For those that don't know what the N95 designation means,
N is for non-oily atmospheres. So, not to be used with oil vapor in the air.
95 is the filtering efficiency. It means that this filter material will remove 95% of particles down to 0.3 micron. A micron is 1/1000 of a millimeter. That is assuming you have a perfect seal of the mask to your face, which is nearly impossible. If anyone has ever used one of these masks, you know what I mean. If you have facial hair you definitely can't get a decent seal.
It's been said that the covid virus is 0.08-0.15 microns, which is half the size of the smallest particle that these will filter out. Someone told me that the virus would likely be in water droplets or vapour, meaning that the diameter of the virus in vapor should be larger and that the N95 would therefore be effective. Well, put one of these masks on and breath out with your hand on the front of it. Guess what? You can feel the moisture of your breath.
So, these are dust masks, not intended to filter out any virus. It says so on the packaging, although I suspect that warning is as much about liabilty protection as anything else.
For those that don't know what the N95 designation means,
N is for non-oily atmospheres. So, not to be used with oil vapor in the air.
95 is the filtering efficiency. It means that this filter material will remove 95% of particles down to 0.3 micron. A micron is 1/1000 of a millimeter. That is assuming you have a perfect seal of the mask to your face, which is nearly impossible. If anyone has ever used one of these masks, you know what I mean. If you have facial hair you definitely can't get a decent seal.
It's been said that the covid virus is 0.08-0.15 microns, which is half the size of the smallest particle that these will filter out. Someone said that the virus would likely be in water droplets or vapour, meaning that the diameter of the virus in vapor should be larger and that the N95 would therefore be effective. Well, put one of these masks on and breath out with your hand on the front of it. Guess what? You can feel the moisture of your breath.
So, these are dust masks, not intended to filter out any virus. It says so on the packaging, although I suspect that warning is as much about liabilty protection as anything else.