My suggestion was to sterilize in natural sunlight if possible.
Was going to try that but we haven't had much sunshine lately. Winfoastorlose gave me a great link written by a PhD that covers covid19 very comprehensively.
From page 33:
How to conserve face masks
– Disposable masks are meant to be worn “once” then throw away, but once is not defined. To conserve,
it’s reasonable to use one mask one day if you’re not seeing patients. (Quarantine officials forced Grand
Princess passengers to use one mask for 9 days: reut.rs/39RVWuy. I would not recommend that at all.)
– When alone, use clean hands to lower the mask to your chin. This gives a chance for the mask to dry
out, which makes it more effective. You can also do the same when you need to drink.
– When eating, you don’t want stuff dropping from the mask onto your food, so remove the mask
completely and set in a clean place outside-up.
– As the outside of a used mask is potentially dirty, you should clean your hands after touching it, or you
can have your hands wet with hand sanitizer the whole time you handle it.
– To clean and reuse masks, place in oven at 70oC = 160oF for 30-60min, or expose both sides in a UV
sterilizer. Alcohol is not recommended (mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3QYVWO4kj5qwuSHnhcM9uQ). 3/20
update: Before rule-lovers complain, I’ll point out that UV sterilization and reuse of masks is now being
done by hospitals (www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/health/coronavirus-masks-reuse.html). Funny how
single-use rules promoted by manufacturers are taken as inviolable truth, until they are revealed as not. |
