Cleaning your mask is as important as wearing it

Jim Dawe knows the importance of wearing a mask.

"I've been doing it for a long time," said Dawe, a local retired career Army veteran. "What I didn't know was exactly how to take care of it the right way."

Dawe, who is immune-compromised due to leukemia, has been using a mask for several years to help protect himself against germs that could be devastating to his health.

"What I didn't know was that there is a right way to take care of the masks," said Dawe.

During a routine visit to the Marion VA Medical Center last week, Dawe was given information about mask care.

The Centers for Disease control recommends the wearing of masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

However, just wearing them is not enough. They must be cared for correctly.

According to the CDC, masks should be washed after each wearing. This can be done in a machine or by hand.

In the machine, masks can be included with the regular laundry, using regular laundry detergent and the warmest appropriate water setting for the cloth used to make the mask.

When washing by hand, you should prepare a bleach solution of five tablespoons of household bleach per gallon of room temperature water, or four teaspoons of bleach per quart of room temperature water.

You should also check the label to make sure the bleach is intended for disinfection. Some bleach products, like those that are safe for colored clothes, are not suitable for disinfection.

Soak the mask in the bleach solution for at least five minutes before rinsing thoroughly with cool or room temperature water.

Masks should be dried completely, either in the dryer using the highest heat setting, or air drying flat, preferably in direct sunlight.

It's also important to wash your hands thoroughly after handling a used mask.

"I didn't know a lot of this," said Dawe. "You can bet I'll be doing it better now."