DIY Gas Masks: The Dangerous Truth About Homemade Gas Masks

DIY Gas Masks: The Dangerous Truth About Homemade Gas Masks

by Jeff Edwards

The team here at MIRA Safety are firm believers in self-reliance. While serving in Iraq with the Marine Corps, this particular author's platoon motto was "expect no mercy from your enemies and no help from your friends." 

While we did indeed have friends/Marines we could count on, we were ready to go it alone if necessary. However, there is a recent trend on social media and other platforms where individuals are showing others how to make an improvised gas mask out of homemade materials. 

While it is indeed self reliant if you can make a gas mask from a 2-liter soda bottle, it is not effective to any degree in a scenario where you really need an actual gas mask.  Let's break down the trend and why it is so dangerous. 

Table of Contents

  • 01

    The Improvised Gas Mask Will Not Deliver When You Need it Most

  • 02

    The Risks and Consequences of Wearing a DIY Crushed Charcoal Gas Mask

  • 03

    A Brief Hat Tip to Resourcefulness in an Unforeseen Crisis

  • 04

    The False Sense of Security Provided by Homemade Gas Masks

  • 05

    Safer Alternatives to Improvised Masks

  • 06

    Respiration is Step 1 in Long-Term Prepping


The Improvised Gas Mask Will Not Deliver When You Need it Most

To make a mask from a 2-liter bottle of soda harkens back to early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and people were mask face shields out of everything under the sun. Cut up an old pair of jeans, throw on a strap with some Elmer's glue and voila, you've got a mask on your face.

Fast forward to the social unrest of 2020 and we saw college kids wading through clouds of tear gas with nothing but a wet shirt around their face. Coincidentally, MIRA Safety had launched in recent years and so we knew a thing or two about respiration and CBRN protection. 

First we chuckled at what we saw. Then we got sad thinking of the human consequences of that misinformation. Every mask contraption that we saw was nothing more than a security blanket to make you feel prepared.

Here at MIRA Safety, we are not trying to make you "feel" anything. We want you to be actually prepared for the day most people dread and nothing less will do. 

 

Image source: MIRA Safety

The Risks and Consequences of Wearing a DIY Crushed Charcoal Gas Mask

It should come as no surprise to anyone, but crushed up charcoal from your Uncle Bill's backyard BBQ is not the same thing as activated carbon that goes into our filters like the P-CAN Police Gas Mask Filter. If you put together a gas mask with homemade charcoal it will fail to block harmful chemicals and particulates. 

The next concern is that professional gas masks are designed to maintain a proper seal. Ask any Marine how he feels when a little CS gas is still in his mask after the gas chamber in basic training. A little break in the seal is a big seal. If you don't have a way to clear the mask, you might as well take a shot of pepper spray from the bottle cap of your 2-liter and then put on your mask. 

Finally, you sure as hell can't fight in these things. Running, fighting, and shooting becomes slightly more difficult with even the finest of gas masks. Your Mountain Dew gas mask deluxe is going to let you down in a fight. Not to mention that you have the risk of carbon dioxide buildup which can bring about dizziness, suffocation, and loss of consciousness. Pro tip, being unconscious in a gunfight is less than helpful. 

Image source: MIRA Safety

A Brief Hat Tip to Resourcefulness in an Unforeseen Crisis 

Our biggest issue with these improvised PPE devices is that they provide a false sense of security when it matters most. However, we don't want to completely malign the type of resourcefulness that could get you through an unforeseen crisis.  

Let's say you are at your cousin's wedding when it is violently attacked by ANTIFA throwing cans of CS gas into the crowd. You all retreat to the pool house and all you can find is a 2-Liter bottle of Doctor Thunder, some duct tape and a little activated charcoal. Do what you have to do not to inhale those chemicals as best you know how. 

