ROANOKE, Va. (WSET) -- Officials with the Roanoke Fire-EMS are warning residents that it is not safe to sanitize their cloth masks by microwaving them.
Roanoke Fire-EMS says social media can produce mass misinformation when it comes to the truth, and that is no different during this pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
They say there has been a message going around stating that you can microwave your cloth mask to disinfect it, which is NOT true. This method is not recommended for proper decontamination and it may also cause a fire.
More on this story from our media partner, ABC 13 - WSET.