Do you have to wash your COVID-19 mask every time you wear it? Yes, and here’s how
You there with the cloth mask hanging from your car mirror. Thank you for masking up to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in your community.
But we have to ask: When was the last time you washed that thing?
You should be washing it after each time you wear it.
“If you just lay it on your couch or put it in your closet and then put it on again in a couple of days, just think about all the microbes that have been growing in the weave of the fabric,” New York City dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe told CNN.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends washing cloth face coverings after each use. Beauty experts, too, say frequent washing will help prevent acne from popping out on your face in those places where the mask rubs. (There’s even a new word for that condition: “Maskne.” It’s so 2020.)
“Cloth face coverings should be washed after each use,” the CDC says. “It is important to always remove face coverings correctly and wash your hands after handling or touching a used face covering.”
You can throw it in with your other laundry and use regular detergent, and the warmest water that is safe for the fabric, the CDC says.
If you’re washing it by hand, the CDC suggests using one of these bleach mixtures:
▪ 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) household bleach per gallon of room temperature water
Or …
▪ 4 teaspoons household bleach per quart of room temperature water.
Soak the mask in the bleach solution for five minutes, then rinse thoroughly with cool or room temperature water, the agency advises.
Then be sure to completely dry it.
In the dryer, use the highest heat setting. To air dry it, lay it flat and leave it until it’s completely dry. “If possible, place the cloth face covering in direct sunlight,” the CDC recommends.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 10:44 AM.
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