To those who wear fabric masks...

expos4ever

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I have a question that I don't seem to hear anything about. I understand that we regular schmoes are not supposed to try to get N95 masks because they all need to go to the healthcare workers. Of course, I agree fully. However, months from now will N95 production have ramped up enough so that we all can buy such masks if we want? After all, the N95 masks do provide a significant measure of protection. And what about new mask technologies? I would expect there are hundreds, if not thousands, of high-tech nerd types beavering away at this very moment developing masks for the general public that are both effective and minimize the discomfort. Lots of money to be made!

Go nerds, go!
 
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blackribbon

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Can such masks even block a virus?

Bacteria vs Virus - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

"Viruses are the smallest and simplest life form known. They are 10 to 100 times smaller than bacteria."

They shorten the distance a virus is blown from the wearer if that person is wearing a mask. They may reduce the amount of contaminates that you breathe in. The virus is smaller than the weave of cloth masks but if you only get a partial exposure, you might get a lighter case of the virus if exposed.

I don't wear a mask. I did suggest that any mask is better than nothing for my older mother. (It can't hurt). However, if people just wear a cloth one...then toss it in their purse or on a counter, any contaminates that are on it get spread to the purse, counter, or whatever...and likely also get moved from the outside to the inside, to be breathed in by the wear the next time they put it on. A worn mask becomes a petri dish of what it has been exposed to...and your moist warm breath makes it a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria.
 
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blackribbon

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There was another thread where I posted some study where they tested different fabrics. A mask made from a cotton blend stopped about 85% of particles that were five times smaller than Wuhan virus

There is a plastic fabric that stops most virus. It is used in surgical trays clothes. However, I have not seen a study that shows a cloth fabric that stops anything as small as the Wuhan virus. And it would have to be airtight seal (like a fitted N95 should be), not a folded mask, to do that. Anything that filters that good is hard to breath through.
 
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Ricky M

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I hope that does happen. In the meantime the government needs to get real masks that are meant to protect from this tiny enemy and these need to be issued to every person.
It's a government responsibility? You haven't been watching very closely at how well our government works. I've kept a stock of masks in my disaster supplies for decades. God says the gov'ment will fail. That's why it's important that you don't.
 
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blackribbon

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People, here get really fixated on pore size and the size of the particle. When it comes to air filtration, the electrostatic attraction is probably the single greatest factor, and it affects particles of all sizes. It's imperfect, but it really helps.



You sound like you're talking about bacteria. The virus won't grow on a filter. It just accumulates. However, there are a pretty good number of bacterial species, respiratory pathogens no less, that can propagate on not much more than the moisture of a person's breath. That, alone, makes your recommendation important.

If the virus touches the fabric, it will stay alive for hours and can cross contaminate many surfaces which might allow it to survive for even days.

I am also talking about other contaminates that also would be filtered and stuck to the mask, bacteria being one. Getting a bacteria infection or other viral infection lowers your immune defense and makes a person more susceptible to getting the corona virus or other respiratory infection.
 
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blackribbon

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I hope that does happen. In the meantime the government needs to get real masks that are meant to protect from this tiny enemy and these need to be issued to every person.

I don't need the government to be my "great protector". I can buy what I need after this. I won't be buying any gas mask like masks. My great disappointment is that the hospital systems weren't ready for this and didn't have the stock we need to at least face a couple weeks of a crisis like this.
 
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Ricky M

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I don't need the government to be my "great protector". I can buy what I need after this. I won't be buying any gas mask like masks. My great disappointment is that the hospital systems weren't ready for this and didn't have the stock we need to at least face a couple weeks of a crisis like this.
The take-away from all this is BE PREPARED. If an enemy hits us with a gas missile, you're going to expect the gov'ment to do better for you than it has in this emergency?
 
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chevyontheriver

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I have a question that I don't seem to hear anything about. I understand that we regular schmoes are not supposed to try to get N95 masks because they all need to go to the healthcare workers. Of course, I agree fully. However, months from now will N95 production have ramped up enough so that we all can buy such masks if we want? After all, the N95 masks do provide a significant measure of protection. And what about new mask technologies? I would expect there are hundreds, if not thousands, of high-tech nerd types beavering away at this very moment developing masks for the general public that are both effective and minimize the discomfort. Lots of money to be made!

Go nerds, go!
There are excellent mask options even now, but there is a balance between risk and cost and discomfort. If they're not comfortable you won't wear it. A moon suit full CDC hot zone suit is available but you and I can't afford it. Yes, I hope some excellent new option will be developed that is cheap and comfortable and effective. For now we let distance do the work for us. That's what villagers in Congo have used for generations in Ebola outbreaks. Just seal off the whole village and wait.
 
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nonaeroterraqueous

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Wash mine every night, both of them.

I wear a face covering all day at work so I am layered with different types of fabrics.

Cell phone gets a wipe down too.

I was reading this post, and when I looked at the avatar for a split second I thought I saw this:

full
 
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timewerx

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Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

I have both fabric ones and paper ones and I wash both.

I am a bit sweaty and that's mainly the reason for me.
 
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coffee4u

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Please wash them after every time you wear them...otherwise, you are wearing them to catch infections in the air and then you are letting them become petri dishes for those virus to grow and spread the next time you touch it.

The virus lives for up to 24 hours on a porous surface such as cardboard or fabric, the best fabric being cotton. Porus surfaces hold much less than hard shiny surfaces like plastic or metal. If the mask is only worn once a week there should be no virus whatsoever on it by the next wearing. Not saying don't wash it, but a mask is not a petri dish for the virus.
 
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chevyontheriver

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And again, how reliable has the government been?
They muddle through. Counties and states and the Feds have had their moments good and bad. My state government has done well from day one, but we have not been spared. Other state governments were in initial denial, like New York. Trump did well initially to ban travel from China, but then took too long to ban travel from Europe. It's a mixed bag from entities that have never encountered exactly this, a super contagious virus with a long latency and mild symptoms for many but deadly for others. In a way this is the perfect bug. Ebola was paradoxically easier.

Government responses have been a mix of hope, denial, good science, concern for the sick and dying, and for the vulnerable, and concern for the economy. How do you get it right amidst a people who like their liberties? It was easier in China where liberty is not a thing.

I treat what I read and hear as I treat all propaganda. Read between the lines too. Test everything, and retain what is good. I at least think they're trying.
 
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renniks

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Not if the mask is so porous that the virus simply flows right through it. Cotton and similar masks aren't made of material intended to stop the very tiny virus molecules.
I've been trying to explain this, but people don't want to believe it. Cloth masks are just an illusion of safety.
 
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Ricky M

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I've been trying to explain this, but people don't want to believe it. Cloth masks are just an illusion of safety.
They will not stop the virus. But they will stop the exhaled water droplet the virus hitches a ride on. And they will disperse and divert the exhaled air stream. That is what they are getting at. For the umpteenth time.
 
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