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If you are sewing masks, please be sure they can be used
For those interested in making masks to wear in nonclinical settings or for personal use, Kaiser Permanente offers step-by-step instructions and an accompanying how-to video. Even homemade masks need to meet certain specifications in order to be effective. Please, if you are sharing the community masks you are making with others, masks should be washed before wear.
It’s completely pointless to make your own from household materials, proper masks are made from specialist materials that filter out particulates by their size, normal fabric can’t do that.
It’s not pointless. A lot of places recommend wearing any mask, not because they protect you, but because they protect everyone else. If you sneeze or cough into your mask, you will not spray particles as far, etc.
Once we get past the stigma and we all start wearing masks, the rate of spreading of the virus will go down immensely.
They would still offer minimal protection to others as the fabric can’t stop things going out just like it can’t stop them coming in, and wearing a mask that is almost useless also spreads more germs as people are constantly touching them and they Harbour bacteria
From what I've read this is quite uncertain and high confidence on either side is unwarranted. See Ed Yong's article (posted here) for a good summary of the arguments.
"The fabric can't stop things going out just like it can't stop things coming in"
Particles/droplets don't necessarily go out the same way they come in (think outgoing velocity vs incoming velocity) so this is not an air tight point. Dismissing all "household materials" also seems without justification. While I don't know, I would be surprised if there were no household fabrics that worked relatively well for this purpose, and thickness/layers must be a factor in efficacy.
That said I think that habits and behavior are probably more important. Speaking creates tons of droplets which don't stay in the air very long and would certainly be stopped by a mask, but coughing makes finer respiratory aerosols that likely go through or around a sub par mask. What you touch, and what you sanitize is also very important.
My best friend says she's making them to prevent face-touching. I guess that's okay, as long as nobody assumes they are good for medical use.
But I need the cloth mask to cover up the n95 mask that I'm wearing so no one will think I'm a dick. (I don't actually do this but it crossed my mind.)