DISINFECT AND SANITISE MASKS AT HOME

Coronavirus belongs to a large family of viruses that can cause a range of illness in humans which includes common cold and more severe forms like SARS and MERS. This virus has been proved to be life threatening. With the gradually inclination in the graph which showcases number of cases world wide, a strain within the minds of people can be sensed. Everybody is willing to go to any lengths to keep themselves and their family secured. 

The mankind are taking all sorts of preventive measures. One such measures included wearing mask. The World Health Organisation suggested, the use of mask can reduced the chances of being effected by the virus. A massive shift towards the use of mask was observed world wide. As the number of cases are escalating, the shortage of masks can be witnessed globally. As a result people came up with an idea to prepare cloth mask. People are now using either cloth masks or N95 masks. Yet the human being are unfamiliar with the proper cleaning and disinfecting practices of face masks.

Cloth masks are usually multiple layers of fabrics, proper cleaning of the masks is mandatory to avoid the spread of the virus. The easiest method by which one can clean their mask, is by running it through the washing machines and drying it afterwards. The water doesn’t need to be hot but one needs to make sure that their aren’t any residues of detergent in the mask. If one doesn’t have the access to a washing machine, they can simply hand-wash the mask using soap.

Else the easy way out, is to place the mask into a paper bag and leave it in a warm place for at least two days. This will make the virus inactive and it won’t be infectious.

According to the experts there are three cleaning methods for N95 mask, one can easily accomplish at home. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine uses a round robin rotation of masks so that each one is rested for at least 72 hours before being worn again. This relies on the widely held belief that the coronavirus should not survive more than 72 hours on an inhospitable host, like the surface of an N95 mask. The second method of cleaning is by submerging the N95 mask in 125 degree celsius boiling water for three minutes, in order to disinfect the mask without significantly reducing its filtration efficiency. The last method was developed by researchers at Michigan State University refined this method using a laboratory oven, and heating a mask for 30 minutes at 70C (160F) is an effective decontamination method.

These easy and simple can be used to clean one’s mask at home itself. This will give one an assurance that the mask is clean and virus free.