How To Disinfect Your N95 Mask at Home

Join Dr. Van Dyken and Russell as they discuss the BEST WAY to clean your N-95 or high quality filter mask at home.
-to skip directly to instructions, fast forward to 6m30s. :)
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Here is what you will need:
A ziplock container - the 1.25 quart size
a convection oven….with no direct line of sight to any radiative heat sources which would cause potential damage the mask
A paper towel
Water
An eyedropper

Preheat your oven to 85degrees Celsius, or 185 degrees Farenheight.
Place the mask inside the container, face down.
Cut a 2.5 x 2.5 inch square of paper towel and place it in the container alongside the mask
Drop 500µL, which is 10 drops of water onto the paper towel.
Then place the lid on the container tight.
Place the container inside the preheated convection oven which is set at 85 degrees Celsius, or 185 degrees Farenheight.
Let it disinfect for 40 minutes.
Take it out - open the lid and rotate it 45 degrees. This will allow air to naturally flow around the mask and dry it out. You only have to do this for 5 minutes.

After that, your mask is safe to reuse.
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Other videos we made on masks:
Filter Mask Tutorial: https://youtu.be/X7IP4ydGE0A
A Surgeon's perspective on masks for all: https://youtu.be/IKmsqn0cOjI
How to wear a mask: https://youtu.be/0LfZo-IPX-I
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References:
- 3M white paper: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1...
- N 95 Disinfection Papers:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.11...
- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.11...
- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.11...
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Ideally, an N95 or similar mask is designed to only be worn once. It should then be discarded. That is a no brainer and that’s what we did pre-covid. Now there is a global shortage of masks. How can we decontaminate these masks and still keep them safe and working properly?

3M, one of the main US manufacturers of N95, has published a white paper, in which they list four criteria that must be met in order for their masks to be reused:
To Inactivate SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19
Not damage the respirators filtration
Not affect the respirators fit
Be safe for the person wearing the respirator. In other words - it can’t have any harmful off-gassing from the treatment.

3M is very clear in that they DO NOT recommend reuse or decontamination of their masks, stating that NO METHOD achieves ALL of these goals.

That being said, we are in a pandemic, and we have to make do.

So, what is the best method of decontaminating our N 95?
So while the maker of N95s do NOT recommend reuse or sterilization of their respirators, we are critically short these masks worldwide. We have to compromise, which is a whole different issue. We are really just trying to do the best we can do with what we have - which is sad but true. The CDC has issued some guidance regarding a few methods of decontamination.

Some methods, like vaporized hydrogen peroxide can only be done in hospitals or other large institutions that have access to the materials and the required equipment. Please don't try to make vaporized hydrogen peroxide at home - it's actually really dangerous and it can become explosive. UVC light has its own hazards. It is currently difficult to get a UVC machine and, even if you have one, the disinfection parameters are very specific.

Then - other methods are just not good for you, they are toxic. Things like a diluted bleach solution are not a good idea. While the solution will disinfect the mask - it will also leave a residual toxic gas that you will be breathing in.

So - that leaves alcohol, steam and dry heat. After reviewing multiple studies, we feel that dry heat or heat with a very specific humidity, is the way to go. Using dry heat will make the mask last longer however heat with a specific humidity is better at deactivating SARS COV2

So - back to the protocol we suggest. SEE ABOVE FOR PROTOCOL.

So there you have it, what we feel is the safest and most effective way to disinfect your N 95 or Home made quality filter mask. Let us know in the comments below what you think of this video. Also, let us know if there are any topics you really would like to hear more about. Until next time, stay healthy, stay well, and aloha.