Impact of washing cycles on the performances of face masks

Charvet, Augustin; Bardin‐Monnier, Nathalie; Thomas, Dominique; Dufaud, Olivier; Pfrimmer, Marielle; Barrault, Mathieu; Bourrous, Soleiman; Mocho, Victor; Ouf, F. X.; Poirier, Stéphane; Jeanmichel, Laurence; Segovia, César; Ferry, Daniel; Grauby, Olivier

doi:10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105914

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…While variable, these results suggest that mask performance declined and may not endure repeated wear/wash cycles well. Results from the machine washing-alone experiment corroborated the notion that washing may decrease material filtration due to loss of electret function ( Grillet et al, 2021 , Charvet et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…The non-woven polypropylene composition of N95, KF94, and KN95 masks underlies their superior performance relative to cloth masks ( Clapp et al, 2021 ), in part from electrostatic properties of the polypropylene fibers, which trap submicron particles. Extended wear and laundering of a disposable mask may degrade its electret function leading to decreased mask performance ( Grillet et al, 2021 , Charvet et al, 2022 ). To address this concern, we evaluated the FFE of four types of facemasks after repeated wear and/or washing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can disposable masks be worn more than once?

Chen

Samet

Tong

et al. 2022

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can disposable masks be worn more than once?

Chen

Samet

Tong

et al. 2022

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

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“…On the other hand, amongst all employed treatments, the steam bag method seems to be the treatment that leads to more statistically significant variations in the contact angle values ( p -value < 0.05), namely for all the KN and CM constituent layer materials. Since FTIR-ATR results did not show any clear chemical modification/degradation of constituent layer materials, the observed changes in contact angle values may be due to some unclear physical and/or morphological surface changes induced in layer materials by the processing methods (e.g., nano- and microfiber leaching, water/vapour sorption/desorption, drying procedures, variation of surface electrostatic charges, temperature variation, extraction of specific processing additives—e.g., repellents, plasticizers), by sample manipulation (e.g., forces/stresses during sample handling which may affect sample morphology), or by the sampling preparation process (e.g., RPD layer materials heterogeneity—in terms of fibre density, porosity, roughness and organization) [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Microbiological Effectiveness of Three Accessible Mask Decontamination Methods and Their Impact on Filtration, Air Permeability and Physicochemical Properties

Lordelo

Botelho

Morais

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The need to secure public health and mitigate the environmental impact associated with the massified use of respiratory protective devices (RPD) has been raising awareness for the safe reuse of decontaminated masks by individuals and organizations. Among the decontamination treatments proposed, in this work, three methods with the potential to be adopted by households and organizations of different sizes were analysed: contact with nebulized hydrogen peroxide (H2O2); immersion in commercial bleach (NaClO) (sodium hypochlorite, 0.1% p/v); and contact with steam in microwave steam-sanitizing bags (steam bag). Their decontamination effectiveness was assessed using reference microorganisms following international standards (issued by ISO and FDA). Furthermore, the impact on filtration efficiency, air permeability and several physicochemical and structural characteristics of the masks, were evaluated for untreated masks and after 1, 5 and 10 cycles of treatment. Three types of RPD were analysed: surgical, KN95, and cloth masks. Results demonstrated that the H2O2 protocol sterilized KN95 and surgical masks (reduction of >6 log10 CFUs) and disinfected cloth masks (reduction of >3 log10 CFUs). The NaClO protocol sterilized surgical masks, and disinfected KN95 and cloth masks. Steam bags sterilized KN95 and disinfected surgical and cloth masks. No relevant impact was observed on filtration efficiency.

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“…The use of supercritical CO 2 for microorganisms’ inactivation was suggested to develop a protocol for cleaning and sterilization of FFP2 masks, preserving the filtration performances up to 10 cycles of application [ 21 ]. Charvet et al investigated the impact of different washing procedures on both surgical and FFP2 masks, showing that the modifications of surface properties and fibrous structure after washing affected the performance of the masks, particularly for the filtration of submicronic particles [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Experimental Analysis of Five Household Equipment-Based Methods for Decontamination and Reuse of Surgical Masks

Scaglione

Falco

Mantova

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The current coronavirus pandemic has increased worldwide consumption of individual protective devices. Single-use surgical masks are one of the most used devices to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Nevertheless, the improper management of such protective equipment threatens our environment with a new form of plastic pollution. With the intention of contributing to a responsible policy of recycling, in the present work, five decontamination methods for used surgical masks that can be easily replicated with common household equipment are described. The decontamination procedures were hot water at 40 °C and 80 °C; autoclave; microwave at 750 W; and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation. After each decontamination procedure, the bacterial load reduction of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 was recorded to verify the effectiveness of these methods and, moreover, bacterial filtration efficiency and breathability tests were performed to evaluate mask performances. The best results were obtained with the immersion in 80 °C water and the microwave-assisted sterilization. Both methods achieved a high degree of mask decontamination without altering the filtration efficiency and breathability, in accordance with the quality standard. The proposed decontamination methods represent a useful approach to reduce the environmental impact of this new waste material. Moreover, these procedures can be easily reproduced with common household equipment to increase the recycling efforts.

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Impact of washing cycles on the performances of face masks

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

Can disposable masks be worn more than once?

Can disposable masks be worn more than once?

Evaluation of the Microbiological Effectiveness of Three Accessible Mask Decontamination Methods and Their Impact on Filtration, Air Permeability and Physicochemical Properties

An Experimental Analysis of Five Household Equipment-Based Methods for Decontamination and Reuse of Surgical Masks

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