Army Says It Has Found the Best Fabric for DIY Face Masks

Army Says It Has Found the Best Fabric for DIY Face Masks


Army Staff Sgt. Johnny Kazmierczak sews a cloth face covering at the riggers facility, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Fla., April 16, 2020. (U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Steven M. Colvin)
28 Apr 2020
Military.com | By Matthew Cox
The U.S. Army's Chemical Biological Center just ran an extensive round of tests that officials say has revealed the best fabric to use for making homemade face coverings for preventing the spread of coronavirus.

The center, which falls under the Combat Capabilities Development Command, began testing materials around the same time that the Pentagon's April 5 announcement allowing service members to make their own face coverings opened up a flood of discussion on social media.

"We knew that claims about masks and face coverings were exploding all over the internet, and we wanted to make sure that any decisions about materials ... will be based on proven science," David Caretti, who leads the effort as the chief of the Center's Chemical Biological Protection & Decontamination Division, said in a recent Army news release.

Related: DIY T-Shirt Masks and Balaclavas: Military Services Release Face-Covering Guidance

The center is one of only a handful of agencies that is experienced in performing tests that precisely measure materials' filtration efficiencies in strict accordance with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health standards, according to the release.

"The challenge is to pick a material that effectively blocks the virus particles from going through the material while not being too hard to breathe through," said Caretti, said in the release. "If the resistance is too high, airflow will simply bypass the covering and go around the edges."

The Pentagon's broad guidance has authorized service members to use everything from T-shirts to their issued neck gaiters as face coverings when social distancing is not possible.

The test team started out by testing materials that defense and federal agencies sent in for evaluation but then then broadened out the effort to evaluate materials likely to be found at home that could be used to make face coverings.

The testing involves spraying a salt aerosol at a swatch of material, according to the release.

"The testing team measures the density of salt aerosol suspended in the air on one side and compared it to the density on the other side after it passes through the material, the release states, describing the process that is similar to the one used when N95 filters are certified to NIOSH standards.

After running about 300 tests, the team found that one of the best readily available materials to use in a homemade face covering is four-ply microfiber cloth, which is popular for cleaning and polishing surfaces, according to the release.

"It filters out over 75% of particles," according to the release. "In comparison, the N95 mask used by healthcare workers in hospitals can filter 95 percent of particles or greater."

Testers also found that "even a polyester bandana can be reasonably effective if it is used in layers, according to the release, which adds that it will filter out "40 percent of suspended particles."

In early April, Army senior leaders said the service is working on a plan to produce and issue some type of face covering that's either black or camouflage. For now, the color of the face masks is up to unit commanders as long soldiers don't use old Operational Camouflage Uniforms, because they have been treated with chemicals to help repel insects and reduce wrinkles.

 

So, my nose AND Brasso? who knew?

 

So the bullshit surgical mask they make people wear is like an N5<.

 

Mask are a easy way to stop some of the spread.
Amazing that some still refuse to protect others.
Denial of the facts is some type of super ego problem.

 

There's only been about 20 cases confirmed out of 50,000 people.
That would be potentially thousands of masks used and tossed everyday by regular people who don't need them.
Healthcare workers and poor bastards in NJ and NY need them.

 

Meh....masks in the general public are to help prevent spread of infection, more so than preventing catching the contagion....particularly by those who are asymptomatic but are none the less infectious. Every carrier containing their infection to themselves by wearing a mask is a mask well used.

I wear a mask when i need to go outside of my home...it gets decontaminated, laundered and reused...i use a microfibre insert...masks don't necessarily need to be single use.

I'd be interested in seeing a link to the figure of 20 cases from a population of 50,000 ....the numbers appear to be fraudulent ( PIDOOMA) numbers, rather than factual....where and when do these numbers relate?

Round numbers: A fingerprint of fraud

PIDOOMA - RationalWiki

 

Mask as mass produced are cheap, about .10 a piece. A cheap price to save weeks of recovery.
Or in the case of the Vet Facility where 70 died.
Nearly 70 dead from 'horrific' COVID-19 outbreak at vet home in Massachusetts

 

I dont, I'm saving my N95 masks for reno demo and lawn care during dusty conditions. F the virus, breathing in a hand full of dirt a few times each week will get me 30 or 40 years from now.

 

My thoughts and prayers go with you, oil pan....for your recovery should you contract the virus...I wear a mask for the sake of others...but then, this thing is not just about me...

TRumPense aren't avid mask wearers either so it would seem.

Mike Pence is doing it wrong if he is wearing his face mask over his eyes instead of over his mouth and nose.

 

I shop once or twice a week, depending on how the veggies are holding up. Since Day 1 I've been using the same N95. Time and/or UV will kill CoV, so I hang it in my rear view mirror and my truck is parked to maximize sunlight exposure. If I need it sooner than 3 days I'll give it an alcohol spritz. I also clean and sanatize my nitrile gloves for re-use and check them before putting them on again.

To me what stands out in this article is that the BEST non filter designed material was only good for 75% of particles. The fashion out here are pretty masks based on the medical pattern and the fashionistas have there own special ones that wrap around. I wonder how much thought was put into how well the actual material blocks small particles? I read an article a few weeks back about one lady who was making and selling ones made from beads. The kicker is that she was a student of a medical technology.

I only see a hand full of actual N95 masks in use compared to the fashionable ones, and that's when I see people actually using them. Grocers are still chock full of the whole fam damily shopping with the kids running loose same as always.

 

Oh save it. For about 50 miles around me there are around 50,000 people. Of those 50,000 people there have been less than 20 confirmed cases.
I'm more likely to die driving to and from work then from this virus.
It looks like new mexico has already peaked. 6 weeks ago you couldn't get a test. A month ago they would only test people who were really sick to make sure it's the china virus that kills them. Then about 3 weeks ago they would test people who were just kind of sick and high risk, then about 2 weeks ago people who were starting to get sick could be tested, now this week the little rural as hell hospital my wife works at has the abbot 5 minute tester and they can test people who are like "someone coughed near me". So yeah they will find more now. But considering how the numbers of new confirmed cases per day hasn't changed a whole lot between "we're only going to test you if we think you're gonna die", to " having the 5 minute tester" we're doing pretty good.

At the first hint of the virus I will put out the hedge hogs and barbed wire across the drive way and call in sick to work for as long as they will let me.

 

When you get a chance look up GROVEMASK, N99 fashionistas but all I could find in Dec.
Not cheap but they come with *replaceable filters and are so good that even at the 72 hour mark the one way valve just starts to kick in.
N99 Rated with a 5 layer replaceable filter with a center carbon filter. Effective in that office help with heavy perfume are impossible to smell.
Yup the Doc should direct his help or proper office protocol.

 

I'm not worried about catching it myself. Mrs 3M (per her physician) due to health concerns will almost certainly die if she contracts the virus and becomes symptomatic. My area is far more densely populated than yours and within the same 50 miles, make that 25, we have more than three times your confirmed cases as confirmed deaths.

I listen to the medical community (which I serve) and not politicians. Good luck and I hope you stay well. I myself am going to play it very conservatively and have valid reason to do so.

 

Same here,Between a 5' bush hog and a 54'' Bulldog mower its a regular dust/pollen/poison ivy/$hit show!

Wear em if you got em!