spectrumom

Seeing too many people using materials like polyester knit) to make masks, I felt it was important to try to put together an easy to make mask out with materials that you can both find at home AND may offer some protection for you and those you come in contact with.  I used a tightly woven cotton shirt and a flannel shirt, which offer more protection than other materials.  OF NOTE: if you are going to be using the mask for more than 20-30 min, bring a second mask to change into. Having moisture collecting on the mask increases your risk of contracting viruses, according to a study published by NIH. 1. Mark a 9x6 area on the cotton shirt, cut out a rough oval. 2. Using the oval as a template, cut another oval out of the cotton, and one of the flannel.  3. You now have 3 ovals. sandwich the flannel between the two cottons 4. Mark the center of one long side of the oval and draw 2 ellipses towards the sides, as shown. 5. cut off the ellipses 6.

There seems to be no agreement on the best materials to make a mask. I made mine with quilting cotton for the outer cover. Quilting cotton has a dense weave and will hold up to many washings. I have tons of scraps and used these. I used a Hoover HEPA vacuum bag for the inner layer. It seemed like a good material for blocking nasty stuff. One thing I read is that some cotton masks increase the risk of getting influenza-like illness. They postulated that it was because moist material holds the virii against the face increasing the risk of transmission to mucus membranes. So, I feel it’s important to change your mask often. Because the HEPA doesnt hold moisture, and it’s not irritating (unlike some materials) I was happy to use it against the face. Avoiding having the mask against the face is also why I chose the duckbill type. Because the outer mask will carry fomites (virii) from patient to patient, you should attempt to change it often for that reason also. I used pipe cleaners f