Did you get your hands on a KN95 mask and now you are wondering whether it is real or not? In a perfect world we would all simply send our masks off to a lab to get them professionally tested and that would be the end of that. Unfortunately we live in the real world and not all of us have $10,000+ laying around to pay for these tests. Lucky for you, there are 3 easy ways to test your KN95 face mask at home!
These 3 tests are super simple and take only a few minutes each to see whether or not your mask passes or fails.
DISCLAIMER: Just because your KN95 Mask passes these tests does not mean that it is officially approved or anything like that. But if your mask fails these tests then you can rest assured that your mask is definitely NOT what you think it is.
KN95 Mask Test #1: The Lighter Test
The lighter test is the fastest & easiest way to test whether your KN95 is fraudulent or not.
Here’s how you do the KN95 lighter test:
What you’ll need: (1) lighter, (1) KN95 Mask
- Put on the mask and make sure that it is sealed properly on your face
- Hold a lighter 6-inches away from your face
- Try to blow out the lighter with all of your might!
RESULTS: If your KN95 mask is made with high quality materials, then no matter how hard you blow (exhale) you will NOT blow out the lighter.
SCIENTIFIC REASON: KN95 masks are strictly tested for inspiratory resistance (<=350 Pa) and expiratory resistance (<=250 Pa). (“Pa” stands for “Pascals”, the international unit of measurement for air pressure.) This is the amount of air they allow into & out of the mask at any given time.
What this means: The powerful filters of a legitimate KN95 mask will not allow you to exhale (or inhale) strong enough to blow out a lighter because the material it is made out of is filtering all of the air that you breathe, which makes the air pressure coming into/out of the mask weak.
KN95 Mask Test #2: The Water Test
The KN95 water test is just as simple as the lighter test and helps to prove a point about the quality of the materials holding your mask together.
Here’s how you do the KN95 water test:
What you’ll need: (1) cup of water, (1) KN95 Mask
- Hold your KN95 Mask by the elastic ear loops with the inside of the mask facing upwards
- Pour some water into your upturned mask
- See if any water seeps through the mask
RESULTS: If your KN95 Mask is legitimate, then water will NOT seep through your mask. Despite holding water inside, the outside of your mask will remain completely dry.
SCIENTIFIC REASON: Legitimate KN95 masks are made with non-woven fabric that is waterproof. This is to help protect the wearer from any splashes & sprays that may hit them in the face while they are wearing the mask. A bit of water will do nothing to a real mask.
KN95 Mask Test #3: The Sweet N’ Low (Smell) Test
When people think about particles in the air they often think about things like dust, smoke, or haze, but odors are also very small particles in the air! You can think of smells like tiny little bubbles of fragrance floating up in the air. Which means a good KN95 will block those as well!
Here’s how to do the KN95 Sweet N’ Low Test:
What you’ll need: (1) Spoon, (1) Packet of Sweet N’ Low, (1) KN95 Mask
- Put on your KN95 face mask and properly seal it on your face.
- Empty a pack of sweet n low onto a spoon
- Hold the spoon up to your face and sniff at it with your mask on
- Take off the mask and sniff at the spoon again
RESULTS: If your KN95 Mask is made with high quality materials, then you will only barely smell the Sweet‘N Low with your mask on as compared with when you take off the mask.
SCIENTIFIC REASON: Sweet’N Low uses an artifical sweetener called Saccharin. Saccharin’s odor particles are 0.7 microns in size. Real KN95 Masks block 95%+ of airborne particles 0.3 microns or larger. This means that while wearing your KN95 mask you should not be able to smell the Sweet’N Low because the mask is blocking the smell in the air!
That’s it for the 3 tests! To quickly recap…
IF:
- You can blow out a lighter with your mask on
- Water drips through your mask when you pour water in it
- You can vividly smell Sweet’N Low while wearing your mask
However…
If the KN95 Mask that you have easily passes all three of these tests, then that is a very good indicator that you have a quality mask on your hands.
While wearing any mask is preferable to wearing no mask, it is our mission to make sure that high quality KN95 respirator masks—the only masks available to the general public that actually filter the air that you breathe—are readily available for anyone who needs it.
We have worked tirelessly over the past few months to acquire and supply high quality KN95 masks for local businesses in our city. Now that stores are beginning to reopen we are opening up our sales to the general public as well!
If you are interested in purchasing a pack of high quality KN95 Masks, then you may place your order here: https://mbtbeauty.com/product/dr-mfyan-kn95/
We are doing our best to get all mask shipments out within 24 hours of being placed and we are offering everyone FREE, fast, shipping to help get these masks into peoples hands ASAP!
Thanks for reading! We hope you found this informative. Stay safe out there <3