Masks have become an essential part of 2020, and it feels like you can never leave the house without one. Something that isn’t as common is the idea that washing your masks are just as important as wearing them. The CDC recommends that you wash your mask after every day you wear it. 

Medical masks and N95’s are only meant to be worn once, so they should be thrown away after one day. 

If you’re my mom, then you may have a separate counter where you put the dirty masks that need to be washed and the clean masks that have already been washed, but you don’t have to go that far.

The reason it is so important to make sure you are maintaining clean masks is that you can contract similar symptoms to those of COVID-19 from the droplets that accumulate in and on your mask. 

The best way to wash them would be either just throwing them in the washing machine or washing them by hand with laundry detergent or dish soap. Then you can let them air dry, or throw them in the dryer where the heat will eliminate more bacteria.

Protect yourself from your protection; masks need care too. These times are hard, so keep safe and wear your masks!