Dallas mattress-cleaning company using its technology to clean N95 masks for reuse
DALLAS - A Dallas company that typically cleans mattresses is now using its technology to clean N95 masks.
The goal is to limit the risks for medical workers who may have to reuse the masks.
Clean Sleep uses gaseous ozone, a type of ultra-violet light, and heat infrared technology to sanitize N95 masks so they can be used up to 20 times.
Clean Sleep says they use the process to kill 99.99 percent of bacteria and viruses in mattresses and other textiles. But with healthcare workers facing possible shortages of personal protective equipment, the company found they could apply the same process to sanitize protective masks.
According to the company, the sanitation process only takes about 12 minutes. The masks go through a machine and the sanitized masks can then be safely reused by healthcare workers.
The company is currently servicing about 15 hospitals across Texas and hope to grow that number to reach other hospitals as far as Louisiana and Kentucky.
“We're working on a machine that's smaller and faster that we can deploy out to multiple hospitals and utilize on-site,” said Michael Ingle with Clean Sleep. “Right now, we've got mobile machines that were going from hospital to hospital. But ideally at the end of the day, I think that each hospital can be equipped with one of these and service PPE whenever they need it.
Additionally, other local organizations are continuing the donation effort to provide local hospitals with the gear they need to take care of COVID-19 patients.
The Texas Baptist Men on Thursday donated 18,000 masks, 1,000 safety glasses and four pallets of plastic tarps to Baylor Scott & White.
The organization typically responds to areas devastated by natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, providing cleanup supplies and meals. But they’re now donating their supplies to local hospitals to help in the fight against COVID-19.
“We had some resources in our warehouse that we use for disasters, like for flood recovery,” said David Wells with Texas Baptist Men. “We had some safety glasses, some dust masks and some tarping that we're giving to Baylor Scott & White to use on the frontlines of a disaster.”
Last week, the organization says they also donated 15,000 N95 masks to various healthcare professionals and first responders across the state.
The Texas Baptist Men typically use the masks to clean out homes devastated by natural disasters, but say they saw a greater need for those supplies right now.