How to Disinfect Respirators and Face Masks for Extended Use

Today, the whole world is gripped by the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and face masks play an important role in saving us from the infection. Due to the growing demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) worldwide, healthcare centers are facing acute shortages of PPEs, especially N95 respirators and face masks that are essential for the protection of frontline healthcare workers and mitigation of the spread of the virus during this COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to the emergence of many personal protective equipment companies and bulk PPE suppliers that are manufacturing and supplying PPEs and other medical supplies to healthcare systems. However, with the rising demand for N95 respirators, face masks, and other categories of PPE, personal protective equipment companies and bulk PPE suppliers are finding it difficult to meet the requirements or supply in the high-risk areas.

To mitigate the risk of dire scarcity of PPE supplies, reuse of disposable filtering respirators and surgical masks after disinfection has become a necessary strategy for healthcare systems. However, the FDA recently announced that not all N95 masks can or should be disinfected and reused.

If healthcare workers are sharing PPE and other categories of PPE such as goggles, gowns, gloves, respirators, or masks, they must use them only for a short duration of time. Also, they must disinfect them before using them for treating infected patients.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Disinfect N95 Respirators and Face Masks

To prevent the transmission of the virus, you need to follow a few key steps to disinfect your mask without damaging it and risking your life. Here are some of the steps that you need to follow:

• Step 1 – Preheat Your Oven to 170⁰F

You may think the hotter, the better. But, it’s not so! Increasing the temperature will melt plastic within your mask and it will lose its effectiveness. It is advised to preheat the oven to 170-degrees Fahrenheit.  

• Step 2 – Clean Your Hands and Place Your Mask into a Brown Paper Bag

Make sure your hands are clean, hold the mask by the straps only, and then place it into a brown paper bag.

• Step 3 – Rewash Your Hands

Once you’ve placed your mask into the bag, remember to lather your hands for 20 seconds.

• Step 4 – Fold over the Top of the Bag

Fold the top of the bag over three times. If you are disinfecting multiple masks used by different people at the same time, use a separate bag for each mask, and label the bags with the name of each user. This keeps the masks damage-free and in good shape for each user.

Also Read: Important Factors to Consider When Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Step 5 – Place the Brown Paper Bag into an Oven Bag or Pressure Cooker

Next, you need to place the brown paper bag with the mask into an oven bag or pressure cooker. You may use any tightly-sealed, oven-safe container. You can place multiple brown bags in the same container or oven bag.

• Step 6 – Place the Oven Bag into the Pre-heated Oven for 45 Minutes

Before placing the oven bag into the oven, make sure the oven has finished preheating. Then, place in the bag and set a timer for 45 minutes so that you don’t overcook your mask as it will only ruin it. After 45 minutes, remove the oven bag and allow it cool at normal room temperature. Now your mask is completely disinfected and safe to use.

• Step 7 – Inspect the Mask for Damages

Lastly, inspect the masks for any hole or tear, and gently stretch the straps to see if they are still strong. If there is no damage to your mask, you may reuse the mask, or else, you should discard them immediately. Remember to wash or sanitize your hands before using the disinfected masks.

Wrapping Up

So, these are some of the steps that you can follow to disinfect your face mask and reuse it at least 5 times. To ensure that face masks last for a longer duration of time, you should always consider buying PPEs and other medical supplies from authorized personal protective equipment companies and bulk PPE suppliers as they only sell medical-grade and FDA-approved PPEs such as N95 respirators, surgical mask, gloves, gowns, and more. By taking care of all these precautions, we can prevent the spread of the infection to ourselves and within the community. This will also prevent serious shortages of PPE supplies during any pandemic. So, stay safe and ensure the proper use of personal protective equipment every time you need it. We wish for a healthy and COVID-free world soon.