I know a lot of people are making face masks while we're in this pandemic for the Corona Virus, and even though professional sources say that they're not very effective, any type of barrier is better than none. I won't share patterns here, since there are dozens of blog posts and video tutorials for that already.
To make the plain cotton masks a little more effective, it's suggested to make them with a pocket where you can add some type of removable filter. The commercial N95 masks are made with a high grade of polypropylene material and while that would be near impossible to find outside of a hospital supply setting, I did find OLY*Fun - a similar fabric - at my local Walmart.
DISCLAIMER: This product is NOT the same grade as the commercial N95 medical masks, but it IS made of the same basic non-woven, water-resistant material (polypropylene), so will filter more junk than cotton fabric alone. Again, even if it won't stop ALL manner of buggy stuff from entering your nose and mouth, it's an added wall of defense, and I don't think anyone would scoff at that.
I'm going to wipe down my scissors and work-space with alcohol, then cut the OLY*Fun into appropriately sized pieces immediately after washing my hands, then put directly into ziploc bags so they'll be untouched and won't have come into contact with anything in my home that might be tainted. I'll then send that baggie of filters to my son with a couple of the cotton masks, which will be washable/reusable.
I found it online by the bolt, but when I limited to local stores, none of it showed up (even the small rolls like I have here). I found mine in the fabric department of my store in Jacksonville NC, in the same aisle as the quilt batting. One roll measures 3 yd x 30 in, enough to make a good amount of filters. Bonus: It was on sale for only $2/roll! I wish they'd had white, but black will work for the masks I'm making for my son, and I'll make do with yellow for some of the brighter cotton fabrics I'll be using.
Since I don't want the CDC or any other Big Brother entity to come down on me, I'll stress again - this material is NOT a replacement for medical grade P95 masks, but it IS an extra barrier in our line of defense against this crazy COVID-19 bug that's infiltrated our masses.
Be safe.
~ Marie Anne
DISCLAIMER: This product is NOT the same grade as the commercial N95 medical masks, but it IS made of the same basic non-woven, water-resistant material (polypropylene), so will filter more junk than cotton fabric alone. Again, even if it won't stop ALL manner of buggy stuff from entering your nose and mouth, it's an added wall of defense, and I don't think anyone would scoff at that.
I'm going to wipe down my scissors and work-space with alcohol, then cut the OLY*Fun into appropriately sized pieces immediately after washing my hands, then put directly into ziploc bags so they'll be untouched and won't have come into contact with anything in my home that might be tainted. I'll then send that baggie of filters to my son with a couple of the cotton masks, which will be washable/reusable.
Since I don't want the CDC or any other Big Brother entity to come down on me, I'll stress again - this material is NOT a replacement for medical grade P95 masks, but it IS an extra barrier in our line of defense against this crazy COVID-19 bug that's infiltrated our masses.
Be safe.
~ Marie Anne
Very informative post.
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