The INYM (Argentine National Institute of Yerba Mate) has issued some recommendations for cleaning your mate utensiles during the Covid-19 pandemic. The key points are...

GOURD: Try to use metal or ceramic mate gourds, which are much easier to keep clean. Wash the gourd immediately after each use.

Cleaning of the gourd: The scraping of solid residues, washing with detergent, rinsing, disinfection with bleach or hot water and air drying of all the elements after each use, is of fundamental importance to prevent the spread of COVID19. It is recommended that when you finish drinking, discard the yerba and rinse the gourd, drain and let dry face up. It is a common mistake to leave the yerba in place, since it will prevent the gourd from drying properly and thus promote the formation of fungi.

To clean calabaza or wooden gourds: After drinking mate, it is recommended to wash it with hot water and dry it with kitchen paper, to absorb moisture well.

To clean glass, ceramic, and silicone gourds: It is much easier to keep these gourds clean, because they are made of non-porous materials that do not absorb moisture from the water. In the case of glass or ceramic gourds, you should wait for the gourd to cool down so that it does not break and then wash with tap water.

DRINKING PIPE: The INYM recommends using stainless stell drinking pipes with dismountable filters

To clean the drinking pipe: Wash the pipe after each use. Once a month, carry out a deep cleaning of the pipe by soaking it in boiling water for 20 minutes with two tablespoons of baking soda. You can add a few lemon wedges for a deeper cleaning. You can also use vinegar which will help remove accumulated tartar. Remove the drinking pipes and leave them on a clean cloth until they dry on their own. 

THERMOS FLASK: Similar to drinking pipes thermos flasks lined with porous materials make cleaning and disinfection difficult, or can deteriorate in these processes. The glass cleaning brushes are very useful for removing remove solid residues from the interior.

You can find the original article here (in Spanish only however).. https://yerbamateargentina.org.ar/coronavirus-como-limpiar-mate-termo-y-bombilla/

Source: INYM

Date: 19/03/20