It’s hard to tell what’s true with pretty much anything these days. Some things that sound perfectly reasonable often aren’t.
Even something simple like washing reusable face masks.
I have seen things online about sterilizing your mask, which in some ways makes sense. But you know people aren’t doing it. Or at least most people.
Sure, you can wash them by hand, in a solution of bleach, pound it on a rock down by the creek in the bright sunshine and let it dry in the noon day sun, but that’s a bit extreme (and also an exaggeration on my part), but you really don’t have to.
According to the CDC and a couple other very reputable places, all you need to do is toss it in the washer in hot water and regular laundry detergent. Then throw it in the dryer on high heat. You can even wash it with your regular laundry.
Now the CDC and some of those other sites include instructions on hand washing your mask in bleach, but they seem far more concerned with using the right bleach and what you could possibly mix it with, like anything with ammonia, which can produce poisonous chlorine gas then the actual washing procedure.
So I’ll stick with the easy way, thank you. I was a little concerned with proper sterilization, but it turns out the washer and dryer (with hot water and high heat) will take care of that.
For once I’ve been doing something right without even knowing. And without my wife telling me how. This could be a first.
