Ozone Sterilization for N95 Mask Re-use What say you?

Don’t do it man

Explain why....

It appears scientific and sound but, I'd like to hear actual evidence as to why it wouldn't work.


I don't PLAN on re-using any masks. I have enough for me and the family but *IF* this gets protracted and there are no supplies, I think this is better than nothing.

O3 breaks down into Harmless 02 within an hour or two if memory serves me correctly. I am the guy that posted about owning two large Ozone Generators in a couple threads over the last couple days.

O3(ozone) is very unstable and it breaks down very quickly into Harmless O2(Oxygen). Your Safe Brother.

MAGA

Yes, thanks...

the problem is the breaking down of materials.

probably a couple of time are safe but then you are tearing the materials apart.

silicon is o3 resistent

btw you can sanitize by steam.

I hear ya!

The material breakdown has been my concern...

Hopefully, the supply of masks doesn't dwindle.

A 10% bleach solution and letting them dry would be much simpler.

I have SOOOO Much Bleach in this house, I'm SURE I'd be deemed a "Hazard" by Liberal terms....

Just put it in the oven to sterilize.

Heat does kill the virus.

Indeed...

As does Bleach.

As does TIME.

As does UV-C.

Do you mean,

The OVEN Where you cook your food?

Last Edited by Travis Bickle on 02/09/2020 01:37 AM

I say it's a good question, but I'd go with the "don't do it" poster. Hopefully things won't get so bad it's A choice that has to be made. It's good to think ahead though, isn't it?

Here's an article from CDC that you might be interested in regarding extended use and re use. A few highlights follow, but you can and probably should read the entire thing at: [link to www.cdc.gov (secure)]

"Consider use of a cleanable face shield (preferred3) or a surgical mask over an N95 respirator and/or other steps (e.g., masking patients, use of engineering controls) to reduce surface contamination.

Perform hand hygiene with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before and after touching or adjusting the respirator (if necessary for comfort or to maintain fit)."

"The most significant risk is of contact transmission from touching the surface of the contaminated respirator. One study found that nurses averaged 25 touches per shift to their face, eyes, or N95 respirator during extended use.(15)Contact transmission occurs through direct contact with others as well as through indirect contact by touching and contaminating surfaces that are then touched by other people.

Respiratory pathogens on the respirator surface can potentially be transferred by touch to the wearer’s hands and thus risk causing infection through subsequent touching of the mucous membranes of the face (i.e., self-inoculation). While studies have shown that some respiratory pathogens (22-24) remain infectious on respirator surfaces for extended periods of time, in microbial transfer (25-27) and reaerosolization studies (28-32) more than ~99.8% have remained trapped on the respirator after handling or following simulated cough or sneeze."

Thanks Nine's!

But. this article presupposes the re-use in the same environment and adds that studies have shown even TRAINED users touch their face at least 25 times a shift.

The BIGGEST Presupposition is that you'd have another mask to change into.

*WHAT-IF*

There was no other mask to change to and, you sterilized the mask between the re-use of it?

Better odds than NONE, if you ask me.

Last Edited by Travis Bickle on 02/09/2020 02:23 AM

You're very welcome. It reminds a person of that "rock and a hard place" expression. Might want to start eyeing coffee filters and rubber bands for some creative adaptations if bad goes to worse. 8)

We can't pin it for coverage right now since there are so many green pins, but I'm sure it'll come back around. Maybe others will also click the "recommend pin" button in your first post.

Until then, we can watch for a post that's sure to hit here sooner or later, about "A video of a purported doctor advising people to steam disposable surgical face masks in order to reuse them has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in multiple Chinese-language posts on Facebook, Weibo and Youku in January 2020."
[link to factcheck.afp.com (secure)]

Perhaps Microwaving the mask for a min or two would kill any pathogens?

The O3 generator is a really good idea. Just don't do it for too long. You can start with a spray of bleach solution on the mask and then maybe 5-10 minutes in the ozone stream. Try to focus it on the filter and not the elastic band.

are you afraid the oven can't destroy the virus???

I read that some of the by products of Ozone (O3) generator machines were Nitrogen, and it caused rust in disposal facilities / garbage shoots.

So apparently it produces more than just pure Ozone, as the name would suggest, erroneously.

So as long as there is not a ferro reactive component nearby you should be GTG, or as long as the mask you are to utilise has no such component to it.

It would also probably be a good idea and practise to keep firearms out of the same room, perhaps the ammo also.

YMMV

Just mist it with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol evaporates and everything on the mask is D-E-A-D. Why make it more complicated?

What about also misting them with isopropyl?

I'm gonna find a couple of links for ya... I just read some interesting news about that.

Here's another great reference.
[link to sportsozone.com (secure)]

Even has some various times and life expectancies of various viruses and bacteria.

It seems to unravel the pathogens in a matter of minutes.

N-95s have metal components

not wise

Bro give people warnings when a link is a forced pdf download....

I thought it can come in through your eyeballs.

Cycle through use each mask once but don’t throw out. If you run out and can’t get any more then look at doing this but only as a last resort. Don’t forget your giggles and disposable gloves. Get a good routine of hand washing and removal and replacement of PPE.

[TLDR= you need to have a 70% Ethyl Alcohol for the best disinfection]

So, I was reading a bit last night and learned something new.

Apparently, the standard Isopropyl Alcohol that is available pretty much anywhere is a 91% solution. (I actually checked my bottles that I already have and, they're ALL 91%.) However, that percentage is NOT the best for quickly destroying viruses and bacteria.

Here's a link:
[link to blog.gotopac.com (secure)]

From the link:
The presence of water is a crucial factor in destroying or inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microorganisms with isopropyl alcohol. Water acts as a catalyst and plays a key role in denaturing the proteins of vegetative cell membranes. 70% IPA solutions penetrate the cell wall more completely which permeates the entire cell, coagulates all proteins, and therefore the microorganism dies. Extra water content slows evaporation, therefore increasing surface contact time and enhancing effectiveness. Isopropyl alcohol concentrations over 91% coagulate proteins instantly. Consequently, a protective layer is created which protects other proteins from further coagulation.

More info here:
[link to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (secure)]

Better off with a ultraviolet steripen and/of bleach spray. Alcohol only works by removing the virus from surfaces during evaporation, it does NOT kill the virus, only bacterium.

Last Edited by Billxam, MAGA+, ABATE, AWHA on 02/09/2020 04:09 PM

Don't need an ozone generator.
A $15 Vacum UV light bulb (sub 254nm UV-C, for example 180ish nm) generates ozone. Just put that bulb in a cheap socket in a large OPAQUE (and closed)(UV-C is harmful, don't expose yourself to it at all) steralite container and plug it in outside for 30minutes with the object in the container. When done, unplug the socket from the mains then open the container and retrieve the object. The object is sterilized by both the uv-c light and the ozone it produced.

Whole thing should cost you less than 30-40 bucks.