Try the Candle Test to See If Your Face Mask Is Effective

Use this simple trick that experts say a quick and easy way to see if your face covering is the right choice. Light a candle and see if you can blow it out while wearing the face covering or mask. If you can, the mask may not be offering the best protection.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told Today that this is a valid way of testing permeability.

“It’s not iron-clad, it’s not the same as working with a cough simulator in a lab, but it is one indication of the permeability of the mask you’re wearing to the air that’s expelled from your breath and from your nose.”

When consumer experts put the popular gaiter mask to the test, they found that it was easy to blow out the candle, adding credence to the recent Duke University study that showed single-layered gaiters don’t offer adequate viral protection. However, when the experts tried to blow out a candle through a disposable mask or a two-layered cloth mask, they failed.

“Not all masks are created equal and many people are wearing masks to check a box, not really thinking about their effectiveness,” said Adalja.