Rumor Refutation:Can an ordinary mask turned into an N95 mask by tying a knot?

Rumor : The common wearing method of medical masks can only reduce the transmission of infectious aerosols by 84.3%, while those tied with knots can reduce it by 95.9%, which is equivalent to the effectiveness of N95 masks.

/✗: This is a rumor.

1.Wearing a medical mask with knots tied improves its sealing performanceFollowing the method demonstrated in the video, the sealing performance of a common surgical mask can indeed be improved, preventing viruses from reaching the respiratory tract through gaps on both sides.
Before conducting science popularization and promotion, the US CDC publicly released relevant experimental reports around February 2021. The report indicated that tying knots and then wearing the mask can enhance filtration efficiency.

2.Knots don’t turn it into an N95; there are significant differences in all aspects.
The differences between the medical surgical masks we usually use and N95 masks manifest in many ways:
In terms of filtration efficiency: N95 masks are one of the nine particulate respirators certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The “N” stands for “not resistant to oil,” and “95” indicates that the filtration efficiency for particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 0.3 micrometers is over 95%.