How do you wash your masks?

[albustydumbledore]

Posting for traffic.

Hot wash?
Reg wash?

Would soaking in boiling water be enough?

Hand wash in warm water in the sink for 5 min. If 20 seconds kills it on your hands I think 5 mins should be ok.

I agree with pp i can't imagine not washing them. Even the surgical ones start to smell a bit - 'breathy' after a second or third wear

I usually do mine with hot water and soap at the sink when I am washing my hands as I come home. Generally for about a minute just to be sure, but not every time I use them, sometimes I put them on the shelf and they stay for a few days and auto quarantine.

Just in a normal 40 degree wash

I've just been chucking them in the washing machine in a laundry bag, for the next wash that comes along.

But checking this, maybe I should be doing them in hotter water and drying them in sunlight when possible.

You should wash your fabric coverings after every use. That might sound like a lot, but the good news is you can put them in the washing machine with the rest of your clothes.
Bandanas, face scarves and coverings made of fabric, like cotton, can be washed in your regular laundry using hot water, says US-based Johns Hopkins Medicine.
You should wash it on the warmest appropriate water setting, but that depends on the type of material it's made from. Or you can hand wash them in hot, soapy water - scrubbing them for at least 20 seconds.
After washing, tumble dry them on a high setting and store in a clean place. If you are air drying, keep them flat and try to dry them in direct sunlight
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53395513

I think the washing machine would ruin them (they're handmade), so I soak them in Woolite for an hour in very warm water and then scrub them.

Our company makes available lots of disposable masks, but I find 100% much more breathable.

I don't bother. I have 20 masks I rotate. I leave them to "air" long enough for any Covid bugs to disappear.

*100% cotton

@PanamaPattie but there will be residue from your lips on the masks.

When I say I should be washing them hotter... most of my washes are at 30 degrees, so I could just increase to 40.

Stick them in with a regular wash. As a pp said if soap and water is enough for my hands then it's enough for my masks considering they're only to stop me breathing or coughing on other people.

You should wash your fabric coverings after every use. What's a use, a day? Or every time you take it off? I don't wash my underwear every time I pull it down to go to the loo, why a face covering?

60 degree wash

I keep mine in a drawstring bag and put it on in at the shop doorway and back in the bag when I leave, wash it in the bag with laundry disinfectant and hang it on the airer by the drawstring to dry.

I don't wash unless been wearing for an hour or so. 5 mins on and quarantine in a plastic bag. Use a different mask

I literally never have

After every time I've worn it, 40c normal wash and dettol laundry stuff

@HappyPunky

I keep mine in a drawstring bag and put it on in at the shop doorway and back in the bag when I leave, wash it in the bag with laundry disinfectant and hang it on the airer by the drawstring to dry.

I do this too. Don't want to put handwashed masks back in handbag without some protection

We use disposable on the very rare occasion we need them but dd has fabric ones. She chucks them in her washing basket and they just get washed In with the rest of her washing every couple of days when she puts a wash load on.

Def iron them after washing to kill any germs

Surely the detergent kills any germs? I'm not ironing them

If adults posting on a parenting website can't be arsed to use masks properly, what hope have we got? 🙇🏻‍♀️

Chuck them in the machine with whatever else I'm washing, air dry and then as they are cotton fabric I give them a quick iron before putting them in their little pouches ready for wearing again.

@whirlwindwallaby

You should wash your fabric coverings after every use. What's a use, a day? Or every time you take it off? I don't wash my underwear every time I pull it down to go to the loo, why a face covering?

Yes but you're not seeing in them are you? Surely if you were, you'd change them frequently?

I've not washed mine yet but I plan to stick it in the regular wash when I remember to bring it in from the car...