Demonstration of a Home Laundering Method for Cloth Facepieces to Achieve Hygienic and Sustainable Reuse

Abstract

Mask shortages during COVID-19 led to the adoption of reusable textile masks; research into their performance and optimal washing conditions can guide domestic laundering to encourage their use, decreasing plastic pollution. The study tested four washing methods for cleaning artificially contaminated facepieces. These conditions included nonbiological detergent at 30°C, Reference Detergent 3 (RD3) at 40°C and 60°C, and fortified RD3 (sodium perborate + tetraacetylethylenediamine) at 40°C. After washing, the facepieces were tumble- or air-dried. The effectiveness was determined by measuring bacteria reduction by standard plate count, achieving a target reduction of ≥99.99% and a benchmark cleanliness requirement (for surgical masks) of ≤ 30 CFU/g (EN 14683: 2019). All met the benchmark except 30°C nonbiological detergent washes with air drying. Oxidative bleach reduced RD3 performance. This research demonstrates that heavily contaminated reusable masks can be effectively decontaminated using domestic machines on a normal wash cycle (40 degrees).

Keywords: face mask; facepiece; laundering; reprocessing; reusable.

Figure 1.

A chart showing the duration and temperature profile of each wash cycle as measured by a temperature probe. Rapid wash 15 (30°C) lasted for 40 min and the maximum temperature achieved as measured by a probe was 26.4°C, Easy care (40°C) lasted for 150 min with a maximum achieved temperature of 45.5°C, and Daily care (60°C) lasted for 150 min with a maximum achieved temperature of 60.5°C. The duration of the actual wash cycle differed from the time noted on the wash program.