish

    Trish Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    51,863
    Location:
    UK
    Can you breathe through kitchen paper towel?
     
    JemPD likes this.
  12. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Two problems with that:
    1) The vacuum filter would be difficult to breathe through, so instead air would be pushed out, or sucked in, round the sides of the mask, meaning the air wouldn’t go through any filter not even cloth.
    2) These masks are washable. Once used they should be taken off into a plastic bag, and then emptied directly into the washing machine. Removing a non-washable filter would likely increase the chance of contamination through the handling involved.

    These are not aimed to replace high spec masks, but rather to provide a barrier to reduce (rather than entirely block) the movement of viral particles.

    They could potentially catch coughs from infected individuals wearing them thus reducing spread, or could lower the wearer’s inhalation of droplets containing viral particles when some infected person happens to cough nearby.

    To be useful they would no doubt need replaced fairly frequently, but because they are washable there is no waste in changing often. Just keep the washing machine going on a hot wash!

    Certainly, if I had to venture out somewhere I’d prefer some protection to zero protection.
     
    MEMarge, JemPD, JaneL and 2 others like this.
  13. mango

    mango Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    2,504
    @Keela Too, thank you so much for all the advice and info -- very helpful and much appreciated :)

    About the elastic, what width do you all prefer? Do you choose a wider elastic if you want to wear it around the back of your head/neck (as opposed to round your ears)?

    ETA: Has anyone tried using strap elastic (the kind you use for bra straps) with rings and sliders to make them adjustable?

    ETA2: Or, what about adjustable elastic cord, using a simple cord stopper? Prym's plastic stoppers seem to be washable only up to 40 degrees C, so maybe metal would be better?
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2020
    JaneL, MEMarge, JemPD and 1 other person like this.
  14. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    @mango Glad you find this helpful. I haven’t been using elastic. Either tape or ribbon seems fine.
     
    JaneL, MEMarge, JemPD and 1 other person like this.
  15. Lucibee

    Lucibee Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,483
    Location:
    Mid-Wales
    Having spent a week handsewing my masks (sewing machine is a bit broke), I now discover that I've made them too big and they don't fit very well (unless the wearer has a very large face!). :( The original one was OK, so I'm not sure what's gone wrong.

    I tried making a close-fitting one, like the ones @Keela Too is making, but found it too claustrophobic (and it makes my glasses steam up). I think I'm going to have to go back to experimenting.
    Maybe I'll try Plague Doctor stylee next...
     
    JaneL, MEMarge and Sly Saint like this.
  16. Roy S

    Roy S Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    459
    Location:
    Illinois, USA
  17. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Wow - just wow!
     
    JaneL, ProudActivist and MEMarge like this.
  18. Roy S

    Roy S Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    459
    Location:
    Illinois, USA
  19. Keela Too

    Keela Too Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    And presumably another filter material could be squeezed in underneath that fabric if required. LOL..
     
    JaneL, MEMarge and Simbindi like this.
  20. Roy S

    Roy S Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    459
    Location:
    Illinois, USA

Share This Page