Take Your Breath Away Mask DIY!!!
Introduction: Take Your Breath Away Mask DIY!!!
Wow! What a challenging topics masks are. I am not here to debate the philosophical or health issues so lets just look at the mechanical problem that they are supposed to solve and some of the problems they create.
Everything I have seen for why masks are recommended is to stop both doplets (Which are the large ones that fall onto surfaces quickly because of their size and weight) and microdroplets (you guessed it the small ones that stay suspended on air currents for a long time) from eventually contacting touchable surfaces or people directly. It is the microdroplets that have so many people concerned. They are light enough be be carried on air currents within a room allowing them to stay aloft and spread for several minutes.
Sharing is not always caring so what can we do to capture these droplets before we take them to the potluck of human experience?
Masks are designed to keep the water droplets that a person breaths, speaks, or coughs from entering general air circulation where they could come into contact with other people. The way that this has been done historically is to cover our microdroplet ports (nose and mouth) with something to catch the droplets before they escape. This has meant that people cover their nose or mouth with enough fabric that the droplets and microdroplets of water that are projected from a person's nose or mouth are caught in the fabric. This raises all sorts of questions about how effective different fabrics are at stopping these droplets and it has been interesting seeing the different research about which types are effective and very interesting to see that there are even fabrics that are counterproductive in that they make regular droplets into microdroplets increasing the hang time.
So that is what masks are supposed to accomplish but they also do so much more. One of their favorite things to do is fog up my glasses so in general it is nice to not wear a mask when I can. This is because I like to see people's faces which is easier if my glasses are not fogged up and also if their face is not also covered by a mask. The idea of having a mask that does not cover a person's face is not new. Looking through instructables I stumbled across some guides for masks that use clear mouth covers that are helpful for the deaf and hard of hearing that rely on lip reading to help understand people. 225
Here is one of the great examples by <PERSON>:
https://www.instructables.com/Face-Mask-Adapted-fo...
BUT!!! What if there was a way of stopping the droplets and microdroplets without having to wear a piece of material over your face? What if there was a solution that literally took your breath away and pulled the water from the air before it went into general circulation?
Well that is exactly what the Take Your Breath Away Mask is in this instructable.
Using a centrifugal fan to create a zone of negative air pressure (Think like a small vacuum) in front of my nose and mouth I am able to catch and collect the droplets and microdroplets that I breath out or that come out from speaking! Once the centrifugal fan catches these droplets it pushes them through a collection of desiccant beads to absorb the water. I have even found some that change from orange when they are dry to green when they are saturated because everyone knows that green means sick and that is what these beads are supposed to catch. The final result is a dry stream of air ejected downwards away from people rendering it safe.
However this would not be a very good infomercial introduction if I did not say, "BUT! That is not all... This has a whole host of benefits
1. You can see the wearer's face!!!
2. Reusable filter that is not touching your face. Easily rechargeable with heating which kills the virus.
3. Breathing in is not restricted in anyway which makes it comfortable to use
4. There is nothing pressing on your face or hanging from your ears to make them sore
5. It will not muffle your voice!
6. Your glasses will not fog up!
The goal is make this small, effective, and quiet so that a person can still clearly understand me.
Lets take a look at what parts are need to make this happen and then get down to it.
FTC Disclaimer: I earn a percentage of the sales through the affiliate links provided through Amazon.
If you click on the link it helps fund future projects but bear in mind it might not be the best price for this materials. 440