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Disinfect and reuse FFP2 masks at home: Lauterbach also recommends the following procedure

2021-01-29T11:04:55.524Z


FFP2 masks are single-use products that should be thrown away after use. However, there is a way to use it multiple times.


FFP2 masks are single-use products that should be thrown away after use.

However, there is a way to use it multiple times.

  • A commercially available FFP2 mask * costs more than four euros in the pharmacy.

    This high price raises the question for many: Do I actually have to throw it away after wearing it once, or is there a way to keep using it?

  • FFP masks should always be used as specified by the manufacturer.

    However, you can extend the service life of the particle filtering half masks, as FFP2 and FFP3 masks are also called.

  • According to the German Society for Hospital Hygiene, the strictest and most qualitatively safest method for the sterilization of FFP masks should be used in hospitals: steam sterilization.

    There are extra equipment for this in hospitals,

    but with the following tip you can easily sterilize your FFP2 masks at home and use them again.

Normal everyday masks made of fabric can simply be washed in the washing machine and then used again and again.

OP or FFP2 masks, on the other hand, are intended by the manufacturer as single-use products.

Environmental reasons and also the question of costs are what prevent many people from disposing of the mask immediately after use.

Scientists from the University of Illinois have now dealt with the question of how one could disinfect N95 respirators (same filter performance and material properties as FFP2 masks) at home

without losing their effectiveness.

According to the researchers, with the help of a simple kitchen appliance, the masks can be sterilized so well that they can be worn several times without hesitation.

For their study, they put N95 mouth and nose covers in an electric rice cooker.

50 minutes of dry heat in a rice cooker or multi-cooker was enough to decontaminate the N95 respirators from the inside and outside without the filter performance or fit having suffered

.

According to the study directors, the procedure makes it possible to safely reuse the respirators tested.

However, the masks must not touch the heating element directly due to the risk of melting, as the portal sciencedaily informs.

According to the study, this can be prevented by placing a small towel on the bottom of the stove.

FFP2 or N95 mask: Protection class designations for particle filtering half masks 

FFP2

 stands for "Filtering Face Piece" and meets the German standard DIN EN 149: 2009-08.


N95 masks

 are approved according to the US standard 42 CFR Part 84 of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Also read

: FFP2 masks to protect against corona viruses: What to look out for when buying *.

Cleaning FFP2 masks: heat disinfects material - electric rice cookers should be suitable

According to the researchers, for adequate sterilization of the masks it was necessary to place them in the rice cooker at 100 degrees Celsius for at least 50 minutes in order to rid them of coronaviruses.

Very important: There must be no water in the stove, the masks become sterile in dry heat.

This method is even more effective than sterilization using ultraviolet light.

"The respirators retained their filtration capacity of more than 95 percent and even after 20 decontamination cycles in the electric cooker still sat properly on the wearer's face," sciencedaily quotes the study director.

According to Web.de, several masks can be disinfected in one go by stacking them in the stove.

SPD politician and doctor Karl Lauterbach had already

pointed out

this

possibility of mask disinfection

on his Twitter channel last summer

:

A simple 30 € electric rice cooker can disinfect N95 protective masks, which protect the wearer very well on long train journeys, for example, in 50 minutes every day.

This takes nothing away from the medical staff and is well protected even in risky situations https://t.co/iQvWFXzpSz

- Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) August 6, 2020

Disinfect FFP2 masks in the rice cooker: "Dry operation is quite safe outside the design parameters"

The Technical University of Freiberg analyzed the US researchers' study in more detail.

A blog post states that, according to the study, it was tested whether the N95 masks survived the procedure in the rice cooker several times without impairment.

However, the TU Freiberg points out that rice cookers are not intended to be used without water.

"By the way, you can't be entirely sure whether the rice cooker will survive the procedure (without water!) More often -

a drying operation is pretty safe outside the design parameters,

" says the Technical University.

The Münster University of Applied Sciences has also dealt with the question of how useful it is to sterilize FFP2 masks with the help of household appliances such as rice cookers.

According to the website of the University of Applied Sciences, the number of studies on such procedures is limited.

The study authors Li, Redmond, Jones and Donskey had shown in an experiment that compared to dry heat (100 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes), moist heat from the rice cooker (five to eight minutes warm-up phase, then five minutes in the steam) a clear difference causes better germ reduction on the front and back of the masks.

The catch with the study

: the inner layers of the mask were not tested for germs and the filtration performance before and after disinfection was not measured.

According to the Münster University of Applied Sciences, a study from Taiwan is also not very meaningful

.

Taiwanese researchers exposed N95 masks to dry heat of up to 164 degrees Celsius in a rice cooker for around three minutes.

The filter performance remained almost the same after the procedure, but the researchers had cut the masks into pieces before disinfection and did not apply viruses to them.

More on the topic

: FFP2 masks: is the price shock coming now?

Pay attention to this when buying online or in the pharmacy. *

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FFP2 masks do not lose performance after disinfection

A German study by the NMI Natural Science and Medical Institute at the University of Tübingen has also shown:

After several sterilization programs, the material structure of FFP2 and FFP3 protective masks does not change significantly.

In order to simulate an application that was as realistic as possible, the masks at the Tübingen University Hospital were heated up to five times in a row to 121 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

The subsequent examination of the fleece used in the masks under the scanning electron microscope showed that FFP masks can be reused after disinfection without sacrificing filter performance, as reported by the medical specialist portal dzw.

(jg)

 *

Merkur.de, wa.de and 24vita.de are part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network

.

More sources:

https://www.bfarm.de/SharedDocs/Risikoinformationen/Medizinprodukte/DE/schutzmasken.html;

https://www.krankenhaushygiene.de/pdfdata/presse/2020_05_01_spiegel_interview_walger.pdf;

https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/112501/Sterilisierung-von-FFP2-Schutzmasken-er sucht-hohe-Temperaturen

Not only delicious rice!

With the WMF rice cooker with steamer (commercial link) you can cook all common types of rice, quinoa, lentils, chickpeas and vegetables so gently that they contain important nutrients.

You can also misuse the kitchen helper - and use it to disinfect FFP2 masks.

Survey on the subject of corona vaccination

Read more

: Effective corona protection: Should we all wear two masks on top of each other?

Everyday masks and the question of materials

Everyday masks and the question of materials

List of rubric lists: © Sven Hoppe / dpa

Source: merkur

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