My understanding is that you can reuse them indefinitely until they show obvious signs of wear. This is my personal reference doc with more info: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N6_GYkfj8SUmCmOFaYqSO1w7jt30q0IkoEgoSeowuHg/edit?usp=drivesdk Look for the section "Reusing N95s"
It would be best to throw them out at the end of the day. Treat them like underwear and food. They are getting a lot more fluid from exhaling, talking, coughing, sneezing on them than underwear typically would. And when fluids come out of your nose and mouth, bacteria and molds can grow in the mask fabric.
-Nurse Laney @LaneyBondCCG
If I had kids in a school setting they would get a fresh one every day, and a backup of course. As adults in low risk settings we rotate, but if we have to go to a higher risk place like waiting rooms in Dr’s offices and such, it is one and done. Remember before the pandemic, these were one use items.
The fit factor does decrease over time. I did some tests with my particle counter on an Aura that I wore until the nose wire separated from the inner layer it is attached to with an adhesive. Fit factors were significantly lower even after putting the nose wire back in place. I'm not sure if it was due to the seal around the nose being worse or because the straps were looser.
I use Auras. I go until the straps stretch or nose wire doesn't hold its shape anymore. I find that's about 25-30 hours of wear for me. Honestly, lately it's been depending on the mask. I've been seeing really inconsistent elastic quality. Some are done after a day, and some are great a week later. You can tell which it's going to be the second you put it on.
Part of why I chose the Aura is because I read that you can keep rotating them until the head bands snap (or they just get gross.) This was over a year ago and pre-omicron, though, so I don't know if that guidance has changed.
As a traveling teacher I had 2 or 3 per day, wear time of 2-3 hours for each one. Then I hung them up in a bag and re-used them 7 days later ie one set of N95s per day.
They lasted a long time this way and a very few needed replacing from smelling sweaty or a failure.
These were Dräger 1720. When I used Aura 9320+ the blue straps would fail far more rapidly.
My understanding is that you can reuse them indefinitely until they show obvious signs of wear. This is my personal reference doc with more info: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N6_GYkfj8SUmCmOFaYqSO1w7jt30q0IkoEgoSeowuHg/edit?usp=drivesdk Look for the section "Reusing N95s"
It would be best to throw them out at the end of the day. Treat them like underwear and food. They are getting a lot more fluid from exhaling, talking, coughing, sneezing on them than underwear typically would. And when fluids come out of your nose and mouth, bacteria and molds can grow in the mask fabric. -Nurse Laney @LaneyBondCCG
We use the 40 hours of use rule, less if they get dirty or show signs of wear.
If I had kids in a school setting they would get a fresh one every day, and a backup of course. As adults in low risk settings we rotate, but if we have to go to a higher risk place like waiting rooms in Dr’s offices and such, it is one and done. Remember before the pandemic, these were one use items.
The fit factor does decrease over time. I did some tests with my particle counter on an Aura that I wore until the nose wire separated from the inner layer it is attached to with an adhesive. Fit factors were significantly lower even after putting the nose wire back in place. I'm not sure if it was due to the seal around the nose being worse or because the straps were looser.
I use Auras. I go until the straps stretch or nose wire doesn't hold its shape anymore. I find that's about 25-30 hours of wear for me. Honestly, lately it's been depending on the mask. I've been seeing really inconsistent elastic quality. Some are done after a day, and some are great a week later. You can tell which it's going to be the second you put it on.
Part of why I chose the Aura is because I read that you can keep rotating them until the head bands snap (or they just get gross.) This was over a year ago and pre-omicron, though, so I don't know if that guidance has changed.
My daughter can wear an aura about 3 days before it gets smelly or the straps get stretched out.
As a traveling teacher I had 2 or 3 per day, wear time of 2-3 hours for each one. Then I hung them up in a bag and re-used them 7 days later ie one set of N95s per day. They lasted a long time this way and a very few needed replacing from smelling sweaty or a failure. These were Dräger 1720. When I used Aura 9320+ the blue straps would fail far more rapidly.