How Long Can You Use the Same N95 Mask?
Omicron continues to overwhelm hospitals and healthcare workers already exhausted by Delta. At this stage of the pandemic, with the health care system once again teetering on the brink, experts are urging people to ditch cloth masks in favor of N95 or KN95 respirators . But these masks are more expensive than surgical masks and can’t be washed like cloth masks, so many of us are wondering: how long can you use the same N95?
Here’s what experts have to say about respirator reuse.
N95 technically disposable
All FDA-approved N95 respirators are labeled “disposable”. However, this designation is based on the idea of medical professionals who wear these masks for hours; that “one-time use” was never meant to describe your quick run to the grocery store.
Given the need for daily use of high quality masks right now, experts confirm that N95 or KN95 respirators can actually be worn multiple times, but cannot be reused indefinitely. Wearing the same mask day in and day out naturally reduces her ability to do her job.
Practical solution: rotating masks
“For N95, we recommend that you change (the mask) every day,” Dr. Sabrina Assumu, infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center, told USA Today . But there is a prohibitive aspect to purchasing high-quality masks: cost. For many, it is unrealistic or impossible to take fresh N95 as often as experts recommend. In this case, you can get by with a system of rotating masks. “If you have three masks (for example), you can number them and swap them,” Assumu said.
This is a method proposed by Peter Tsai in a study back in May 2020 , when PPE shortages meant treating patients was becoming increasingly dangerous for healthcare workers. The study found that three days was enough for any trace of the virus on the mask to disappear. This means that if you change four different N95s, you will be able to wear a theoretically COVID-free mask every day of the week.
Our advice to stay organized and keep the system efficient is to label or label different masks with different colors and store them in their respective paper bags. But why paper bags?
Do not wash N95; keep them dry
Do you throw your N95s in the laundry, or do you try to hand wash them? Probably not . Instead, it’s best to just let the mask dry, and this is where a paper bag comes in handy.
Storing masks in a paper bag for 24-48 hours between uses is a useful way to keep them clean and dry between uses so you can wear them as safely as possible again. “Obviously there are concerns about wearing a mask in public if it gets particles on it, maybe even a virus, but if you keep it in a dry bag, you are essentially disinfecting again for a period of time,” Dr. Joe Gastaldo. , an infectious disease expert at OhioHealth, told WWL-TV .
Keep in mind, though, that the package doesn’t actually magically sanitize your mask, which can still be infested with other pathogens. Gary Warren, CEO of ivWatch , a Virginia medical N95 maker, advised PopSci to think of it this way: “You don’t wash your underwear by hanging it on a clothesline for a week and airing it out.” But after a few days, any coronavirus present will be gone.
In addition, the bag will protect your mask from further infection, as well as keep the environment dry enough to prevent the virus from spreading and lingering on the mask.
When to take the mask off
According to the FDA , if your respirator is damaged or contaminated, or if breathing becomes difficult while wearing it, it’s time to replace it with a new one. The effectiveness of the mask depends on its proper seal around the nose and mouth, so as soon as the capsule starts to bounce back and can no longer stay in place, or the elastic bands do not provide as much tension as before, drop the mask. Your N95 is far away.
What about waste?
If you’re (correctly) concerned about the waste that comes from the constant disposal of masks, keep in mind that getting sick and potentially being hospitalized also has environmental implications. ECRI CEO, Markus Schabacker, a non-profit healthcare organization, tells PopSci that if you or someone you’ve been in contact with is hospitalized, “the amount of waste you create is exponentially greater – I mean, it’s logarithmic in terms of disposable products.” “. Shabaker explains that instead of just using and throwing away the mask, everyone who cares about you will wear and throw away masks, gloves and more all the time.
Remember: any mask is better than none.
Wearing any mask is better than not wearing one, so you can keep those old cloth masks as a backup option (ideally to wear over a surgical mask) when a better quality mask isn’t available. Here’s our updated guide to finding and buying a better mask instead of a cloth one. USA Today has put together a helpful list of online sellers here .
The pandemic is constantly evolving, and so is our response to it. Right now, COVID is still on the rise, so do your best to keep yourself and others safe by getting vaccinated (including boosters) and wearing a mask.