Below is an article from the healthcare industry http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_1_74/ai_76653447
on cloth face masks, for your information. Personally, I would think that something cloth would be better than nothing, but...

Sue



Question: Some people ore starting to wear homemade cloth masks in the OR. The same masks are worn all day. Is this acceptable? What argument can be made against this practice?

Answer: Homemade cloth masks are unacceptable. Although early masks were made of muslin or linen, they only redirected exhaled air away from the surgical wound. Cloth surgical masks were replaced in the early 1960s with synthetic materials that also provide bacterial filtration.(3)

Wearing masks is recommended for two reasons. First, they contain and filter microorganism droplets that are expelled from the mouth and nasopharynx during talking, sneezing, and coughing. Second, they protect the wearer from exposure to infectious materials and other respiratory hazards, such as electrosurgical and laser smoke.(4) Fluid-resistant surgical masks are considered personal protective equipment (PPE), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires health care workers exposed to blood and other body fluids to wear them. To be considered appropriate, PPE must

not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through
to or reach the employee's work clothes, street clothes, undergarments,
skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use
and for the duration of time which the protective equipment will be
used.(5)

Surgical masks should filter at least 0.3 [Mu] of bacteria for regular use and 0.1 [Mu] for laser use, or they should provide 90% to 95% bacterial filtration efficiency.(6) Masks must be changed between uses and whenever they become moist. Masks should not be reused throughout the day or saved by hanging them around the neck or tucking them into a pocket for future use.(7) The filter portion of the mask harbors bacteria collected from the nasopharyngeal airway, and care must be taken when removing the mask to avoid contamination of the hands.

It is extremely unlikely that an individual would have an adequate supply of freshly laundered--not home laundered--reusable masks to be able to change as frequently as recommended. Although there may be reusable materials that could meet fluid resistance and filtration criteria, it is extremely unlikely that a suitable reusable cloth material could be found, tested by an individual according to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, and manufactured on a home sewing machine according to industry specifications. Surgical masks are an FDA class II medical device that require special controls and are subject to premarket notification procedures (ie, 510k guidelines).(8)