Face Mask Information
At this time of the COVID-19 crisis, wearing a face mask is essential for protecting yourself and others around you. Normally we sell N95 masks, but our supplier now has a lead time of over 1 year. We have been able to source a well made poly/cotton mask with a pocket to hold a filter. We tried it, and we like it very much for comfort, it is best suited for adult faces (it might be too large for small faces/children.
As you can imagine, the quality of the filter material is critical, for both safety and breathing comfort. You may have noticed that some masks are very difficult to breathe through comfortably.
We have done our research and have been able to source two styles of filter material. BFE95 and Merv16
Type 1: BFE95 – Meltblown PP Face Mask Filtration Media. This is the exact material used in the fabrication of ASTM Level 1 surgical masks. We are able to buy it in bulk form, so you can cut it into sections to fit your masks (ours or a mask of your own). It has a BFE Rating of 95% and has an air flow rate which is very comfortable to breathe through. PFE >= 95% @ 0.1 micron
Type 2: Merv 16 – Similar in performance but much stiffer and heavier than the BFE95 material, this is made to MERV 16 standards which is rated to filter 0.3 micron particles.
We offer the mask sold alone, or with the BFE95 material. We also sell both the BFE95 and Merv-16 material separately if you have your own mask or need additional filters.
The BFE95 filter material is delicate, and we have put together an instruction sheet for how you can easily make a paper or plastic template which will greatly simply inserting the filter material into your mask.
Here are the downloadable instructions for inserting the filter material
Instructions for inserting the BFE95 material into your mask
We also have templates, which you can download and print, to use as your insert templates. We have them in three different paper sizes (11x17, Legal and Letter). 11x17 and Legal are best, but if you don't have the ability to print those papers
Template to help insert BFE95 filter material printed on 11" x 17" paper
Template to help insert BFE95 filter material printed on 8.5" x 14" Legal size paper
Template to help insert BFE95 filter material printed on 8.5" x 11" Letter size paper
