Reuse of N95 Respirators

• CDC - In this video we demonstrate potential approaches for donning and doffing of an N95 filtering facepiece respirator in a Limited Reuse situation. This video was developed based on the CDC guidelines for NIOSH approved N95 respirators.

• Partnering with Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) and the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, researchers tested four different types of N95 masks with four different sterilization methods. In this video we demonstrate potential approaches for donning and doffing of an N95 filtering facepiece respirator in a Limited Reuse situation. This video was developed based on the CDC guidelines for NIOSH approved N95 respirators. Those methods included repeated cycles of standard autoclaving, ethylene oxide gassing, ionized hydrogen peroxide fogging, and vaporized hydrogen peroxide treatment.

• Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation ~ Potential Processes to Eliminate Coronavirus from N95 Mask. The APSF recognizes that there is great interest and need for re-using N95 masks during this period of mask shortages. A variety of cleaning and decontamination processes have been reported. The CDC provides guidance on the short-term and long-term re-use of N95 masks.

• It may be possible to reduce or eliminate coronavirus from N95 masks. Three documented approaches to decontaminating coronavirus from N95 masks include the use of hot air and/or room air drying, ultraviolet light, and hydrogen peroxide vapor-linked processing.

• Michigan State University is using a new method to clean and reuse N95 masks. More details regarding this method are in this video.