The Bandana Face Mask

There is quite a controversy these days about whether or not to wear a face mask in public to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. The way you should think of this is not to protect yourself but to protect others from being infected by you. On the other hand there is a shortage of proper medical face masks which no sensible person would want to exacerbate.

Yesterday I saw this little video on YouTube that shows how to make a mask from a bandana and two elastic bands:

The instructions are so simple that I even managed to make one myself, though it’s not as neat as the one in the video.

The thing about all the folding is that it puts several layers in between your nose/mouth and the outside world. It’s important to use quite large elastic bands too, otherwise it will pull on your ears.

It’s quite comfortable so from now on I think I will wear one whenever it seems appropriate. The only disadvantage I’ve found so far is that it results in the audio quality on my video lectures being somewhat degraded…

10 Responses to “The Bandana Face Mask”

  1. bygonedaze's avatar
    bygonedaze Says:

    Last week I applied for a loan at my local bank. I had to wear my face mask…it was uncomfortable.

  2. Bryn Jones's avatar
    Bryn Jones Says:

    You own a bandana?

    I have used a scarf myself.

  3. You need to add a folded or twice folded paper towel inside to reach the same level of filtration as a surgical mask of grade I or even II.

  4. Anton Garrett's avatar
    Anton Garrett Says:

    I can see the elastic bands but where is the banana?

  5. Anton Garrett's avatar
    Anton Garrett Says:

    Does microwaving them work? (Genuine question.)

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