Looking for masks to protect yourself from coronavirus? Here's where to buy, how to properly wear
SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) -- With cloth masks in high demand, tailor Tarik Aljabouri is busy sewing dozens of them at a Skokie dry cleaning business.
"We try to provide the customer with as fast of service as they need, in four colors," said Kenny, the owner of Kenny The Kleener in Skokie. "And they are $6 each. You can get as many as you want."
In the last 24 hours, Kenny has received orders for more than 300 masks.
"Wash them and use them multiple times. I don't see any reason why they would wear out real soon, and it's a bargain," the owner said.
More and more people are wearing masks, especially since some villages like Skokie are requiring people to wear them in public.
So where can you buy a cloth mask?
Some hardware stores, dry cleaners, tailor shops and community organizations, like The Douglas Center, are selling them. Call the business beforehand to make sure they're available.
"These are not medical grade, per se," said Dr. Omar Khan, the director of health and wellness at The Douglas Center. "They don't replace N95 masks or surgical masks."
For more information on where to buy cloth masks in Skokie, visit the village's website.
As federal and local officials have warned, N95 and other medical-grade masks are used for health care workers, especially given concerns about shortages around the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the general public use cloth masks.
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The Douglas Center is a nonprofit serving about 140 adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Since those participants must stay at home now, the Skokie organization has some employees sewing cloth masks. They're sold for $5 each.
"We wouldn't be able to provide this to the community if we didn't have these expert sewers, in a sense, so hats off to them to be able to come in and work several hours," Dr. Khan said.
So far, The Douglas Center has received orders for thousands of masks, providing them to local government employees, school district workers and the general public.
If you want to do-it-yourself, the U.S. Surgeon General has provided a video to make a mask in less than a minute.
And once you have your mask, be sure to wear it properly.
The CDC has also provided guidelines, ensuring you cover your nose down to your chin.
