DIY Gas Mask

With Occupy protests around the country, things are heating up. With disbursement of tear gas an pepper spray by police, how are regular people able to keep safe?

Normally, one would by a gas mask, but given cost, bulkiness and being a target when wearing one, this might not be the best option. Based on a pamphlet i saw floating around the internet, you can make your own primitive gas mask out of some stuff you have lying around the house.

WARNING: Tear gas is no joke, it burns, hurts and makes you cry for your mommy. Those with respiratory issues should be aware that tear gas can complicate things, leading to injury or even death. Do not use this gas mask tutorial for life threatening situations.

Step 1: Idea

The idea came from this pamphlet that has no author. I figured to make an instructable about it to not only tell others about it but to get constructive feedback from the instructables community. I do not see this idea as a finished product, please give me your input!

Comments

[jongscx]

I'm really sorry, but can everyone PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC... I'm really tired of reading about how "Occupy is this..." and "Civil Disobedience is that..." and all the, quite honestly off-topic political discussion concerning the potential use of this device.
Does each side have arguments? Yes. Valid? I don't care... not important for an instructable. 


Talk about the function of the device and how to make it better... not WHY it should or shouldn't be relevant.
[/rant]


I think this should be a last-ditch piece of equipment, something that will let you leave a gassed area safely and maybe help those around you that aren't as well prepared.  Honestly, N95 masks are rated for 15-minutes of droplet protection before things start to seep through; and that's with a proper fitting around the face.  "Stuffing" it into the neck of the bottle is less than ideal fitting.

My point is that worst case scenario, this might give people a false sense or security and embolden them to do riskier things than they're prepared for.

[onrust]

Your photo reminds me of Denis Hopper in BLUE VELVET........lol

[kristell1119]

i just love that every body is making political comments on her for or aghanst the US for or aghanst the occupy movement which yes were mentioned. but really its just instructions for an emergency device dont expect it to be a 400 dollar gas mask its made out of a pop bottle. id rather have that then nothing. nice instructable. ill make imporvements as i see fit. and if i think of any potental political rants id like to go off on ill just come back here.

[270168]

you won't have to make one if you just listen to the authorities, the authorities are just doing what they were told to do.

[antioch]

At an age of 44 years you won't have to use huge killing machines as profile pic if you just stick to saying smart things.

[neur0]

And protesters are just doing what they need to do.

[Arferlala1254]

(removed by author or community request)

[zzoe]

Please research your subject, at least a little, before you rant. It's painfully obvious you didn't, sorry. I hope that a genuine attempt to seek out the facts will, if not change your point-of-view, at least allow you to express it with more depth and a fact or two. Yes, you have a right to your opinion, and to express it. I once met a man on a bus who tried to convince me that gravity is a hoax- that was his OPINION. He had a right to express it.

[Alderin]

Tear Gas or CS Gas doesn't dissipate very quickly, and it's effects can be felt more than a mile away from the "event". I've trained around and with CS Gas enough to know. MANY people will feel the effects of the gas that was intended to disperse the FEW who don't listen. Especially in urban areas where the Occupy protests are happening.

[cman9]

Still proud of your occupy buddies after their violent activities in chicago this week?

[Chadifornia]

Thats a great idea. I was thinking of purchasing some masks to have around just in case but I think Ill make a few more of these. I used a sticky foam strip normally for doors to create a better seal.
Cheers

[professorzed]

Well, sorry to inconvenience you as we attempt to make a better world, jongscx. If the Occupy movement wasn't 'annoying' people, it wouldn't be much of a social movement, would it? I'm pretty sure that white people were 'annoyed' when black people started occupying seats in the 'whites only' sections of buses and restaurants, too.

So, back on topic.

I think the store-bought mask beneath the soda bottle is o.k. However, if you really wanted to make it truly DIY you might try something like a bandana or some brand-new socks with powdered charcoal inside. DON'T use charcoal briquettes, since these contain lighter fluid. Get the powered charcoal used for fish aquariums instead. Oh, and the charcoal should be wet to work properly.

I'm also wondering about making a gas-mask like this and keeping both sides together for a 'spy-tech' effect. If these became popular enough, Cops might recognize these as an improvised gas-mask as soon as they spot them.

Maybe keep the two bottle halves, and use hot glue to attach an airtight plastic bag on the inside. The plastic bag would fit over your head, preferably with a drawstring to seal it tight. The 'other half' of the bottle would just sit on the back of your head. Kind of useless really, but a convenient way to keep the two bottle halves together so they just look like bottles of soda pop until pulled apart.

