N95 mask cleaning ?

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Hangfire

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I was given a box containing six N95 masks a couple of days ago for the wife and I for which I'm very thankful.

My gut feeling is that I think we're in this for the long haul so I got to wondering how many times our six N95's can safely be reused so I did a minimal amount of Googleing on the subject.

One site suggested heating them in a 150º oven for 30 minutes and then storing them in a brown paper sack and another site suggests misting them inside and out (not soaking) with hydrogen peroxide and again storing them in a brown paper sack......both sites say to wear rubber / latex gloves and do not touch the inside of the mask.

Because of the shortage of N95's apparently the FDA and or CDC has approved using the "Battelle CCDS Decontamination System" (Google it) which involves hydrogen peroxide vapor for 'X' period but doesn't explain how to do the process in home, if in fact it can even be done at home.

For those onboard that have some knowledge or are in the medical field, given the current shortage how are N95's currently safely being reused ?
 

SMS

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3M does not currently support the Duke study or any others yet on cleaning and sanitizing of N95s or any other filtering face piece respirators.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company...ource=vanity-url&utm_campaign=3m.com/COVID-19

.....one could easily follow the money on that position. If more masks are cleaned and kept in circulation, then less masks need to be purchased. Competent medical entities have validated that these masks can be cleaned, with certain restrictions and caveats.
 

yukonjack

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I was given a box containing six N95 masks a couple of days ago for the wife and I for which I'm very thankful.

My gut feeling is that I think we're in this for the long haul so I got to wondering how many times our six N95's can safely be reused so I did a minimal amount of Googleing on the subject.

One site suggested heating them in a 150º oven for 30 minutes and then storing them in a brown paper sack and another site suggests misting them inside and out (not soaking) with hydrogen peroxide and again storing them in a brown paper sack......both sites say to wear rubber / latex gloves and do not touch the inside of the mask.

Because of the shortage of N95's apparently the FDA and or CDC has approved using the "Battelle CCDS Decontamination System" (Google it) which involves hydrogen peroxide vapor for 'X' period but doesn't explain how to do the process in home, if in fact it can even be done at home.

For those onboard that have some knowledge or are in the medical field, given the current shortage how are N95's currently safely being reused ?

They can be reused. This article explains the proper technique. Read this article for the science behind the rationale.

https://utrf.tennessee.edu/informat...tection-sterilization-of-face-mask-materials/
 
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GlockPride

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Of course they don't support that. They are doing this to make money.

No, we have to operate from the side of liability reduction. Keep in mind, we get sued because we open. We are sued because we close. You may get the point, being slightly facetious but not by much. If we actually support a cleaning method and one person catches Covid using it, we get sued.

There are four main points to cleaning a respirator:
-does it actually kill the bug/virus/hazard
-does it destroy/damage the mask in the process
-does the chemical used harm the wearer
-can a fit test/seal still be achieved

https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media...disposable-respirators-technical-bulletin.pdf
 

Tanis143

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If you can get your hands on a far-UVC light, stick them in there for a while. No chemicals, no damage to the mask, and nothing but deactivated viruses. But, that is a big if as they are not widespread like regular UVC lights.
 

ZombieHunter

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