Enjoy Superior Protection From A Variety Of Threats
TenMasks offers reliable, thorough protection from airborne contaminants:
- -Our KN95 masks filter out more than 95% of particulates in the air
- -Our masks are made with five protective layers
- -Our masks receive additional independent lab testing to ensure high quality
- -Our masks are ECM-certified to provide exceptional protection against airborne contaminants
- -Our masks (designated by FDA EUA) are approved by the FDA (Emergency Use Authorization, Appendix A Non-NIOSH Approved Respirators)
WHAT DOES KN95 MEAN?
Face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) must undergo quality testing before they can be sold to consumers, no matter whether the ‘consumer’ is a buying manager for a hospital or an everyday person looking to get protection for themselves and their family. In order to standardize the testing, most countries will have different quality designations that masks must meet during testing in order to achieve certification. While this practice is standard in most developed countries, the names for these different tiers of quality can differ from country to country.
KN95 is a Chinese standards designation that is comparable to the U.S. 's N95 designation, or the FFP2 designation used in Europe. The details of each standard designation differ slightly from each other, but the masks that meet these standards (KN95, N95, or FFP2) enjoy filtration efficiencies of 94% or higher. These designations are among the highest tiers of quality a face mask can reach in the respective countries in which they’re produced and tested. In simpler terms, these are A+ masks.
KN95 MASKS VS. N95 MASKS
Given that the standards for KN95 and N95 in China and the U.S. are similar, KN95 and N95 masks bear many resemblances to the other. However, they differ in one key way.
Both N95 and KN95 masks enjoy filtration efficiencies of 95% or greater — meaning that they reliably filter out 94% of airborne particulates that are greater than 0.3 microns in size, but they differ when it comes to Total Inward Leakage (TIL).
TIL refers to how much air can leak into a person’s mask during the course of normal use, mainly due to the fit of the mask on the person’s face, and mouth movement when talking, breathing, and whatever else. The KN95 and FFP2 standards allow for up to 8% TIL, whereas N95 masks must achieve TIL of 1% or less.
This means that in some respects, N95 masks provide greater protection than KN95 masks. However, N95 masks are designed specifically for use in professional, high-risk settings, such as hospitals. The same tight-fitting, double headband design that makes them the most effective type of mask for healthcare workers make them a less comfortable and only slightly more protective option for the everyday consumer.
Given that N95 masks are in short supply and are the best option for healthcare workers, KN95 masks fill a niche as a suitable, more accessible equivalent for everyday consumers. Plus, KN95 masks are extremely versatile, as they provide better protection against smoke and ash in wildfire conditions than cloth or surgical masks.
BEST USES
KN95 masks are suitable equivalents to N95 masks in hospital environments. For consumers, they are perhaps the best protection against airborne contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, and allergens.
The CDC and EPA recommend wearing a N95 respirator particulate mask if you cannot avoid going outdoors when the air is polluted with smoke. However, given that the N95s are in short supply due to the demand by frontline workers, the KN95 masks are a good alternative as they are effective in filtering out smoke and ash particles in wildfire conditions to protect you from smoke inhalation!
How Do KN95 Masks Compare To Other Face Mask Types?
KN95 masks offer the most thorough protection from airborne contaminants of any type of consumer-grade face mask. Here’s how they compare to your other options:
KN95 Masks vs. Surgical Masks: Surgical masks may sound safe due to their name, but they’re not your most effective defense against airborne contaminants — in fact, they’re not even designed to be. Surgical masks are designed with just three total layers: two outlet layers and a filter layer. Because they're used by surgeons, they’re designed to guard against the two biggest threats in surgeries — the potential contaminants released in the wearer’s own breath, and large droplets, sprays, and splashes of body fluids from others in the surgical mask wearer’s immediate environment. Compared to the 95% and higher filtration efficiency of KN95 masks, surgical masks can have filtration efficiencies as low as 10%. They do not block or filter out the microscopic particles that can be transmitted by coughs and sneezes, whereas KN95 masks do. Surgical masks prove similarly ineffective at filtering out smoke and ash particles in wildfire conditions due to the loose fit.
KN95 Masks vs. Cloth Masks: Cloth masks are even less effective against airborne particles than surgical masks are. KN95 masks are made with four to five protective layers, most of which are different kinds of filters. Cloth masks, on the other hand, no matter whether store-bought or homemade, are made with just one or two layers, neither of which is an effective filter. Cloth masks aren’t tested the way KN95 masks are, so it’s unknown as to how effective they are at filtering out microscopic particles. Given the health problems you risk without effective protection against airborne illnesses or wildfire ash, are cloth masks really worth the risk? They may be considered by some to be more comfortable than KN95 masks, but that’s only because of their looser fit that is assuredly allowing very high TIL.
KN95 Masks vs. Bandanas: Bandanas are not effective at filtering out much of anything. They may be comfortable and fashionable, but really, they’re nothing more than a stylish way to comply with local mask-wearing regulations. If folded several times, bandanas may have as many layers as a KN95 mask, but they’re not designed to filter out small particles, be it bacteria, germs, or ash.
Why You Should Choose A KN95 Mask
Simply put, KN95 masks are the most effective consumer-grade face mask. They’re made with the most layers of protection and have easily the highest filtration efficiency of any consumer-grade mask option, and inward air leakage is minimal. Options you can make yourself or find at home, such as cloth masks or bandanas, may be more convenient, but given the health risks presented by airborne illnesses and wildfire conditions, is convenience really worth the risk of inadequate protection? Purchasing KN95 masks is an investment in your health and well-being.
What Sets TenMasks KN95 Masks Apart
How To Identify A Low Quality Mask (Before You Get Sick)
You may have noticed the recent reports that a majority of imported KN95 masks fail U.S. testing standards. As proud producers of genuine, high-quality KN95 masks, we understand consumer skepticism and are frustrated that our competitors would cut corners on quality in order to capitalize on the demands of people desperate for adequate personal protective equipment.
Health and safety is our passion here at TenMasks! That’s why we’re registered with the FDA and put our masks through additional testing by independent labs to ensure you’re getting the premium antiviral protection you’re paying for. We believe in transparency, so now, we’ll walk you through a few simple ways you can test any KN95 masks you buy to ensure you’ve received genuine masks before you wear them out. Here’s how to identify counterfeit or low-quality KN95 masks.
The Leak Test
Genuine KN95 masks are waterproof. Test one of your new masks by pouring a small amount of water into a mask and watching it for any leaks. You shouldn’t observe any leaks, even small droplets forming at the bottom of the mask, for at least one minute.
The Smell Test
KN95 masks filter out microscopic particles, and you can test this ability by conducting a smell test. Empty a packet of Sweet And Low, or any sweetener, onto a plate or another surface. Smell the sweetener first with your mask on, then without your mask. You should only be able to faintly smell the sweetener with your mask on.
The Label Test
If you see an FDA logo on your mask or on the packaging the masks came in, that’s probably not a good sign for the quality of the masks. You see, the FDA doesn’t approve or even test individual products — they can register companies, such as Ten Masks, but they don’t test products as part of the registration process. Most consumers don’t know this, though, so producers of low-quality or imitation KN95 masks will often claim their masks are FDA-approved and include the FDA logo (which is illegal), counting on consumers not knowing the difference. Now you know!
The Layer Test
KN95 masks should be made with at least four layers of protection. You can test this directly by cutting one of your new masks in half, though you’ll obviously have to ruin one mask to conduct this test. Once you’ve cut the mask in half, you can pull apart the layers to count them. Ironically, the filter layers of our KN95 masks are difficult to handle and separate for this test, as they are melt-blown and not woven together.