Reusing masks guidance

[Appin]

There is a website set up by scientists from several universities to bring together all the evidence on reusing masks.

Some of it is too high tech for a lone prepper but the guidance is solid. Also they say what not to use.

Short version seems to be heat but not too much or you damage the mask.

https://www.n95decon.org/

Appin

[Arzosah]

Great find, Appin, thank you.

[Bad Wombat]

How about rotating 3 or 4 sets of masks - using one set per day. Would that be OK?

[GillyBee]

Or finishing with a soak in salt solution and leaving it to dry? The Canadian researcher who published in Nature showed that filters treated this way will destroy other viruses and there is no real reason this one would be different.
This is the sciencey version
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39956Beans
And in plain English

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 160228.htm

When I read the science version, the salt levels seemed to work out to as much salt as could dissolve in the water and then dip the filter and let it dry.

[Appin]

In terms of using masks I would agree rotation would be good.

The virus does not survive forever on any surface and the survival is probably shorter on "drying" surfaces like cloth or paper.

IIRC The advice about parcels is to leave for 72 hours if you can. So if you have a few masks to rotate and can store the "resting" masks safely at a raised temperature that might well work ( usualy caveat no one knows definitely). I have a few masks so I will bag and store near my hot water tank. 24 hours at that temp should be enough. I hope!

Soaking the masks is uncertain. The fabric of any of the masks is special and also individual. so you need to be sure the mask can take it. The article itself is about developing surgical masks that can destroy the virus. This is not a new idea such masks are already available ( well may be not at present). The problem is still surgical masks still do not filter fine particles and still do not seal tightly against the face. the paper looks at the mask material but it is the whole package including how you use it that matters overall.

Good example on the news showed people in other countries wearing masks in public. The first two people you saw walking along adjusted their mask in public with bare hands and then did not clean their hands afterwards. That's an infection control fail. The rule is don't touch the mask. Masks only work if you use them properly and that is difficult. Any of our ex army members will remember the obsessive level of care needed when using an NBC suit.

I was shopping yesterday and a lady walked by wearing a scarf as a mask. She was holding it in place using her hand to get a better seal. Doubt it would help and probably would increase the risk.

Stay safe

Appin

[grenfell]

When comments were made ( not on here that i'm aware of) that the government haven't , to put it politely , learnt anything from the 2016 exercise that warned we weren't prepared for a pandemic i wondered if they had acted and brought millions of masks would those masks still be useable , or to put it another way does ppe have a use by date? I did a search and found a Health and Safety Authority site that suggested that manufacturers should give an indication of obsolescence or end of life date for ppe but don't seem to be legally obliged to mark them . I certainly can't see any dates on the ffp3 's i've got. Anyone know how long a mask will keep presuming they are kept in their original packaging ?

[Yorkshire Andy]

When comments were made ( not on here that i'm aware of) that the government haven't , to put it politely , learnt anything from the 2016 exercise that warned we weren't prepared for a pandemic i wondered if they had acted and brought millions of masks would those masks still be useable , or to put it another way does ppe have a use by date? I did a search and found a Health and Safety Authority site that suggested that manufacturers should give an indication of obsolescence or end of life date for ppe but don't seem to be legally obliged to mark them . I certainly can't see any dates on the ffp3 's i've got. Anyone know how long a mask will keep presuming they are kept in their original packaging ?

Know most of the better brands if there's such as thing.. 3m and moldex for example b

[preppergb]

As far as I understand it proving the elastic straps, mouth seals and exhaust valves are not perished or decayed they should be fine. I reckon it would be Canister filters and those masks with an integral absorbant in the fabric ( activated chatcoal for example) thay MAY become life expired in storage especially in not stored in sealed packets.

[grenfell]

Thanks for that. I didn't look on the straps just on the box guess i'll have to look again. If the expiry date on those you have is 2021 do you know when they were made just to give an idea of how long they last. I have around 200 FFP3 NR masks with the activated charcoal , still sealed in their bag brought probably late 2018 or early 2019.

[Arzosah]

As far as I understand it proving the elastic straps, mouth seals and exhaust valves are not perished or decayed they should be fine.

I wondered if that was mostly what expiry of "generalist" type masks was about, thanks for that.