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.
N95 masks are often referred to as the “gold standard” for face masks and are relied on by healthcare workers for protection. This unfortunately results in occasional shortages and higher prices for N95 masks. That raises the question: Can you make a DIY N95 mask? As a pioneer in the …
COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire again with the emergence of the Delta variant. Even after nearly two years and a vaccine, it is clear that vaccination alone is not enough for protection against the Delta variant. In this article, we share some important tips and knowledge for further protection against …
Does a wet mask still work? If your mask is slightly wet, how does this wetness and humidity affect its 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, …
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 …
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: It offers great advice on masks that protect us from PM2.5, soot or wildfire smoke. But then it says this this about surgical masks: “No effect” …
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 …
Recently, the Coronavirus has begun to sweep Beijing again. Among so many surgical masks, how should we choose which brand surgical mask to wear, not only against with virus but also away from sweating. Our Smart Air tested 10 surgical masks that were purchased from different pharmacies and come up …
In the rush to make homemade masks, many people are wondering whether reusable bags such as non-woven polypropylene plastic bags are effective at filtering viruses. These reusable bags are incredibly popular in places like Asia and Africa, where they are a common alternative to flimsy plastic shopping bags. Why Non-Woven …
Tests of masks marketed as N95 from 21 manufacturers show that half of Chinese N95 masks fail quality tests–with some masks filtering no better than a cotton cloth. These tests come at a time that many countries around the world are scrambling for masks and other PPE. Factories Spring Up …
After testing 31 masks from 19 suppliers in China, we discovered that almost half of the masks were not meeting the N95 standards for filtering particles. What’s more, out of the 17 masks that did meet the N95 standard, most of these broke when we tried some simple structural tests. …
