Ok folks, quick public service announcement – just read on Business Insider about a manufacturer in Oklahoma, NXTI, who has developed a nano fiber fabric called “Filti” that is 9x better than cotton in terms of filtering and can hit N95 in commercial face masks. It’s a better filter than blue shop towels and is designed to be a filter from the get go.
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For those of you who do not know Journeyman, in more normal times, they produce some great distilled spirits, such as their Humdinger Japaleno that I am particularly fond of. They also have a great restaurant that you may need to wait an hour or two for a table if you make the mistake of showing up without a reservation.
This is one of our bottles. I’d definitely recommend you put it in something smaller for regular use.
Now, I didn’t buy their drum but we did get two of their 1.75 liter packages and we had them ship it to us to keep things simple – they are about a 30 minute drive from our house.
The sanitizer is a liquid – not a gel – and works great in a little spray bottle. I made some of my own hand sanitizer and bought some of these little bottles off Amazon and they work great.
So, this stuff seems to work well. It’s not super sticky nor does it dry out your hands. Washing with soap and water for 20+ seconds is still best but this sure helps when you can’t. I noticed today that Hoosier Brewing is also selling hand sanitizer. I can’t speak to them but it gives you another option.
I hope this helps you out.
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As you’ve no doubt experienced, going to the store and buying traditional hand sanitizer is almost next to impossible right now. This is because the whole supply chain is stretched thin. Everyone thinks about the alcohol but they also have problems sourcing the bottles, pumps, the chemicals that create the gel and so forth plus just an unbelievable level of demand globally that nobody expected.
You can make your own hand sanitizer but you need to follow proper guidelines and most people refer to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidance on making hand sanitizer with glyercerine and/or the CDC guidance. Bottom line is you need a hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol.
Enter The Youtube Videos
A number of people have produced some great videos on what to make and I’m only listing videos from folks with chemistry or biomedical/healthcare knowledge. Always look at the ratings and read comments before you trust anything plus remember that you need at least 60% alcohol and not some weird home brew concoction that one would expect to see at Halloween.
Finding Bottles / Containers
Finding Glycerine
The Alcohol
You will need to hunt for your isopropyl or ethanol. It is often out of stock on Amazon and other online sellers as well as local stores. So, do your digging. Do not use methanol, or wood alcohol. It is toxic – you need isopropyl or ethanol or some variation of those names – isopropanol, distilled alcohol, denatured alcohol, etc.
Other Sources
A lot of distilleries are making and selling hand sanitizer under special approvals from governors and other bodies to make an otherwise regulated product in these special times. Check out your local distilleries and see if they are doing anything and help support them while they support you as well. Journeyman Distillery is one example and I did a post about them.
Conclusion
I hope this helps you and your family to stay healthy and safe.
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Preparedness Vendors
There are a number of businesses selling food that can be stored long term, survival kits and more. In general, preparedness vendors are getting a ton of orders and have backorders of 6-10 weeks so if you are concerned, order now vs. when you are in real need – be prepared. I’d avoid Amazon – those third-party sellers are gouging and also ripping people off. That happened to me already! Instead, check out these reputable vendors directly:
Augason Farms – Food, Water, Supplies – have stopped taking food orders right now they are so buried but are taking orders for other items
Everyone is scrambling for face masks to protect themselves and it makes perfect sense. On one hand we want to protect ourselves and our loved ones and on the other, we don’t want to spread the illness either. At this point, if you are going to the store or other area with people, you really should be wearing a mask. Particles will float in the air and that is bad news for everyone.
The recent CDC guidance to wear face masks seems to be mainly aimed at capturing droplets from the wearer so as to not infect others. It’s not really aimed at protecting the wearer from inhaling. I would recommend you do some reading about what amazing people are figuring out in terms of making your own personal protective face masks using shop towels and other materials. In general, if you can see light readily through it, such as a basic T-shirt or bandanna, you really aren’t stopping anything. I’d like to help improve your odds and want to share some resources with you.
A study found that denim, 80-120 thread count bed sheets, paper towel, canvas and shop towels are the top 5 materials for face masks combining both filtering and breathability.
There is a new material called “Filti” that can hit N95 filtration that you can buy. Click here to learn more.
Buy the shop towels at stores such as home improvement, hardware, automotive and industrial supply stores. Blue shop towels are *not* regular kitchen towels. If you try to buy them online they will likely be insanely expensive. You will probably pay $3-4 from a store for a roll with 50 sheets. They often come in single rolls, doubles, six packs, 12 packs and boxes. Don’t go nuts and hoard them please.
The following are shop towelas and 1/16″ bungee/elastic cord for making masks at Amazon
The following is a great how-to video. By the way, the accordion folds help with fit and increase the surface area which will make breathing easier. The larger the surface area then the easier air flows.
By the way, there are tons and tons of designs as media and bloggers share advice. Google and read by all means – educate yourself. Always ask – does this make sense? Also remember that you need to both be able to inhale as well as exhale.
Quick test to see if your mask has any chance of helping you – Dr. Gady Abramson
Cleaning Face Masks For Re-Use
With face masks, assume they are contaminated when you remove them with your hands. Immediately wash your hands and do not rub your eyes, touch other surfaces, etc.
Now, you can disinfect these things and other PPE using an oven. Heat them to 70C/158F for 30 minutes. Be sure not to touch other surfaces around your oven. Clean all surfaces just to be safe.
1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water for tables,bathrooms and toys
1/3 cup of bleach per gallon of water in case of accidents or illness.
I hope this helps you out – we’re all in this together.
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You might want to start supplementing with zinc and a good multivitamin as a hedge against the COVID-19 corona virus from Wuhan, China. It’s not going to absolutely prevent it but it might give you an edge and/or lessen the impact some. This post is not a magic cure claim. At my age, I’ll take any cheap advantage I can get.
Wash Your Hands Frequently
#1 prevention tip – wash your hands with soap and water frequently – the virus has a lipid coating that soap breaks down fast. Take the time to wash your hands before you eat, rub your eyes, go to sleep, after you go to the bathroom, etc.
I used to say “or use hand sanitizer if you must” but finding commercial hand sanitizer is almost impossible these days unless you try to make your own and even then finding the ingredients is very difficult but not impossible.
Supplementing with Zinc, Multivitamins and Vitamin C
Do be aware of any drug interactions before you start. For example, some antibiotics are negated by zinc supplements – I learned that first hand.
Now you may be thinking this is a crock, but there really are studies that show that zinc can help ward off and/or reduce the impacts of viruses, including corona viruses.
Here are some resources for you to look at in addition to the video above:
Do some reading and decide. My family and I are doing a multivitamin, 50mg Zinc and 500mg of vitamin C per day to try and help prevent the flu. We’ll see how it goes.
Face Masks – Making Your Own Is An Option
The CDC is now recommending face masks when you go into public settings such as to get groceries. The problem is in finding good masks and a huge community effort is under way with people sharing information about designing and making face masks. I recently added a blog post to help folks learn more – click here.
I hope this helps some. You need to read and keep up on what is going on. You will also need to figure out what makes the most sense for you and your family – mass media isn’t always the best source so try and confirm information from more than one source before you act.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
Image source: By https://www.scientificanimations.com – https://www.scientificanimations.com/wiki-images/, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86358105
