A huge thank you to everyone that has contributed to our fabric mask material testing campaign! The results from the testing campaign are finally in. We tested two different 3-layer fabric combinations to establish baseline performance for fluid resistance, breathability, bacterial filtration efficiency (~3um particles), and submicron particle efficiency (~0.3um). These tests focused on two […]
New ASTM Standard for Face Coverings: ASTM F3502
Since February of 2020, we’ve been asking for standards for masks/face coverings used by our communities. Finally, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has established a national standard for “Barrier Face Coverings” (ASTM F3502) that are neither medical masks according to ASTM F2100 standards nor respirators according to NIOSH standards. This new standard […]
Mask Material Testing Plan
Update (February 12, 2021): Thanks to our generous community and a grant from Helpful Engineering, we exceeded our fundraising goal for mask testing! In addition to the originally planned fluid resistance, breathability, and bacterial filtration testing of our fabric combinations, we were able to add mask-level NaCl aerosol filtration tests to our campaign. Thank you […]
Finding and Selecting Polypropylene for Washable Masks
In this post we discuss how we think about selecting spunbond nonwoven polypropylene (NWPP) fabrics for washable masks, where we have found spunbond NWPP, and why we’ve chosen Smart-Fab® Double-Thick for our next round of testing. Our Mission Our mission is to share information with the public about the best emerging mask science to help […]
Breathable Masks: Testing Results
Key result: Quantitative testing shows that fabric masks constructed from spunbond nonwoven polypropylene (NWPP) and/or quilting cotton are breathable and can satisfy NIOSH criteria for breathability. Ready for more testing? Visit our MakerMask Lab Testing Campaign for details. Introduction: Breathable Masks Breathing isn’t optional, and as COVID continues and mask wearing becomes commonplace, we are […]
Fluid Resistance: Mask Material Test Results
New test results show that upcycled spunbond nonwoven polypropylene (NWPP) mask materials can provide high-level (ASTM Level 2) fluid resistance. MakerMask has supported the use of spunbond NWPP in homemade mask designs because of its unique combination of breathability and hydrophobicity, or water resistance. Thanks to community contributions, we were able to put the fluid […]
A Breathable Combination: An N95 plus a NWPP Mask Cover
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are global shortages of N95 respirators resulting in large scale adoption of procedures and policies for the extended use and re-use of N95 respirators. In this post we do a deeper dive into the quantitative breathability data for the MakerMask: Cover, a breathable N95 mask cover. The […]
