Masks are effective protection from airborne pollutants such as PM2.5, viruses, bacteria and allergens. In general, there are 2 common types of masks: surgical masks and respirators like N95 and N99 masks. DIY face masks can be used when surgical masks and respirators are not available. Read more to learn if masks actually work, how long masks can be used and how to wash them.
Wildfires create a serious amount of smoke and air pollution. Wildfire smoke can cause short and long-term health impacts. That’s why it’s important to know how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke is a form of air pollution. It contains dangerous VOC gases and small particles (PM2.5) that … Read more
With such similar-sounding names, it can be confusing to understand the difference between N95 and KN95 masks. What are KN95 masks, and are they the same as N95 masks? This handy chart explains the differences between N95 and KN95 masks (and all characteristics that are the same). N95 vs. KN95 … Read more
Surgical masks are designed to be worn in one direction only. However, it can be difficult to know which way round a medical face mask should go. Should the blue side face out, or in? Some surgical masks are white all over, which way round should these white face masks … Read more
Can you wear expired face masks? How effective are expired face masks? A study tested 10 year-old 3M N95 masks compared to new masks and this is what they found.
Does a wet mask still work? If your mask is slightly wet, how does this wetness and humidity affect it’s performance? Fortunately, scientists have tested the effectiveness of wet masks. Researchers tested the performance of new and “wet” masks. They asked 22 people to wear either a DIY cloth mask, … Read more
The director of the NIH Dr. Anthony Fauci has said it seems like common sense that wearing two masks is better than one. So we decided to test whether two layers of the same material is better than one layer. Note that there may be other benefits of wearing double … Read more
Surgical masks have a lot of bad rep for filtering PM2.5. There’s a fantastic educational poster from Greenpeace that I’ve seen in several places. Here it is: It offers great advice on masks that protect us from PM2.5, soot or wildfire smoke. But then it says this this about surgical … Read more
The coronavirus has made millions around the world regularly wear masks to reduce the spread of the virus. It is clear, masks help mitigate virus spread. But widespread mask wearing may be having another unintended benefit: lowering blood pressure for millions. With mask wearing to prevent coronavirus spread, people are … Read more
Winter air quality in India is hazardous, with PM2.5 pollution levels reach more than 10 times the World Health Organization’s annual limit. Hazy skies and pollution alerts have become the norm during India’s winters. But just why is this? Analyzing India’s Summer & Winter Pollution Levels Data analyzed by Smart … Read more
Wearing masks for hours on end has led some people to worry about whether N95 masks deprive us of oxygen. Scientists have actually made people wear N95 masks and measured their blood oxygen. So we have a solid answer to this question, and it’s not what this question assumes. This … Read more
