Thanks for the update. I believe it was you who first talked about cooking N95s in a toaster over at 160F.
I mostly rely on gloves.
I have an N95 that sits in a plastic salad box between uses of maybe 2x a week
It is open to the sun but through a window that has some filtration so it probably isn't good for quick cleaning, if any.
But, due to the construction of the mask, I believe the C19 virus only lasts a short time, similar to clothing or newsprint.
Many articles suggest you get most of your protection from washing your hands and not touching your face between being exposed outside and washing your hands.
I glove up in the car, put on my mask, do my shopping with my credit card on my shopping list with a paper clip so I can touch those over and over without opening my wallet, etc.
When I return to my car (BMW X3), I open the trunk with the remote, grab a Lysol wipe and clean my gloved hands, transfer the goods from the shopping cart (Costco no longer bags) to my car, close the trunk with a push of the button, return the cart, all while still holding the wipe.... then clean my gloves and remote again, sit in the car, spray my leather shoes (not soft material) top-and bottom with Lysol, get in, wipe everything again with the wipe, put the N95 back in the box (with cleaned gloved hand) take off the gloves and toss them and a wipe into my hazardous waste bin on the floor, and drive home.
My guess is the ONLY C19 virus particles that would survive that would be any that the N95 filter caught. Given it is made of soft material, the virus should break up in a day or two even without sunlight or heating but if I use a gloved hand to put on again, it is not a problem if I use it again the same day.
I could rotate my masks, perhaps by stacking them in labeled salad boxes so they get a week or more between uses, but I think this is anal enough, especially since recent papers suggest we're fine handling mail and newspapers delivered to our homes, especially if we let them sit for 24 hrs. (I need to find the latest that I seem to have misplaced.) |
