How to properly clean your masks

As alabama's restrictions to help stop the spread of coronavirus continue, a lot of us will keep on wearing cloth masks and facial coverings when we go out in public.

Waay 31's casey albritton has more on how you can sanitize cloth masks and safely reuse them the alabama department of public health tells me when it comes to cloth masks-- the best thing to do is wash them--just like you would a t- shirt or other clothing items. megan ehemann/ madison mask makers "i have a compromised immune system and i don't want to risk getting sick."

Megan ehemann founded the madison mask makers group on facebook... she makes cloth masks for those who need them.

"a lot of people don't even know if they are a carrier of covid-19 so wearing a mask could protect everybody."

She says it's important to wash masks regularly.

"it's really easy to clean.

There are no special rules."

Doctor karen landers with the alabama department of public health tells me you should wash your mask every day.

You can either put the mask in a washing machine with normal laundry detergent-- and then put it the dryer or hand-wash it with soap and water and then hang it up to dry.

"make sure that you remove the nose piece if there's a nose piece in there.

It's a wire.

The only reason for that is to make sure you don't lose it."

Another method of sanitizing masks is being passed around online-- it includes putting the mask in a paper bag in a warm area for two days to kill germs. doctor landers says she does not recommend doing this--and washing is a more reliable option.

Ehemann says if you're washing the masks you wear...you're doing your part to protect those around you.

"we're going to be able to go out a little bit more starting thursday because more places will be open.

I think it's so much more important to understand the importance of wearing a mask" if you're using a coffee filter as an extra level of protection in your mask, make sure you throw it away after every use.

Reporting in huntsville, casey albritton, waay 31 news.

Doctor landers tells us n-95 masks shouldn't be washed at home-- companies distributing them are in charge of making sure those masks are sanitized for employees.