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When putting on or taking off a mask, handle it past the edges or straps to avert contamination. Grace Cary via Getty Images

With the highly contagious omicron variant of Covid-19 raging beyond the country, public health experts are encouraging Americans to upgrade their masks from textile face coverings to an N95 or KN95 mask.

Just these face masks can just be reused for a short flow of time, leaving many wondering if and how they can safely reuse their N95 or KN95 face mask. Here are tips from experts on getting the most out of your KN95 or N95 mask:

Utilize Skillful Form

When putting on a new mask, check for a snug fit around the mouth, nose, and chin. Most N95 or KN95 masks are fabricated of a material-like web of synthetic polymer fibers designed to ensnare virus particles. The main difference between the two masks is that N95 masks are the standard in the United States, while KN95s are the standard in Mainland china. N95s are too approved for use in medical settings in the U.S.

Once your mask is on, avoid touching your mask as much as possible. I common error is pulling downwards a mask to talk to others, which creates multiple opportunities for contamination. When taking your mask off, continue away from the front and inside of the mask. Instead, handle it past the edges or straps. Afterwards removing your mask, thoroughly wash or sanitize your easily.

"Definitely avoid the part right in front of where yous exhale, like correct in forepart of your nose and oral fissure," says Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental technology at Virginia Tech, to Kristen Rogers for CNN.

Have a Sanitation Break

Dissimilar the cloth masks recommended earlier in the pandemic, N95 or KN95 masks can't only be tossed in the laundry. Because the masks take a special static charge that traps viruses, they should never be washed.

Virus particles trapped in the respirator will die off over the class of hours to days, and then experts recommend letting an N95 or KN95 mask hang out in a cool, dry identify for a solar day or ii between outings.

A simple method for implementing this resting flow between uses is to put your mask in a brown newspaper bag for 24 to 48 hours before using it again.

"The business organisation about wearing a mask in public, evidently, if you get particles on information technology, perhaps fifty-fifty the virus, only if you store it in a dry pocketbook, y'all are essentially sanitizing again over a period of time," says Joe Gastaldo, an infectious disease expert at OhioHealth, to the Miami Herald's Bailey Aldridge.

Sabrina Assoumou, an infectious affliction physician at Boston Medical Center, recommends having multiple masks in a rotation, and then each mask tin can have a sanitation break between uses. Individuals tin can then characterization the numberless accordingly to keep track of each mask.

"For an N95, we'd recommend you lot switch [the mask] every day," says Assoumou to Felicity Warner for USA Today. "But, yous tin can rotate them. If y'all have three masks, [for example], y'all could number them and switch them around."

Check for Wear and Tear

Considering masks deteriorate at dissimilar rates, information technology'southward a good idea to regularly check a mask'southward fit and part before y'all utilize information technology. Look for signs of stretched-out straps, stains, soiling, or fraying of the mask—all of which compromise its ability to filter out Covid-19.

The longer and more frequently yous vesture an N95 mask, the more contaminated information technology can become, and the sooner information technology volition need to be replaced. A front end-line worker wearing an N95 mask for a mean solar day-long shift may detect their mask is compromised after i employ, while someone dining with a mask or wearing one for a trip to the grocery store may find they can go multiple uses out of it.

"If you're rotating your masks, washing your easily and storing them well, y'all tin can get five to a little bit more than uses with them," Gastaldo says to USA Today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using N95 respirators for no more than than five uses, noting that each time an N95 is removed and put back on, it weakens and stretches the masks' straps. Per CDC guidance, health intendance workers should not reuse respirators.

"Really, it'southward going to get gross from your face or the straps will get too loose or maybe break before you're going to lose filtration ability," Marr says to CNN.

Known When It Has to Get

Both N95 and KN95 masks can't be reused forever, and then you'll have to know when it's time to toss it. There is no hard-and-fast deadline—the masks' effectiveness declines over time—but experts say if the mask is visibly dirty or damaged, stained, or gets damp, information technology'due south time to let it go.

Whatsoever fourth dimension someone comes in shut contact with an individual infected with Covid-19, they should opt for a new N95 or KN95 face mask.

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Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-reuse-a-kn95-or-n95-mask-experts-say-yes-but-follow-these-steps-180979404/