3 ms·

It would be good if they found a way to decontaminate the masks so they could be reused a finite number of times, instead of treated as totally disposable. As f

It would be good if they found a way to decontaminate the masks so they could be reused a finite number of times, instead of treated as totally disposable. As far as what I've read, there are many things that can kill the virus: hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, uv sanitizing lights, heat, time... Seems like you could come up with a cheap and simple routine that would be 99+% effective, at least for coronavirus specifically. Sure this isn't optimal, but a lot of things aren't optimal these days.

anon946 7y ago
Something that occurred to me was a "hot closet" of some kind that was held at a temperature high enough to accelerate deactivation of the virus without damaging the masks. Perhaps around 130 F would be the right temperature. Advantage would be that it would not require liquids of any kind and not be labor intensive.
Herodotus38 7y ago
We are reusing all N95 masks where I work because there aren’t enough. Each employee gets one. To try and protect the N95 and make it reusable without risk (they are not designed to be reusable) we are wearing a standard surgical mask over it, and this standard mask gets thrown away with each use. Nobody here is going to be able to independently make N95 masks but the simple masks can be made of well filtering thick materials. Plastic goggle/face shields can also be made from clear plastic.
earthtourist 7y ago
That's been my question as well. Why doesn't spraying N95 masks with isopropyl alcohol work? 1. Spray mask with alcohol. 2. Place in the sun or under UV light. 3. Wait as many hours/days as possible before reuse. Seems better than re-using a highly contaminated mask day after day. I'm not an expert so I could easily be wrong though.
- Herodotus38 7y ago
  I think the issue (although I don't know for sure tbh) is that there is potential damage to the fibers which make it such a good filter. For example, our infection control policy is that we are supposed to throw away the N95 if it gets visibly soiled or liquid gets on it per our infection control. I would imagine damage from UV light could also cause issues. The reality is that we all need to have our own individual PAPR systems but we simply don't have the supplies and probably won't for weeks or months so we need to do the best we can with what we have and try to minimize the amount of healthcare workers who get sick and spread it or get taken out of rotation and place a bigger burden on the system.
- notabee 7y ago
  All of those break down the mask fibers or screw up the electrostatic qualities used to grab particles. There have been studies on it, but there's not really an ideal way that doesn't damage the filtering capacity over time.
  - bootlooped 7y ago
    From what I understand the virus breaks down with time at room temperature anyway, so you could possibly just get away with tossing them in a box for 10 days (or whatever time gets you 99+% virus breakdown). That would have minimal negative effect on the filter material and elastic straps.
    - AstralStorm 7y ago
      Alternatively you could bake some masks, high enough temperature will kill the virus. Or sanitize it with chlorine gas.

anon946 7y ago

Something that occurred to me was a "hot closet" of some kind that was held at a temperature high enough to accelerate deactivation of the virus without damaging the masks. Perhaps around 130 F would be the right temperature. Advantage would be that it would not require liquids of any kind and not be labor intensive.

Herodotus38 7y ago

We are reusing all N95 masks where I work because there aren’t enough. Each employee gets one. To try and protect the N95 and make it reusable without risk (they are not designed to be reusable) we are wearing a standard surgical mask over it, and this standard mask gets thrown away with each use. Nobody here is going to be able to independently make N95 masks but the simple masks can be made of well filtering thick materials. Plastic goggle/face shields can also be made from clear plastic.

earthtourist 7y ago

That's been my question as well. Why doesn't spraying N95 masks with isopropyl alcohol work? 1. Spray mask with alcohol. 2. Place in the sun or under UV light. 3. Wait as many hours/days as possible before reuse. Seems better than re-using a highly contaminated mask day after day. I'm not an expert so I could easily be wrong though.

Herodotus38 7y ago
I think the issue (although I don't know for sure tbh) is that there is potential damage to the fibers which make it such a good filter. For example, our infection control policy is that we are supposed to throw away the N95 if it gets visibly soiled or liquid gets on it per our infection control. I would imagine damage from UV light could also cause issues. The reality is that we all need to have our own individual PAPR systems but we simply don't have the supplies and probably won't for weeks or months so we need to do the best we can with what we have and try to minimize the amount of healthcare workers who get sick and spread it or get taken out of rotation and place a bigger burden on the system.
notabee 7y ago
All of those break down the mask fibers or screw up the electrostatic qualities used to grab particles. There have been studies on it, but there's not really an ideal way that doesn't damage the filtering capacity over time.
- bootlooped 7y ago
  From what I understand the virus breaks down with time at room temperature anyway, so you could possibly just get away with tossing them in a box for 10 days (or whatever time gets you 99+% virus breakdown). That would have minimal negative effect on the filter material and elastic straps.
  - AstralStorm 7y ago
    Alternatively you could bake some masks, high enough temperature will kill the virus. Or sanitize it with chlorine gas.