* Georgia Tech NewsCenter
     * Home
     * Filtration Engineers Offer Advice on Do-It-Yourself Face Masks

   Health and Medicine

Filtration Engineers Offer Advice on Do-It-Yourself Face Masks

   By John Toon | April 6, 2020 • Atlanta, GA
--
   This image shows the amount of mist passing through three different
   types of fabric. The fabric on the right is most suitable for a DIY
   face mask.
   Download Image
   MORE PHOTOS

   The continuing shortage of face masks and new recommendations on their
   use by the general public have led many individuals and organizations
   to make their own masks using available materials. While homemade
   protection as simple as scarves and bandanas can be helpful, there are
   ways to optimize the benefit of do-it-yourself personal protective
--
   Biomolecular Engineering. “But for situations that don’t involve
   intimate and prolonged interactions with COVID-19 infected individuals,
   we believe that DIY cloth face masks combined with proper social
   distancing etiquette will help slow the spread of this virus.”

--

   “Equally, important though, is the way that users fit, wear, handle,
   and remove the face mask,” said Mark Losego, an assistant professor in
   Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. “Because
   the mask will be touching your face, it and your hands should be clean
   before putting it on. The mask should be snug but not uncomfortable.”

   Gaps around the nose and chin should be minimized. Once wearing the
   mask, you should avoid touching or moving the mask; don’t pull the mask
   down to cough or sneeze! The mask is expected to capture germs, so it
   should be removed by touching only the straps; otherwise, you will
   contaminate your hands.

   Equally important to blocking virus-containing droplets is that the
   mask materials be breathable and non-hazardous for inhalation. “For
   example, there is some danger of glass fibers within HEPA or MERV
   filters being inhaled if appropriate blocking layers are not included,”
   said Lively. “Most apparel or home goods textiles are safe. However, if
   you smell a chemical odor from the material, you should probably avoid
   using it for a mask.”

   Upon returning home from an errand, the mask should be discarded or
   thrown in the clothes washer and cleaned before being used again.  If
   the fabric mask does get wet from another individual’s cough or sneeze,
   the mask should be removed quickly at a safe distance. The team
   recommends reviewing both the World Health Organization (WHO) link and
   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for mask
   wearing.

   A new website (www.research.gatech.edu/rapid-response) has been created
   to bring together recommendations and templates for making face masks.
   The website provides guidance for making unsewn, sewn, glued, or
   3D-printed face masks.

   The recommendations resulted from consulting with a team of experts in
--
   On the website, the researchers suggest alternatives for materials that
   are in short supply. For instance, high-performance HEPA furnace
   filters can be used with 3D printed masks to create a respirator,
   provided the HEPA filters are installed in between two blocking layers
   of nonwoven fabric. Reusable polypropylene grocery bags without a shiny
   film can be used as the droplet-repelling outer shell of the masks.

   The new website includes directions, recommendations, files for 3D
--
   which to avoid. A rudimentary DIY test using a water spray bottle is
   described to make an initial assessment of how suitable a fabric is for
   a mask.

   Masks produced or tested with directions from the site do not meet the
   standards of federal agencies such as NIOSH, OSHA or the FDA.