Coffee Filters May Prove Effective Against The Coronavirus

ZAC CADWALADER FEBRUARY 2, 2021 WIRE

By now you know that coffee is the cure for what ails you. Did you also know it may also be what keeps you from ailing in the first place? New research from Virginia Tech University finds that coffee filters not only keep oils from making their way to the cup during brewing, but may also block the coronavirus?

As reported by KGW in Portland, researchers from VT examined the efficacy of paper coffee in blocking COVID-19 sized particles. For the study, researchers compared particle transmission when using one, two, and three filters. They found that while one and two filters didn’t have much of an effect, using three filters had a beneficial outcome. As explained by Portland State University’s Dr. Richard Corsi, an air quality expert:

If you put three coffee filters layered on top of each other, you can get on the order of 50, 60 or even 70 percent removal efficiency for particles the size that we care about for the coronavirus.

Dr. Corsi notes that, while effective, using three coffee filters comes with a cost: the impromptu mask is difficult to breath with. The same filter keeping out coronavirus-sized particles also impedes oxygen flow.

Not discussed in the article is exactly what type of coffee filters were used. Are we talking Mr. Coffee filters here? How would a thicker Chemex filter fare? Bleached or unbleached?

One thing is for certain, with the newer, more robust strains of COVID-19 finding footing globally, wearing a mask (or maybe even two!) is more important now than ever. And if you’re not ready to give up on your cloth mask collection you’ve accrued over the last :gulp: YEAR—that’s right, we’ve been doing this shit for a year—maybe consider popping a coffee filter under that bad boy. And stay at home whenever possible. Take out is your friend.

Disclaimer: Zac Cadwalader is not a medical professional nor does he hold an advanced degree in any science. He is simply an enthusiastic young man with a 6th grade education and an abiding love of coffee.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.