4 ms·

I made a dozen good homemade masks in a few hours, and I am inept at sewing. With some practice I could make 200 a day. There's no point to doing so, it would

I made a dozen good homemade masks in a few hours, and I am inept at sewing. With some practice I could make 200 a day. There's no point to doing so, it would be illegal for me to sell them. US is doing nothing whatsoever to ramp up mask or ventilator production. It's going to result in a lot of deaths.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
creddit 7y ago
Of a material that is sufficient to meet the standards of N95 masks?
- stubish 7y ago
  Doubtful, given poster said masks and not N95 masks. Like the 199 million masks being produced in China daily that are not N95 per the article. Cheap, easy to make, comfortable enough to use for extended periods of time, and reduce chances of catching and spreading respiratory disease (but not considered good enough for hospital use, at least until the good ones run out).
- adrianN 7y ago
  Even homemade masks provide some protection. A lot less than N95 masks, but much better than nothing.
- droithomme 7y ago
  Here's some info about N95 specific materials. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/814929294/covid-19-has-caused-a-shortage-of-face-masks-but-theyre-surprisingly-hard-to-mak https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/8149292... N95 is a high standard. N99 higher still. (Why not adopt that then?) There are also other mitigation efforts available not as good as N95 that are massively better than nothing and which are also attainable. Insinuating as you have that only N95 is acceptable and nothing else whatsoever is acceptable means that millions will die in your universe since N95 is in the actual universe we live in unavailable at present. The perfect is the enemy of the good. But hey let's hold out for that perfection and then watch as the world incinerates.
markdown 7y ago
> There's no point to doing so, it would be illegal for me to sell them. Surely only making medical claims is illegal. You could sell them as a fashion accessory, with all sorts of funky designs. Make masks fashionable and desirable just like funky socks were made cool. Just make sure to make it clear in your sales copy (not in fine print) that the masks are a fashion item only, don't protect against COVID19, and "These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA" or whatever the asscovering stuff you have to write is. Personally I find the expert opinion on the efficacy of such masks ("unless they're n95, they're useless") nonsensical. If there's a difference between standing 1m and 3m away from an infected person, there's gotta be added value to one or both of you having a covered mouth, regardless of the material the covering is made of.
- stubish 7y ago
  Indeed, they are sold as a fashion accessory in regions where mask usage is common. It helps social acceptance.
SirLuxuryYacht 7y ago
The article says about masks, that cannot be made en masse. This is due to a flu, which will likely flow through, your fabric and not meltblown pads.
- Consultant32452 7y ago
  The virus is carried in tiny droplets in the air, usually from a cough or sneeze. Any mask that catches those helps prevent virus spread to and from you. So literally a bandana covering your face is going to prevent some. Of course it won't be as effective as a legit N95 or N99 mask, maybe it's only 10% as effective, but that is not the same as being totally ineffective. Further, any form of masks provides a psychological aid to help people stop touching their face.
  - SirLuxuryYacht 7y ago
    The main goal is minimizing leaks and making sure air flows through material. While a bandana would not be totally ineffective, there's room for innovation: > A Hanes Heavyweight 100% preshrunk cotton T-shirt (made in Honduras) [...] was boiled for 10 minutes and air-dried > A commercially available N95 respirator requires a fit factor of 100 > The prototype mask achieved a fit factor of 67 > We showed that a hand-fashioned mask can provide a good fit and a measurable level of protection from a challenge aerosol. [...] When made by naive users, this mask may be less effective because of variations in material, assembly, facial structure, cultural practices, and handling From "Simple Respiratory Mask" (2006) http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1206.051468 http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1206.051468 edit: formatting
gwright 7y ago
> US is doing nothing whatsoever to ramp ... Why do you think that? Couple minutes of googling: https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-coronavirus https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-c... https://www.venteclife.com/page/covid19-coronavirus-ventec-life-systems-stands-ready-to-help-with-vocsn https://www.venteclife.com/page/covid19-coronavirus-ventec-l...
davidgould 7y ago
Please share a pattern or document how you did this, I'd be very interested in making some for people around me.
- jaclaz 7y ago
  >Please share a pattern or document how you did this, I'd be very interested in making some for people around me. The Hong Kong kind is simple enough (and it also suggests a transparent shield): https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3050689/how-make-your-own-mask-hong-kong-scientists https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/artic... Video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNjpH5lBZ8w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNjpH5lBZ8w

