Disinfecting N95 and Surgical Masks - The Right Way!

So bake that bitch in the oven at 200 for an hour.

Drink Everclear and breathe on it for 30 seconds - you got yer hot air - you got yer alcohol - 2 for one deal.

"Honey, I'm disinfecting my N95 mask...."

Thank you for the conversion. I was about to look it up.

That was my thought. I just wore my first mask today at the grocery store, but I have a pack of 15 of them. I was thinking I could rotate through them all if need be.

Put Your Mask in a ziplock plastic bag then stick it on your cars dashboard in direct sunlight

leave your car windows all the way up

keep your car very clean

floorboards, steering wheels keys, etc.

I thought it was the UV from the sunlight that kills the virus. The glass windscreen absorbs the UV and turns it into infrared heat.

If you don’t have an N95 but have surgical masks. This technique devised by Apple and MIT engineers using rubber bands can help increase the effectiveness.

[link to www.fixthemask.com (secure)]

Spread the word!

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Please see the OP. The article says 158-160 degrees for 30 mins.

Yes they can. But the virus is most likely hitching a ride on droplets. Using N95 is better than a bandana or scarf. Since N95 are hard to find and those in health care need them we should do what we can to reuse and preserve what we have.

Don’t fall victim to the CDC lies that a mask won’t help. Even they finally had to recant their absolute false statement.

UV does not go through the glass. That is why transitions lenses don't work in the car. You would need an internal temperature of 160 F to sterilize its. I think that would break the windows.

So far that seems to be the best solution, absent a UV light.

We are hanging in there. My business declared critical to the Covid-19 response. Instead of isolating we are adding onto the shop, buying another CNC machine, and hiring people.

Our gear is being used by FEMA and military, for field hospitals & portable comms.

Also this, for folks needing help with facemasks, or who have access to a 3D printer:

[link to www.portableuniversalpower.com (secure)]

Strange days, indeed.

Last Edited by Azaziah on 04/05/2020 08:29 AM

Wouldn't using a dehydrator blow the virus into the ambient air. especially at first before the temperature could kill the virus? Ozone seems like a good option, although it would play havoc with the elastic.

Last Edited by tinfoilhat on 04/05/2020 08:14 AM

Ah... the trusty N96!

THAT is the process developed (and tested) by Battelle Memorial Institute, one of the largest high tech research entities in the world (it has about 5000 Phd scientists working for it researching many things - plus lots of support staff). They had actually been working on the project of how to decontaminate equipment /masks for several years because of the needs of the US Military.

Each one of Battelle's portable decontamination chambers can decontaminate 80,000 M95 masks PER DAY. Even before FDA approval (which came early this week) Battelle had built several of it's decontamination chambers. One is already in operation in the Seattle area, two more should be operational in the NYC area probably by today, and two are ready for operation in Ohio (where Battelle has it's home office)

I would imagine that they are making more of their portable decontamination chambers as fast as they can.

[link to www.battelle.org (secure)]

Toaster Oven outside

Hospitals use Gamma-Rays.

Taiwan is using rice cookers. And they are demonstrating to the public:

[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]

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Nowhere in that video did they say anything about rice cookers.

Weird. That video is not the one I watched. But I copied the URL straight from the browser. I’ll try and find it again

Here the article:

[link to www.taiwannews.com.tw (secure)]

The headline image was from the video I watched.

Can’t you just soak them in isopropyl alcohol?

No. Please see the OP link. In the FAQ at the bottom
If the page it says not to use alcohol.

If you're going to use a cloth mask - consider adding salt:

[link to www.nature.com (secure)]

Bump for usefulness

i do not have pics or video. i did take info from here about the virus surviving to boil point. i did check online sites aslo.
cooked masks hung in opven to 200-210 degrees for 30 minutes. masks with the center vent for moisture did well.
mn-95 masks without the hole,solid masks, did poorly. they have wording on the face. this wording at these temps melts into the mask. therefore this masks is unusable.

ran several tests over a few hours. had only 1 clothes pin to use for haning the masks so they did not touch metal. must be careful that the masks do not touch either. they do have a metal nose bar. in my testing i used a pen to test the temp affects on plastic.it did not liquify but did curve. using these temps on cartridges for half face masks will deform them. could cause the cartridges to not properly seal back to the rubber half masks. could b worse even.

my conclusion is best bet with cartidges is to rotate them by not using them for a month. nay need do that also with paper N-95 masks with writing on the face.

i did link the study i found online with my write up originally on the main thread.

UVC is the only way to go IMO. 200-300nm wavelength would do the trick. I would be interested to know if this can be confirmed?

Stay safe.