I wonder if the bottle opening at the bottom could be made to work like a water bong/ hookah, to filter out the tear gas? Club soda/ soda water is pretty alkaline, which might ameliorate the effects of the tear gas. Maybe a smaller bottle inside with a cork and two straws (or a can, whatever.) Fill it three quarters full, with an air bubble at the top, one straw at the top that you can breathe through, one at the bottom of the can, submerged in the club soda, or even just a hole that air can get through, but club soda can't. Come to think of it, just perforate the bottom of a pop can full of holes, fill it full of cotton balls, pour in some club soda, add powdered charcoal. That's your home-made disposable 'cartridge' for the inside of the mask.

Come to think of it, a gas mask needs a 'spit valve' for perspiration and condensation to drain from.

[bendog38]

I just finished my mask. The mask seems sturdy enough. I just need materials to make a good filter. I know that the military grade filters can filter chemical weapons. So what do they use in those and what do I need to buy or find to mimic a military filter? If I can't mimic them, then I will just have to buy an Israeli filter on Amazon. But I would rater not do that. Any help would be great. Maybe I should make a forum topic...

[bendog38]

Using these instructions to add onto my current gas mask project, I will have one effective gas mask by mid-summer. I would probably be using it though to filter the air that I will breathe when I detonate my ant poison grenades, assuming that they work. One problem you might encounter with the plastic bag is how hot it can become inside one of those masks. Another is with the seal along the neck line. The human neck is not perfectly round and therefore will open holes in the seal. This can be problem can be countered by using a seal such as the duct tape one described in this Instructable or by going to a more extreme measure and using a door seal (the rubber kind used to guard against wind) and sewing it to the bag, then creating a duct tape seal around the interior and the exterior of the bag. This would seal out the air from the neck line.

Bendog38

[Alex Mercer]

Great. Keep it up!

[Hobo in Training]

Quick tip about tear gas and pepper spray:

Mixing a base with water and spraying over the skin can decontaminate when hit with either of these chemicals. This includes Alka-seltzer in water and even soda water. Dedz to How To Avoid Being Killed in a Warzone.

BTW: Occupiers are kind of annoying.

[professorzed]

Oh, also Nana2peanut is right. To be effective, the gas mask must be an air-tight seal.

[wildwabbit]

I remember reading somewhere that during WWI and WWII that soldiers would pee on a cloth and hold it over there face if they were attacked with tear gas and did not have mask.

Apparently the ammonia in the urine neutralizes the tear gas.

Pee on the dust mask for more effective filtration of the nasties in the gas.

[codongolev]

I feel like that.... would be smelly.

also, our liver (I believe - might be another organ) converts ammonia into urea before it goes into our urine. that's why cat pee is so strong - cats don't convert to urea, they just pee out the ammonia. so it might be the urea in the pee that does it.

[Nyxius]

I was going to suggest a mixture of urea hydro chloride, water, and oxalic acid. it would be a little more effective than vinegar. I think the purpose of the acid is to denature the oils in the pepper spray. That and the oils should then dissolve (maintaining the low surface tension needed to breath) and saturate the mask instead of your air.

[sokamiwohali]

ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?!?!? Chlorine is one of the ingredients in CS Gas...you think you would want something in your mask that just makes things worse. not to mention that is a vapor at room temp and turns into hydrochloric acid?...your just begging to die...

[Nyxius]

have you ever had any chemistry? Urea hydrochloride is a semi-stable radical compound in liquid form. It is an activator for the Oxalic acid and it takes VERY little to work. The reason you are using for your argument would also lead people to think that they will be poisoned by ingesting table salt. Also known as sodium chloride. Oxalic acid is present in rhubarb at 5% (edible). Urea hydrochloride is what you get when you mix a little stomach acid with your piss. It'll probably smell, but it'll smell a lot less than taking a piss in your mask or pouring vinegar into it. Plus it will remain effective for about 20 time longer due to the massive amounts of available hydrogen. You want something in your mask that will react with the gas and have a low vapor pressure so it doesn't evaporate into the air your breathing. The oxalic acid and urea decomposes in the presence of the gas and releases water, carbon dioxide and some chlorinated compounds that are water soluble and will remain in the wet cloth. As the cloth dries out the compounds will precipitate into solids and crystallize in the cloth. The reaction stops when there is either no more water, or no more oxalic acid. You could even add a little sorbitol if your really worried about the chlorine. In the presence of chlorine gas most sugar alcohols will decompose into HCL and a slightly less complex organic acid. Stop being a Chemophobe. It releases bad chemicals in your brain...

