Testing filtration capabilities of household fabrics for protection against airborne contaminants

Toxic particulates roam the atmosphere in ubiquity, posing a microscopic biohazard to the world. Modern technology like masks reduce viral or pollutant inhalation, but they might be less feasible during health crises due to soaring demands. Common fabrics may serve as alternatives, and in this work, we investigated the most effective household material to serve as a particulate filter among cotton, fleece, wool, and rayon. We hypothesized cotton would occlude more particles than the other fabrics and brands evaluated. The results supported the hypothesis, as among the household fabrics (excluding the commercial and procedural masks which served as controls), cotton exhibited the greatest filtration prowess, slightly surpassing its competitors, whereas rayon demonstrated the poorest filtration. The implications of these findings would be that rayon should be avoided as alternative filters and surfaces like cotton should be opted for instead.