Background: Low-cost face masks made from different cloth materials are very common in developing countries. The cloth masks (CM) are usually double layered with stretchable ear loops. It is common practice to use such masks for months after multiple washing and drying cycles. If a CM is used for long time, the ear loops become stretched. The loop needs to be knotted to make the mask loop fit better on the face. It is not clear how washing and drying and stretching practices change the quality of a CM. The particulate matter (PM) filtering efficiency of a mask depends on multiple parameters, such as pore size, shape, clearance, and pore number density. It is important to understand the effect of these parameters on the filtering efficiency. Methods: We characterized the surface of twenty different types of CMs using optical image analysis method. The filtering efficiency of selected cloth face masks was measured using the particle counting method. We also studied the effects of washing and drying and stretching on the quality of a mask. Results: The pore size of masks ranged from 80 to 500 μm, which was much bigger than particular matter having diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) and 10 μm or less (PM10) size
