COVID: How long can an N95 mask be worn and how to disinfect it

Using N95 masks is a way to avoid infection by the Omicron variant of COVID, which has already proven to be highly contagious. They are for medical use, so they can be very efficient in protecting someone who is not a health professional, but they are more expensive and are marked for single use. So how long can a N95 mask be used and how to disinfect it if I’m not a doctor?

Experts agree that masks N95 are intended for single use according to their manufacturers because they are typically used in medical settings where the presence of pathogens is profuse, but a person who does not use it in hospital settings You can give it more than one use. By the way, here are some tips to spot fake N95 and KN95 masks.

Virginia Tech civil and environmental engineering professor Linsey Marr told CNN that the material and filtration levels of a N95 do not degrade unless rubbed or punctured. “You would have to be in very polluted air for several days before it lost its ability to filter out particles. So you can really wear it for a long time,” Marr explained to the publication. He added that it can be calculated for a use of 40 hours and that it is easier for it to get dirty or its straps to loosen before it loses its filtering capacity.

Health workers change their masks N95 most often for many reasons, including to avoid cross-contamination when moving from a room where an infectious patient is present to one where one is not. But in non-medical settings the N95 are a good protection tool against COVID-19.

How to reuse it and how to disinfect it

Specialists point out that the best way to preserve the capacity filtering of the N95 masks is to avoid touching the front part at all times, and always hold them by the straps. Another factor to take into account is that if it is known that it was used on a person with the virus, it is better to discard it, since the mask has surely trapped the virus and is found between the fibers.

Even if it is mistreated, it becomes visibly dirty, if it is wrinkled, bent or damp, it must be changed. The same when it is more difficult to breathe with it, since its breathability decreases over time.

To disinfect the N95 it is recommended never to wash them, as the water neutralizes their static charge to filter out viruses. Trapped particles usually die after a few hours, but exposing the mask to the sun for a few hours will help disinfect them.