However, that makes for some piss poor planning for every other scenario that we can see coming a mile away. Whether that is civil unrest after the election, conflict with state actors like Russia, or even the recent resurgence of Islamic terrorism that we've seen at the end of 2024. If you are thinking to yourself, well I'll just make my own if I really need one, you're in for a world of hurt. 

The False Sense of Security Provided by Homemade Gas Masks

As the old adage goes, never bring a knife to a gunfight. So it is with chemical threats. When known war gases are being used, don't run outside to play Rambo in your 2-liter special. You're not ready for what is coming your way and you would have been better off staying put and out of the threat.

If your escape and evade plan involves you trekking through 2 miles of toxic chemicals to reach an altitude or distance of safety,  you don't have a plan without a proper mask. Go back to the drawing and either get the proper materials or come up with a proper plan. 

It is this false confidence that makes the viral videos of homemade masks so damning. Using rubber bands and tape around the edges in an attempt to create a seal might get you first place at a costume contest, but it is not planned. Do not be fooled into thinking that you are ready for the day that post people dread when your CBRN mask is made of parts from Coca-Cola. 

Safer Alternatives to Improvised Masks

Now let's talk about a few alternatives that you can pursue short of our top of the line full CBRN threat protection. Our CM-101 Full-Face Respirator is designed for industrial and agricultural use. At the time of this article, that mask is only running around $130 bucks. 

It is not a full CBRN mask, but will block many CBRN threats. At the price of a nice dinner out with the lady, this is easy to pick up and have on hand. The average American per capita will spend around $260 per year on soda. Now, that's a lot of improvised emergency gas masks. Or, for half the price it can just be one real mask that actually works. 

Another option is our Tactical Air-Purifying Respirator. Again, this is not a CBRN device. However, it is used by tactical forces where breathing could be difficult due to smoke or other non CBRN agents in the air. Currently it is running around $200 bucks, which is still less than Americans pay for soda. 

While not CBRN devices, the point is that you will know the limitations of their capability. You're ready to assess the threat and then make a decision based on those limits. You're not charging into battle or in the wake of a disaster with nothing more than a dust mask thinking that you are ready for World War 3. 

Image source: MIRA Safety

Respiration is Step 1 in Long-Term Prepping

The human body is a remarkable creation and it can take a beating and keep on ticking. Humans can survive between 1 to 2 months without food and this has been tested in survival scenarios and terrible places like POW camps time and time again.

Without water, humans can make it 3 to 5 days before their body gives out. Certainly, things like the temperature outside play a role, but without water you'll be dead in a week. Meanwhile, human beings can only survive 3 to 5 minutes without air. 

This makes the ability to breathe air in a crisis step 1 in long-term survival. It's not step 2, step 3, step 4 and beyond. What good is your stash of food and ammo if it is 6 to 8 minutes through noxious fumes that make breathing impossible? 

Masks are regrettably overlooked when it comes to long-term survival. You can still pick out the type of mask that works best for your survival situation, but please don't rely on a soda bottle. Properly built masks are affordable to the point that they are in reach of the average prepper. Don't be caught in a cloud of chlorine gas with nothing but a rubber band and empty bottle of soda when it matters most. 

Conclusion: Why DIY Gas Masks Are Not Worth the Risk

Again, if you are ambushed at your cousin's wedding with nothing more than household goods to protect yourself, do your best MacGyver and invent what you can invent. However, things are heating up around the world and real threats are not that hard to foresee. 

Your mask's proven capabilities will be all that matters when the SHTF. Keep a half-face respirator inside your car and then a full fledged CBRN mask in your shelter for when it really SHTF. You can layer and stagger increased capabilities throughout your plan.

We'll just say it one last time, if you have a plan that involves a bottle of soda, you don't have a plan. Keep preparing and training friends. Others won't be ready. We will and we'll get ready together. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a mask that can be made of soda bottles and charcoal?
Should the ability to breathe air be at the top of everyone's survival plan?
Can improvised breathing devices harm your health?
But I saw a Tik-Tok video of someone making a homemade breathing device?