Max Minute: Caring For Your Own Protective Equipment And Following 'Corona Etiquette'
By Dr. Max Gomez
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - You're supposed to wear a facial covering whenever you go outside, and they're supposed to be disposable, use once and toss - but they can be hard to find and pricey if you're going out often.
Let's talk about cleaning and re-using your personal "personal protective equipment," or PPE. This is only about at home PPEs, not hospital or healthcare worker equipment.
To begin with, never put any PPE in the microwave to disinfect it, especially not any paper product. It can catch fire or just burn holes in it, rendering it useless.
MORE: Experts Offer Tips On Best Way To Sanitize Clothes, Surfaces
Likewise, putting masks in the freezer will not kill any corona germs that might have landed on them.
Paper masks are not washable, so putting them in the dishwasher or washing machine will just destroy them.
So what do you do?
First, treat your mask like the life-saver it might be. Don't shove it in your pocket. Take it off carefully when you get home, don't touch the front and hang it up to dry.
You can try spraying a little rubbing alcohol on it, but let it evaporate before wearing it.
Once your paper mask starts to fall apart, switch to a cloth mask or bandana. You can wash those daily if you've been wearing it a lot.
MORE ON YOUR PPE
As for gloves, wash or use hand sanitizer on them before you take them off. Then you can wash them when they're turned inside out.
Do this thoroughly for at least several minutes and make sure they're dry before wearing them again, but toss them when they develop holes or tears.
Mandatory or not, it's just a good idea to wear a mask outdoors. Call it "corona etiquette," showing others you don't want to infect them and it might even protect you a little bit.
For the top questions people have been asking about the coronavirus, visit cbsnewyork.com/max, and go to facebook.com/cbsnewyork to submit your question.