[sokamiwohali]

hahaha...well, i (and wikkipedia) stand corrected i guess...lol i guess you cant trust things that ppl put on there after all...and no, i hate chemistry unless it is with women...then im all about chemistry...lol but seriously, i never liked chemistry even though it was part of my job in the military.

[Nyxius]

I guess I over reacted, but Wikipedia is usually right. Chlorine gas is very dangerous. In fact it was on of the first chemical agents used in WW II (right next to mustard gas). Chlorine gas is very reactive, corrosive even. But most forms of chlorine you encounter everyday is already reacted with something that stabilizes it. Notable exceptions being toilet bowl cleaner, acids etc. Most Ionic forms of chlorine are fairly harmless {in low doses}, but you lungs are sensitive. These methods should only be used in an emergency. Even breathing vinegar fumes for more than 20 min can cause minor lung irritation ( I know from personal experience). But any of these options are better than taking a crowd dispersant directly to the lungs.

[sokamiwohali]

no problem. true about the emergency part. even inhaling chlorinated things that have been stabilized (minus NaCl (table salt)) are still noxious and can do harm...usually its just the mucous mambranes. haha...why would you wanna inhale vinegar for 20 minutes (unless you were cleaning).

[wildwabbit]

I'm pretty certain human wizz contains a small amount of ammonia, thanks to "Man vs Wild" Bear Grylls recommends that if you ever have to resort to drinking your own urine to avoid the first bit of your wizz as this is usually the most concentrated in ammonia.

It is the ammonia that neutralizes the acidic tear gas, so the first bit of your wizz would be the best and stinkiest. Stinky wee or burning gas? I'd choose the wee.

I googled this and found out that it is most effective for chlorine based gasses and works to a lesser degree for others, better than nothing.

[espdp2]

Oh man, I'd choose the burning gas!

[Nana2Peanut]

Having spent few years in the service, and what seemed like a few hundred years in the "tear gas chamber", I can tell you that this will not work well enough. There needs to be an air tight seal. Tear gas is insidious stuff and will sneak in through the tiniest breach. The slightest bit is too much. Wonderful idea, though - looking forward to the next generation design.

[Dakotamouse]

True, but wouldn't it buy a little more time? What if a foam sealer was put around the edges. The type you use to seal around a door or window? Not perfect, I know. But it could buy a little more time to run away?

[Nana2Peanut]

It might, if running away while in extreme discomfort and partial blindness (and maybe puking) is okay with you.
My advice would be to not find oneself in a situation where a gas mask would be needed. The time to run away is when you see such a situation evolving.

[sokamiwohali]

haha...ur right nana...i would suggest something better...i too was in the service...i think that the best advice for all these ppl is this...the moment you see that grenade a flyin you should get ta runnin!!! hahahaha!!! i mean...if your dumb enough to stand there and watch the CS/Tear agent hit the ground, you might as well enjoy its prescence!!...lol as soon as they told us to take our masks off in the CS Chamber i made way slowly to the door but as fast as i can and got the hell out!!

[fredellarby]

The best protection against ear gas is running shoes.
Get out of there.
If things have deteriorated to the point of tear gas, it'a an illegal assembly and you're fair game under the law.
If you don't like things,
Harass your politicians,
Vote (most don't).
Obey the law,
This isn't the middle east.
You'd get lead, not gas.

[xenobiologista]

What do you mean "this isn't the Middle East"? This is the Internet, it doesn't belong to Americans. There are people from all over the world looking at this website. I'm from Malaysia and I was in the Bersih 2.0 rally which was to demand the reform of our screwed-up electoral system. We were protesting PRECISELY BECAUSE we can't vote in a fair election. And it was an illegal assembly only because the police pulled a bait and switch on us and yanked the rally permit at the last minute. Law and justice aren't the same thing. There are plenty of unjust laws in this world.

[fredellarby]

You're right. I apologize.
I'm used to local forums. We have an on-going issue locally where people think their situation is the same as yours.
There are complaints of the government acting brutally with no actions taking place at all.

[stallten]

Add goggles to protect your eyes!

[espdp2]

That's kind of what I was thinking. A small pair of swim goggles and a valved mask would easily fit in a pocket.

[dustinandrews]

The pamphlet says to keep vinegar handy to soak the cloth with. I suggest a keeping a balloon with vinegar and some means to puncture it in the mask. That way you have a self contained kit.

[espdp2]

Have you ever taken a good long whiff of vinegar? I'd ALMOST rather smell the gas. Ugh.

[neur0]

This is incredibly genius.

[steve-lane]

Cool instructable people with gas masks are getting targeted more and i would prefer my real gas mask but I made my brother this and he thinks its cool.