FFP2 masks are single-use products that manufacturers claim must be disposed of after use.
However, there are ways and means of using them more often.
FFP2 masks are more expensive to buy than conventional surgical masks.
This is also because the material of the masks is better at filtering potentially pathogenic particles from the air.
FFP2 masks have a filter performance of at least 94 percent, as the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) informs.
In the recommendations of the BfArM it says about FFP2 masks: “Intended as single-use products.
Change and dispose of them regularly! ”However, there are official recommendations for action that make multiple use of FFP masks possible.
In addition to disinfection by drying for seven days in room air *, the University of Applied Sciences also recommends disinfecting in a dry heat of 80 degrees Celsius.
It should only take an hour before an FFP2 mask can be used again after wearing - if you put it in the oven at 80 degrees Celsius and then let it cool down well.
Corona viruses would be completely inactivated within 60 minutes in the oven
, according to the Münster University of Applied Sciences.
The filter performance of the masks is retained, but the elastic bands of the mask could lose traction.
Nevertheless, the scientific staff of the Münster School of Health at the Münster University of Applied Sciences recommend disinfecting FFP masks in a dry heat of 80 degrees Celsius so that masks can be used several times.
However, the procedure cannot be repeated indefinitely.
Also read
: Disinfect and reuse FFP2 masks at home: Lauterbach also recommends the following procedure.
In the video: More tips on how to use FFP2 masks again
Wear FFP2 masks five times - by disinfecting at 80 degrees Celsius in the oven
This is how you can use your FFP mask again:
Preheat your oven to 80 degrees Celsius with top and bottom heat.
Place the FFP2 masks to be disinfected on a clean oven shelf lined with baking paper or a grid.
The masks must be dry.
Put the oven rack or grid in the preheated oven.
The distance between the masks and the top and bottom of the furnace should be about ten centimeters.
“Leave the FFP2 mask in the closed oven for 60 minutes, please do not open it in between.
After 60 minutes, turn off the oven and then let the mask cool down on the rack outside the oven.
In this way, the mask should only be reprocessed five times and then disposed of with household waste, ”says the Münster University of Applied Sciences guidelines.
The scientists from Münster raise concerns that they measured temporal temperature fluctuations between 65 and 135 degrees Celsius in ovens despite a setting of 80 degrees.
Therefore, according to them, the correct temperature setting should be checked with a roasting or oven thermometer before disinfecting the masks
.
100 degrees Celsius should not be exceeded even in the short term.
(jg)
*
Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network
.
More sources: https://www.bfarm.de/SharedDocs/Risikoinformationen/Medizinprodukte/DE/schutzmasken.html
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