Posted on 03/19/2020 7:50:23 PM PDT by familyop
Wow! With that machine, you can become a home factory fast for popular or needed items like masks!
I have tried to buy disposable gloves locally and on Amazon. There are none to be had.
My primary concern is pumping gas.
I have found an alternative. The the narrow plastic bags that newspapers come in work fine for short tasks.
Yes. You can also go USSR old school and keep heavy duty dishwashing gloves handy. You can sterilize them with a spray bottle of 1-32 bleach-water as often as you need.
For some tasks, I use paper towels, like grabbing bathroom doors or gas pump handles. Most gas stations still have paper towels.
Bumpy
I would assume people are stealing them now, so don't count on that.
Ping!
And here I thought you were talking about how money is so filthy and is a common way of passing germs that most people forget about.
I see that doctor's offices are getting rid of their USNews and McCall's magazines from 1979 out of their waiting rooms.
My take**:
Pump gas, then use hand sanitizer. Wipe door handle too, with sanitizer or alcohol wetted paper towel (piece of).
(I’m still finding sanitizer in stores, but the supply is very spotty. It should improve - much easier to make than N95 media. We have a modestly good supply on hand.)
I agree with other posters: A sturdy paper towel + 70% alcohol makes a pretty good “wipe”, too. Ditto for a very lightweight dishcloth (can be reused, of course.)
Until it clogs, a N95 mask (I only have 5, and 3 are at my Mom’s with my wife) can be warmed for reuse for 20 minutes @ 165 deg. F. No virus will survive that. I’ve not found a toaster oven that has a 165 deg. adjustment in the “bake” setting, but, our “digital” Oster oven has a “warm” function that according to our stand alone oven thermometer (reasonably accurate) is exactly 165 deg. I set it at 25 minutes, add mask at 20 minutes. Let coast for 10 minutes after shutoff if practical or if one is just paranoid or if enclosing mask in a oven safe container. Keep mask spaced well away from elements. This Oster oven appears to run the elements themselves at a reduced power on “warm”, instead of cycling them more often at a “red hot” temp. (It’d only take a few seconds of intense infrared radiation to heat something as light and thin as a mask to destructive temperature.) Placement in a heavy oven safe container should help flatten “peaks”, but if in doubt, do an “empty oven” (except for the thermometer) test run first, and observe the elements. If using a heat gun, use a dark color non-glossy object as the heated test item, for more accurate readings. A small pan of water in there also, to create a more humid environment, is not a bad idea.
If I knew exactly what materials the N95 masks were made of, I’d suggest a materials’ heat pre-test too. But, I could not readily find that info.
To reduce clogging, in my one time out in stores so far (since any COVID-19 cases within 50 miles, still none in our county), I used my wife’s scarf 4x folded over, over my mask, as a prefilter. Got a couple bemused looks.
Doggone masks with “prefilter” are hot if one is active (walking), even in 60 deg. F temps. Gonna be a real bugger in summer.
**YMMV. The usual disclaimer applies to the above!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.