Many people are starting to make their own masks. Â
But there are some problems with that. Â
In a study completed by Smart Air Filter Company, they tested 10 different materials. Â
The materials included things like t-shirts, dish towels, pillowcases.
Pillow cases were one of the worst performers, only filtering 57% of airborne material. Â
T-shirts were slightly better at 70%.
But what they didn't test, which is absolutely critical, is the fit of the mask material. Â
If you're making your own mask you must create an airtight seal around the edges of the mask.
If you've tried to make masks at home you know how hard this is. Â
It's nearly impossible to make a mask at home that doesn't leave a gap around the nose or below the chin.
If there is a gap around the face, the laws of physics say that most of your inhaled air will come through those gaps!
It's better to use a tight-fitting, engineered mask for maximum filtering capability.
We don't blame you for using a homemade mask in the past, but there's no excuse now.