Homemade cloth masks can successfully block coronavirus particles, study shows

If you're going to make your own coronavirus mask, you should probably use cotton, Gizmodo reports.

A new study published last week in ACS Nano involving researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation Institute eased some concerns that nothing but medical-grade masks can filter coronavirus particles. While N95 masks are still clearly the most effective, cloth masks can help, the study found.

Cotton, in particular, made strong showing, though Gizmodo notes that more tightly-woven types of cotton fabrics, like the kind used in flannel, did better than others.

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Layering, while perhaps not incredibly enticing on a comfort level, seems to be key for homemade masks, as well. The best single-layer cotton blocked about 20 percent of the coronavirus-sized particles used in the study, which is useful, but a far cry from the 95 percent filtered by N95 masks.

All told, homemade masks won't provide complete protection, but they appear to at least mitigate the chance of being infected, a nice bonus to the fact they can also help prevent the wearer from spreading the virus to others. Read more at Gizmodo.