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ROPAR: If you want to move out but don’t have a mask, don’t get panic. You can make the one, almost equivalent to N95 Mask, at home. The IIT Ropar researchers have come up with the solution to the shortage of masks which has been witnessed one of the major problem being faced by India after being hit by the Coronavirus . The researchers have done testing of smoke and water by comparing their mask with the N95 mask.The team of IIT Ropar researchers which works on providing solutions to some of the Corona infections related problems had started carrying out brainstorming sessions since March 22 to find technological solutions to tackle Coronavirus related issues under the Indian scenario. Thanks to Mechanical Engineering department Associate Professor Dr Dhiraj Mahajan , Assistant Professor S. Manigandan and a few other faculty members who developed this technique.“There was a shortage of protective gear for the general public due to Coronavirus pandemic. We worked a lot to get a solution by preparing the masks that may be equivalent to N95 masks or at least can prevent the risks for the general public. Like N95 mask, the home made mask under our technique can prevent smoke and it is better on parameters of resisting water. As our home made masks are not medically certified, we cannot claim that it can prevent all kinds of viruses but we have tested them for numerous times in the last few days. The homemade mask prevents smoke and water better than N95 as it has been prepared by using a simple wax that is coated on the handkerchief”, said, Assistant Professor S. Manigandhan.Manigandan added that it has been made for the general public who are using handkerchiefs following scarcity of medically approved masks.“We have come out with an idea to use wax-coated mask as an immediate the solution to tackle the crisis situation arising due to scarcity of mask.A small quantity of solid candle or natural wax is heated mildly until liquefied. A desired or whole part of the handkerchief is soaked in liquid wax and left it dried for 30 min. Drying of wax-coated handkerchief using direct sunlight for 2 to 3 hours is recommended to get rid of any odour associated with wax.The researchers have also shared a video on YouTube that shows the method of making N95-equivalent mask using handkerchief and wax (candle wax, natural wax or paraffin wax can be used for this purpose). In the video, the researchers also show the smoke testing done on wax-coated handkerchief, N95 mask, and simple handkerchief. Using the smoke test, they demonstrate that the smoke does not pass through the wax-coated handkerchief as well as N95 while a handkerchief without wax coating allow smoke to pass through.