Updated info from the CDC

Sterilizing N95 Masks

According to the CDC, steam autoclaves, like the FDA cleared Saniclave Autoclave 200 are recommended for sterilizing N95 masks as well as some other FFR's. FFR's (filtering facepiece respirators) can be reused when properly sterilized. From the CDC: "Disposable filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are not approved for routine decontamination and reuse as standard of care. However, FFR decontamination and reuse may need to be considered as a crisis capacity strategy to ensure continued availability. Based on the limited research available, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, vaporous hydrogen peroxide, and moist heat showed the most promise as potential methods to decontaminate FFRs."



Crisis Standards of Care Decontamination Recommendations

Because ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), vaporous hydrogen peroxide (VHP), and moist heat showed the most promise as potential methods to decontaminate FFRs, researchers, decontamination companies, healthcare systems, or individual hospitals should focus current efforts on these technologies. Specifically, the effectiveness of using these methods should be explored further with specific FFR models based on the manufacturers’ support to better understand the impact on the respirator performance, including filtration and fit. The respirator manufacturer should be consulted about the impact of the method on their respirators prior to considering the use of any method.


Click here for the full text of the CDC report.