Guiding principles for reuse are: Respirators which have been visibly contaminated (e.g. during procedure at intubated patients, such as suction cleaning of airways, taking probes, extubation attempts, etc.) or are damaged or not fitting, should be discarded and cannot be taken for re-use or decontamination procedures. Respirators may be protected by a medical face mask in order to prevent soiling. Use of new ‘expired respirators’ (manufacturers expiry date) is possible if they were properly stored until use.