How to clean and reuse a coronavirus mask
The CDC recommends wearing a face mask that covers your nose and mouth when leaving your home.
Some types of masks are not intended for reuse, but there are a few things you can do to sanitize them to upgrade filtration and extend their lives.
Homemade masks
To clean your mask, run it through the washing machine and dryer after use. The water doesn't necessarily needs to be hot but make sure to use a laundry detergent.
If you don't have access to a washing machine, you can hand-wash using soap. Another option: Put the mask into a paper bag and leave it in a warm place for at least two days.
Surgical masks
These are intended to protect the wearer’s face from large droplets and splashes of blood and other body fluids.
Surgical masks should not be washed, because liquid damages the filter. The best strategy for cleaning is to isolate it for a week in a breathable container such as a paper bag.
N95 respirators
Use a method that isolates the mask in a breathable location.
Remove the respirator and place it in a breathable paper bag. No plastic!
Close the bag and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least seven days.
Never use cleaning products such as Lysol, alcohol or bleach on N95 masks. Liquid, including soap and water, can damage the mesh of electrically charged fibers designed to catch particles and droplets.
Elastomeric respirators
Wipe these masks down with alcohol swabs after each use. The attached filter cartridges are replaceable. Though the masks can be reused, their life span depends on many factors such as exposure and concentration of particles.
Let's say you just got back from the grocery store wearing your mask. Now what?
Treat your mask like a biohazard
“You don't want to be leaving it on the kitchen counter or the coffee table where other people may inadvertently be handling it,” says Kirsten Koehler, an associate professor of environmental health and engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.