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

creddit 7y ago

Of a material that is sufficient to meet the standards of N95 masks?

stubish 7y ago
Doubtful, given poster said masks and not N95 masks. Like the 199 million masks being produced in China daily that are not N95 per the article. Cheap, easy to make, comfortable enough to use for extended periods of time, and reduce chances of catching and spreading respiratory disease (but not considered good enough for hospital use, at least until the good ones run out).
adrianN 7y ago
Even homemade masks provide some protection. A lot less than N95 masks, but much better than nothing.
droithomme 7y ago
Here's some info about N95 specific materials. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/814929294/covid-19-has-caused-a-shortage-of-face-masks-but-theyre-surprisingly-hard-to-mak https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/8149292... N95 is a high standard. N99 higher still. (Why not adopt that then?) There are also other mitigation efforts available not as good as N95 that are massively better than nothing and which are also attainable. Insinuating as you have that only N95 is acceptable and nothing else whatsoever is acceptable means that millions will die in your universe since N95 is in the actual universe we live in unavailable at present. The perfect is the enemy of the good. But hey let's hold out for that perfection and then watch as the world incinerates.

markdown 7y ago

> There's no point to doing so, it would be illegal for me to sell them. Surely only making medical claims is illegal. You could sell them as a fashion accessory, with all sorts of funky designs. Make masks fashionable and desirable just like funky socks were made cool. Just make sure to make it clear in your sales copy (not in fine print) that the masks are a fashion item only, don't protect against COVID19, and "These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA" or whatever the asscovering stuff you have to write is. Personally I find the expert opinion on the efficacy of such masks ("unless they're n95, they're useless") nonsensical. If there's a difference between standing 1m and 3m away from an infected person, there's gotta be added value to one or both of you having a covered mouth, regardless of the material the covering is made of.

stubish 7y ago
Indeed, they are sold as a fashion accessory in regions where mask usage is common. It helps social acceptance.

SirLuxuryYacht 7y ago

The article says about masks, that cannot be made en masse. This is due to a flu, which will likely flow through, your fabric and not meltblown pads.

Consultant32452 7y ago
The virus is carried in tiny droplets in the air, usually from a cough or sneeze. Any mask that catches those helps prevent virus spread to and from you. So literally a bandana covering your face is going to prevent some. Of course it won't be as effective as a legit N95 or N99 mask, maybe it's only 10% as effective, but that is not the same as being totally ineffective. Further, any form of masks provides a psychological aid to help people stop touching their face.
- SirLuxuryYacht 7y ago
  The main goal is minimizing leaks and making sure air flows through material. While a bandana would not be totally ineffective, there's room for innovation: > A Hanes Heavyweight 100% preshrunk cotton T-shirt (made in Honduras) [...] was boiled for 10 minutes and air-dried > A commercially available N95 respirator requires a fit factor of 100 > The prototype mask achieved a fit factor of 67 > We showed that a hand-fashioned mask can provide a good fit and a measurable level of protection from a challenge aerosol. [...] When made by naive users, this mask may be less effective because of variations in material, assembly, facial structure, cultural practices, and handling From "Simple Respiratory Mask" (2006) http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1206.051468 http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1206.051468 edit: formatting

gwright 7y ago

> US is doing nothing whatsoever to ramp ... Why do you think that? Couple minutes of googling: https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-coronavirus https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-c... https://www.venteclife.com/page/covid19-coronavirus-ventec-life-systems-stands-ready-to-help-with-vocsn https://www.venteclife.com/page/covid19-coronavirus-ventec-l...

davidgould 7y ago

Please share a pattern or document how you did this, I'd be very interested in making some for people around me.

jaclaz 7y ago
>Please share a pattern or document how you did this, I'd be very interested in making some for people around me. The Hong Kong kind is simple enough (and it also suggests a transparent shield): https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3050689/how-make-your-own-mask-hong-kong-scientists https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/artic... Video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNjpH5lBZ8w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNjpH5lBZ8w