- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending for everyone in the US to wear cloth face coverings in public.
- We spoke with different experts about how to make, wear, and clean
DIY face masks. - They went over what the best materials for homemade masks are as well as when and where you should be wearing face coverings.
- Face masks shouldn't replace protective measures like social distancing but instead, be used an additional precaution.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Following is a transcript of the
Narrator: The CDC recommends wearing a mask anytime you go out now, but masks are in short supply in a lot of places, and there's a push to preserve medical masks for medical workers who are putting themselves at risk. So we talked to experts about the best way to make and wear a mask at home. Before you actually make any masks at home, you should take some precautions.
Nishi Viswanathan: Basic precautions like handwashing of course, like, before beginning work, and disinfecting the surface with anything that indicates that it can kill viruses. Something practical would be to wear a mask yourself if you're making masks.
Narrator: Viswanathan also recommends washing your fabric in hot water before making masks. This way the fabric will be clean and also won't change in size again. While there are several materials being recommended for masks by experts, overall...
Raina MacIntyre: You want a material that repels water, not one that absorbs water. So, a normal surgical mask, for example, is water resistant. So you want something that repels water but that's still breathable.
Narrator: There are a lot of different mask designs available, but we're gonna show you how to make the three recommended by the CDC. You can make this first one using a T-shirt. Again, a cotton-polyester blend would be best. You cut off the bottom of the T-shirt, cut out tie strings, and then tie it around your head. This next design can also be made with a bandana or any square cotton cloth that's 20 inches by 20 inches, along with two hair ties or rubber bands. Add the hair ties to both sides, tuck in the bandana ends, and then you're all set. This third design requires a sewing machine to make a relatively simple mask from some kind of cotton fabric and elastic pieces or string or hair ties, whatever you have on hand. You cut two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of cotton fabric and stack them to sew them together. You fold and hem the long sides, then the same on the short sides. Next you add 6-inch elastic pieces or something similar through the hems and tie the ends. Tuck the knots in the hem and stitch the elastic into place. If you have access to a sewing machine, some experts recommend taking things a step further by following a design with more layers as well as a pocket for a disposable filter.
MacIntyre: So, having three layers is best. In some of the designs, you can make a pouch in the front where you put a disposable filtering. And if you can get hold of disposable filters, then that's a good option as well, because those filters are designed to be like a respirator in essence.
Narrator: Sudeb Dalai, a Stanford physician specializing in infectious diseases, recommends masks with filters for people who anticipate prolonged exposure or close contact with other people, are taking care of someone with
MacIntyre: So, it should fit around the contour of your face. Whether you use the elastic or any other material to help mold it around the edges, that will help, because otherwise you get a lot of air leakage through the sides, and when you breathe, the air will just follow the path of least resistance. So if the sides are flapping open, it'll just go in through the sides.
Narrator: It's also important that your mask fits well so that you aren't touching it again and again to readjust it.
Viswanathan: It has to extend to the top of the bridge of the nose and then below the chin. So it has to provide adequate coverage and has to sit comfortably on the nose without, like, sliding off.
MacIntyre: The process of putting on and taking off the mask is also really important because the mask can become contaminated. So if you're out and about and you want to store your mask, it's better to use something like a Ziploc bag. Just keep it in your pocket rather than just putting it in your pocket because the mask itself could be contaminated.
Narrator: So, you should be washing your hands before and after touching your mask as well as cleaning it after every wear.
Viswanathan: One thing to remember when wearing masks is that they are not substitutes for social distancing. So definitely follow the social-distancing guidelines that you have been following all along.
Read the original article on Insider