6 ms·

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

• 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.