How to safely reuse your sanitary and N95 face masks

Assistant Prof Dr Thaya Kittiyakorn from Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, and Suratchanee Sawetsila, Director of Drugs and Narcotics Office at Department of Medical Sciences, revealed their research result that UV-C sterilisers could effectively kill germs, including the Covid-19 contagion, on sanitary and N95 face masks, making them safe for reuse.
“The UV-C sterilisers are commonly available at medical equipment stores and they could help reduce the mask shortage problem that medical staff all over the world are facing,” said Thaya.
“Using UV-C radiation can sterilise masks without damaging or straining the fiber. Although sterilisers can clean a face mask up to eight times, we recommend reusing a face mask only four times before throwing it away for sanitary reason.”
They added that they had recommended to the Ministry of Public Health to provide UV-C sterilisers to hospitals nationwide, as well as sourcing for additional manufacturers both domestic and overseas to prepare for increased demand in the future.