Check all over, can't find any. Anyone know who has them still in stock ?
Check all over, can't find any. Anyone know who has them still in stock ?
hopefully all the hospitals and first responders have them.
I have one in my shop. It's a little funky from multiple uses and not suitable for use by others.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
April fools?
These masks seem pretty durable, so I wash them out in hot water and soap. Otherwise seems they give me a cold after once using them. So if I use one, wash it out that evening, prop it on the towel rod, and it is dry in the morning.
If you are willing to pay about $10 each or more, check out Amazon or Ebay (Buy it now). There are some from US stocks. Some are selling 1, 10 or as many as 500 (for about $4K). Many are touting quick delivery.
So, there is some availability if you really need it.
But...buyer beware.
At the hospital us first line responders are fitted with the 3m 6000 series mask. Same as I have in the shop.
Duke Health (Yes Duke does something other than play basketball) developed a way to sterilize used masks. Mist them for four hours with hydrogen peroxide, same as they do infected rooms to cleanse them.
This post from Stanford Med describes the results of tests
https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/covid19-PPE-1-1
My summary:
There are lots of ways to sterilize masks, but some of them affect the subsequent filtration efficiency of the mask. Simple heating under controlled conditions is very effective and does not hurt filtration efficiency.
If you must make a mask, vacuum cleaner bags are the best thing to use.
I work at a hospital and we are making every effort to conserve PPE, especially N95 masks. So far we are OK. Some facilities are struggling with this; hopefully the supply chain will catch up with demand in the next week or two. I have been bringing my 3M half-face P100 mask to work, soaking it in a bleach solution each night and replacing the filters. At home I also have a a full helmet PAPR system, with HEPA filter - 3M Versaflo TR-600 - great for woodworking. Afraid to bring it to work since I think someone will try to steal it!
A lot of the PPE I see them using, on TV, looks like wishful thinking to me.