Heating can be the best way to disinfect your N95 facemask: Study

Ever since the pandemic due to COVID-19 has happened, there has been a shortage of sanitisers, handwash, toilet paper, gloves, and even masks. As the government in several countries, including India has made wearing masks compulsory for its citizens, it’s mostly the frontline workers who in desperate need of face masks to protect themselves during their duty. As reported by the experts, one may use facemask made out of N95 material to prevent inhaling respiratory droplets of an infected person. But, it’s also important to disinfect these masks from time to time. A new finding suggests that heating these N95 masks can be the best possible way to preserve its filtration efficiency for up to 50 times of disinfection.

In this study, experts used different methods as directed by the CDC to disinfect fabrics of N95 masks in a hospital setting to analyse the material after repeated disinfection. They compared the material’s filtration capability after sanitising them using heating, ultraviolet radiation, bleach treatment and steam, multiple times.

The research concluded that heating at 85 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes helped the fabric to disinfect without much loss of the filtration efficiency. This method can be repeated up to 50 rounds of disinfection. However, frequent usage of the N95 facemask can also alter its performance quality.

The study article was published in the American Chemical Society’s ACD Nano.

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