Care and Maintenance of Masks:
- For Patient-facing staff, we recommend reusing N95 masks for weeks or even a month or more if needed
- Do NOT use home made masks (even our filtered suggestions) unless you have no more N95. Reusing an N95 is safer
Do’s and Don’ts:
Do’s:
- Record number of hours with a pen directly on your mask/filter
-
Sterilize mask every day (hang in kitchen oven for 30 min at 158 ℉, do not exceed 200 ℉)
Don’ts:
- Do not use any liquid sanitizers, hand gel, etc. on your mask
- Do not use a locally made mask, unless it contains a commercial mask or filter material as approved by your department
Sterilizing:
-
Masks can be sterilized by hanging inside a kitchen oven for 30 min at 158 ℉ (do not exceed 200 ℉)
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If you are using a homemade mask with a removable filter, remove the filter and sterilize it in the oven for 30 min at 158 ℉
- Homemade outer covers can be wash/dried in normal washing machines (be sure to remove filters and commercial mask materials before washing)
Filter Options:
- If patient-facing staff have no N95 masks available, see our ‘Hospital filtered masks’
- Can use AAMI-3 surgical gowns and CSR Sterilizing wraps cut into full masks (preferred) or as insert filters in homemade masks