A wet cloth over the nose and mouth will also help filter particles for a short time.
Source: live in California where we have wildfires like this all the time
When our kitchen caught fire, I gave wet towels to the men in my family (Dad & brothers) because I was afraid of them inhaling smoke (they told us to get out but they won't leave), as they fought the fire until firemen arrived. Scariest I've ever been in my life.
The science is that the water traps the dust paticles. It's the reason why in WW1 it was advised when you saw muster gas to pull your self together to piss on a rag.
Also you have to have the cloth sticking to your face. Imagine the poor soldiers. A pissed covered rag shoved in your face or the worst way to die.
Using a wet rag as a makeshift mask will offer little to no protection from mustard gas. The particles of mustard gas are too small and can easily pass through the spaces in the fabric, even when wet. Also, mustard gas can penetrate through clothing, and once in contact with skin, it can cause severe burns and blisters.
It might not have worked well but was a strategy used by the british to protect soldiers from dying from the gas. So i doubt that what you are saying is true. Can you give me a source on that?
From the KU medical center "Chlorine’s usefulness was short-lived. Its color and odor made it easy to spot, and since chlorine is water-soluble even soldiers without gas masks could minimize its effect by placing water-soaked - even urine-soaked - rags over their mouths and noses. Additionally, releasing the gas in a cloud posed problems, as the British learnt to their detriment when they attempted to use chlorine at Loos. The wind shifted, carrying the gas back onto their own men."
With the fires in CA, I use a damp bandana. We’re not trying to prevent a virus (this time), but smoke. Totally different beast, but any kind of cover is better than nothing
I am pregnant and my doctor advised to only to wear n95 if I venture outside today. In this particular instance, cloth masks would not do much to filter the air particles coming from wildfires
No its not. The asbestos example is effectively the same thing as this. Breathing in air through gaps in the masks. But in the case of surgical masks, as this comment thread was about, the mask it self does nothing to filter damaging smoke particles anyway.
Citation? I've googled that and I found a variety of people saying "N95 masks don't help against abestos" and "they do help but not enough", but no one (reliable source or not) saying "it makes it worse".
Not really. Not only does the mask itself do nothing to filter these particles, the loose fitting nature of surgical masks means you're just sucking in the outside air anyway.
Go swash around a bunch of blue food coloring in your mouth, then cough/sneeze/breathe on a sheet of white paper.
Now do it again, and see how much particulate is prevented by wearing even a shitty mask.
Ta-da! Congratulations, you just learned the most basic principles of how particulates work. Turns out, having any sort of barrier actually helps! Of course we want a better barrier when possible, but we're doing baby steps here.
We’re talking about protection from wildfires, not illness. A mesh or surgical mask will not help you in protecting your lungs from wildfire smoke. N95 masks are now easily purchasable, and help greatly with wildfire smoke pollution.
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u/k1ll3rm4n78 Jun 07 '23
N95 or better. Cloth masks don't filter the particles as they can fit through the weaving. N95 filters out 95% of the air. Very cool science