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Sanitizing Basics: Why You Should Treat Your Cloth Mask Like Your Underwear

August 27, 2020

The cloth mask has already secured its place in history as a hero of the COVID-19 pandemic. May history forget that this hero is also just another piece of dirty laundry that requires regular, and careful, washing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a champion of the cloth mask, recommends washing your mask after each use. It’s OK to toss it into the washing machine with the rest of your laundry, with your favorite detergent and at the warmest setting suitable for your mask’s material. When using a dryer, the CDC also suggests using the highest heat setting until the mask is fully dry.

One problem with that: An all-cotton mask could emerge from dryer shrunken so dramatically that the straps won’t even reach your ears. Air drying, preferably flat with some exposure to direct sunlight, will minimize shrinking.

Washing by hand might extend the life of your mask.

The CDC’s recommendations:

  • Use bleach with 5.25 percent to 8.25 percent sodium hypochlorite (another term for liquid bleach). Check the container before using to make sure the product has not expired.
  • Do not mix with household bleach with ammonia or other cleanser. Mixing and bleach and ammonia releases toxic chloramine gas that can irritate your eyes, nose, throat and lungs. If exposed to this mixture, leave the contaminated area and seek fresh air.
  • Ensure adequate ventilation.

Making the Bleach Solution

  • Big jobs: Add 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) of the 5.25 percent to 8.25 percent bleach to a gallon of room-temperature water.
  • Little jobs: Ad 4 teaspoons of bleach to a quart of room-temperature water.
  • Soak the mask in the solution for 5 minutes.
  • Rinse the mask with cool or room-temperature water.
  • Pour the bleach solution down the drain.
  • Allow the mask to dry completely.

Not feeling well? Call your healthcare provider for guidance and try to avoid going directly to an emergency department or urgent care center, as this could increase the chances of the disease spreading.

Click here to schedule a virtual visit with a Hartford HealthCare-GoHealth Urgent Care provider.

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