During the outbreak of COVID-19, the CDC recommends the wearing of cloth face masks in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain and especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. The CDC also advises the usage of simple, non-surgical, cloth face masks to both slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.
So where, and how, can you get a cloth face mask for you and your team or loved ones? Well, did you know that we have blank Cloth Daily Face Masks for sale via our website?
Not only that, but you can also customize by adding your organization or business logo to make your mask your own! Adding your own custom logo is a fun touch to one of these washable masks!
We have plenty of great face mask options for you to check out! Whether you want machine washable or a twelve-pack of disposable, single-use, face masks, we've got you covered! They come in plenty of colors and a couple of different shapes so you can pick which one is more comfortable for you to wear.
However, some of you may just be in need of one or two cloth face masks. Turns out, an old custom printed T-shirt works perfectly for creating a face mask of your own at home. Normally, we would never advocate for the destruction of a finely printed T-shirt. But in these times, we all need to do what we can to contribute and help flatten the curve. With personal and public safety of the utmost importance, we want to give some advice on how to make a face mask out of a t-shirt.
If you are a bit stuck, we have our own tutorial gif on how you can make a face mask out of a t-shirt at your home.
As you can see, it’s extremely easy to make a t-shirt mask that is comfortable and, of course, washable! It’s a way of easing your own mind by using a mask if it’s absolutely necessary for you to leave the house. At the same time, though, this is also a way to save those surgical masks for Health Care Workers.
While not suitable for Health Care Workers, these cloth face masks have been shown to be plenty useful and acceptable for workers and your own everyday usage. The CDC has noted that if a facemask is unavailable, a homemade substitute could be used (albeit, of course, with necessary caution). Have a look at this graphic detailing mask material effectiveness.
This is a breakdown of all materials tested by Cambridge University in a 2009 study for protection against droplets. As you can see, in this graph from Smart Air, surgical masks are clearly the most effective, but cotton-blend shirts captured 74% of bacteria at one micron in size. Have a look at this other graphic about protection from smaller particles as well.
As you can see here in this second graphic, also from Smart Air, while the 100% cotton shirt slips off in protection, the cotton-blend shirt still protects against 70% of 0.1-micron particles -- ten times smaller particles than those used in that first graphic. This gives some reassurance to the fact that facial protection now, more than ever, is key in keeping yourself healthy but also keeping those around you in health.
We want to emphasize that this is NOT a perfect solution to the prevention of COVID-19 or any other infectious diseases. However, a washable t-shirt mask is much better protection than no mask at all. We hope that you are able to stay safe, happy, and healthy during this important time for our country. Stay inside and flatten the curve, and take the advice of using a mask when needed to heart!
We’d like to give a special shout out to the YouTube channel Kinderhook Woodcraft for the inspiration on the DIY T-Shirt Mask!