4 ms·
I wonder what if there's a straightforward way to make facemasks by hand, or with tools that are generally available? I'm imagining cutting apart a furnace fil
by elihu 7y ago
I wonder what if there's a straightforward way to make facemasks by hand, or with tools that are generally available?
I'm imagining cutting apart a furnace filter and wrapping the fabric around a wire frame, or something like that. If someone were to develop a process that was simple and reliably repeatable and produced good quality effective masks, that could be a way for otherwise un-busy people to keep hospital staff supplied.
One issue I suppose is whether there are upstream bottlenecks, like not being able to get a reliable supply of the right kinds of filter material.
- j-c-hewitt 7y agoThere are a lot of hospitals directing employees to sew them by hand. There is a simple and reliably repeatable method: having a factory. Not sure what is needed but there are lots of suppliers on Alibaba for this type of item. There are lots of rumors about export controls in China, denials of the same from Chinese officials, and rumors of seizure by US customs. Never imported medical stuff but anecdotally many US sellers are being solicited by Chinese factories looking to sell masks and other PPE into the US.
- sp332 7y agoIt's not that easy to make N95 masks. Other kinds of masks are better than nothing but if you're in close proximity for hours a day, probably not good enough.