Fire departments around the country warn the people not to sanitize their face masks in the microwave because it can start a fire.
People have recently shared images of their burned face masks after following scientists' advice to put them in the microwave to kill the germs.
'There are reports of masks being sanitized in microwaves, this is a major fire hazard, please DO NOT place masks in the microwave for any period,' Arlington Fire Department tweeted on Monday with a snap of a burned mask.
Similarly, the Reading Fire Department in Massachusetts warned about the "troubling trend." "People don't know that there is metal inside the mask to help you shape it to your nose. Microwaving a mask could cause your microwave to catch fire!", officials said on the tweet said.
The NH State Fire Marshal's Office (NHFMO) echoed that putting masks in the microwave "is a fire hazard and an extremely bad idea." They added that cloth masks can scorch quickly and catch fire while wires in disposable masks can cause sparks and "break your microwave."
A nurse from Lincoln Hospital wearing a protective face mask picks up packages of free food during a food rescue operation run by City Harvest during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 22, 2020.
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Why do People believe Microwave Can Sanitize their Face Masks?
These people refer to the study made by German scientists that says temperatures of 56-60° C using a home microwave of 2.45gHz for just three minutes were enough to inactivate polio and parainfluenza viruses on cloth. The latter is similar to coronavirus.
Also, they recommended microwaving cigarette filters and syringes at 600 watts for two minutes or more to kill HIV and Hepatitis C.
However, the CDC recommends sterilizing masks with detergent in the washing machine. They advise proper cleaning depends on the frequency of use.
The government has asked that N95 respirator masks be reserved for medical frontliners while residents may use disposable surgical masks instead, although the latter is recommended for one-time use.
Meanwhile, the CDC also recommends making bandanas and t-shirt masks.
According to an ABC/Ipsos survey released on April 10, 55% of adults reported wearing masks out in public as it has now become a habit of Americans.
Wearing masks is now mandatory in many US grocery stores, doctors' offices, and wine shops. Many are following official orders to when they leave home and cannot maintain social distancing to avoid disease spread.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has issued an executive order that all New Yorkers must wear masks or face coverings in public while keeping a social distance of six feet. Also, Governor Murphy of New Jersey ordered all customers and employees in grocery stores to wear face masks.
Similar rules have been rolled out across California, in Maryland and Illinois, and other cities and counties across the country.
Recently, the NBA and Women's National Basketball Association have officially started selling cloth face coverings with NBA and WNBA t-shirts with logos from all 30 men's teams and 12 women's teams for $15 each. The proceeds will benefit Feeding America in the United States and Second Harvest in Canada.
Nevertheless, for people ordering their cloth mask from small companies, they may not be aware of the wiring inside.
Meanwhile, the CDC said that said wearing a face cover can help protect against the virus. However, the World Health Organization said there is no proof of this, although officials have adopted a better safe than sorry approach when responding to the new coronavirus.
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Burning Cash
In China, a woman got into trouble as she also put her money in a microwave to have it sanitized. The money got burned, so he had to bring it to the bank, hoping to get a refund for it. Fortunately, the woman got her money bank.
