UNMC experts develop process to decontaminate masks used in coronavirus treatment

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Julie Anderson World-Herald staff writer 10 hrs ago

With concerns rising about shortages of protective gear for health care workers, a team from Nebraska Medicine has developed a safe and effective method of decontaminating a highly sought-after type of mask so they can be reused several times.

Instead of tossing what usually are single-use N95 masks, the team has developed a system that involves bagging them, pinning them on wires strung like clotheslines and using ultraviolet light towers to irradiate them.

Just as ultraviolet light can damage human cells, it also disrupts the genetic material of the novel coronavirus and inactivates it, said John Lowe, assistant vice chancellor for interprofessional health security training and education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“The shortage of (protective gear) is a nationwide issue,” Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of UNMC’s infectious diseases division, said in a statement. “Each and every one of these items is increasingly precious. Although we were well-prepared, our supplies were beginning to dwindle. We had to find a way to keep our providers and patients safe, and this will definitely help us achieve that goal.”





Read more: https://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/unmc-experts-develop-process-to-decontaminate-masks-used-in-coronavirus/article_d6a8df62-3c58-51fd-97c0-05ec4cc2c8d1.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. WOW. UV light is used as a disinfectant in dentistry, and in water purifying

We're so brainwashed by disposables and replacement, this should have been seen 2 weeks ago.

[Hoyt]

2. Shouldn't be necessary, but I do like reading of innovations to deal with the reality.

[FailureToCommunicate]

3. So, maybe every indoor pot grower can step up and help with the crisis!

(Just trying to think outside the box here.)

[iluvtennis]

4. Wow, great thinking! nt

[Native]

5. Bought me a Homesoap - a bigger version of the Phonesoap. Does the same thing. I can fit an entire

newspaper in it. I was thinking ahead thanks to a fall that had me on the couch unable to do much else but research back when this was all just beginning.

[rolypolychloe]

6. Just use a CPAP machine cleaner

I dump my homemade cotton masks in the Sleep8 sanitizing bag, along with my CPAP mask and hose. Ozonates the hell out of everything. I am sure other CPAP cleaners would work as well.

[JudyM]

7. What type of cotton fabric is your mask?

[rolypolychloe]

10. mask material

My mask is made of cotton with a cutesy pattern. Butterflies with glitter. The lining is made with muslin, which is the cheapest possible cotton, but is very soft. Used 1/4" glitter elastic. Know how to sew and have sewing machine, so easy peasy. Turns out that if you're young enough or old enough, you can wear whatever you want. I am old enough. Made one for my anime doll also:



Tough crowd where I live. Went into PetSmart wearing white gloves and that mask ( mine is a bit bigger ). Nobody said a thing. Can't be something you see everyday. Rough Crowd.

[JudyM]

12. That is too funny! And cute.

Next time why not take her into the store with you?! And report back here

[rlegro]

8. I had an idle thought about that the other day

A friend of my family uses a C-PAP machine and didn't have a sterilizer machine so we got him one for Christmas. Most involved cleaning fluids of some kind but one used strong UV light and you could put the entire C-PAP hose and mask in there and five minutes later, no organics left undisrupted. The instruction sheet said you could disinfect anything else inorganic that you might fit into the drawer of the unit, like a toothbrush or dentures. Reading of the need to reuse N-95 masks and how medical staff were dousing them with alcohol or other disinfectants and resuing them, it occurred to me that UV might be an option. Masks would fit into my friend's UV machine and the unit only costs about $150. And it works fast.

[Nancy Waterman]

9. This is important good news

We need a bit of hope. this will also be important after the current crisis once we focus again on the environment.

[BlueIdaho]

11. Good For Them!

This is a smart thinking! I hope this can be rolled out across the nation.