How To Care For Masks To Prevent The Spread Of COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- For those wearing masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic, it's important to know each type has different requirements for how to clean it and how long it can be worn.

"The reason I'd ask of the public to wear a mask is trying to contain your own respiratory secretion," UI Chicago Infection Prevention Director Dr. Susan Bleasdale.

But how long can they be worn before they are no good?

CBS 2's Steven Graves asked Bleasdale about the homemade ones, the bandanas or old t-shirts that are likely taken off and thrown on the counter.

"It's probably best to wash it every day," Bleasdale said. "You wash your hands before you put it on. You take it off and wash your hands. And then wash it at the end of the day so you can use it the next day."

Surgical masks feel secure on the face but are still loose-fitting.

"It could be potentially be reused the next day as long as it's clean, you're washing your hands when you're putting it on and taking it off. But when it becomes worn, torn, soiled, you would throw it away," Bleasdale said.

The N-95 respirator masks are most ideal for medical staff because they are tighter around the face. The U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention recommends those be thrown out after contamination, wear and tear or becoming loose, but due to a shortage, medical workers are finding ways for them to last longer.

"For the public, it's probably not necessary to have an N-95 because that's more about protecting you than containing your respiratory secretions," Bleasdale said. "And with social distancing, you really should not be coming in close contact with someone with known COVID."

It's most important to wash your hands before and after use of the masks, and by no means does wearing one eliminate the need to social distance by staying at least six feet apart.