Stanford researchers confirm N95 masks can be sterilized and reused with virtually no loss of filtration efficiency by leaving in the oven for 30 minutes.
Can you share the links to scientific articles, or other publication?
This could be knowledge of practical interest
Can any hospital or health organization run a test? We need time and temperature rates or articles showing ones that have. I am currently using 170F (76.6C) for several hours, but have no data to validate a correct protocol. This is an important question as local hospitals are facing this issues.
It is safest to use protective masks only once. It is important that the mask adheres tightly to your face and that you do not touch the mask with your bare fingers.
Have a nice day. Regards.
Dariusz Prokopowicz
They are designed for safe use once when properly worn. The situation in NYC is that they are wearing them again because they dont have enough. Personnel not wearing masks are asymptomatic carriers of COVID19 in the 5% outlier range in the Wuhan China data analysis. Asymptomatic trauma patients of other injuries are testing positive for COVID19, so the hospital has to deal with an untenable situation.
Thank you for the updated Standford information https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/covid19-PPE-1-2 expresses caution and shows that 70C at 30 minutes worked, but is not recommending that as process They do recommend mask wearing in general public. Thank you for your contributions to this topic.
Sterilizing N-95 type mask may be efficient to reuse it but, personally, I will not feel confident to use it again. I would prefer use a disposable masks rather than recycled or sterilized ones.
research indicates that these masks should not be reused, sterilization damages the filtering properties