sterilizing row covers to prevent pathogen carry-over?

My brassicas were heavily infected by black and soft rots and wirestem disease this year. They were all under rowcover material. I'd like to reuse the cover, since it is quite expensive. I do not, however, want to risk pathogen carry-over. Should I sterilize the covers with hot water somehow?

Nobody I can find online is talking about this. I'm guessing that the big operators throw out their rowcover after one season.

Hot water will melt it, you could use bleach but you're better off trying to work out why you got some many fungal diseases and trying to sort that. "big" growers just use it again.

maybe some hot sun? Both sides.

Sun might work, but if there's any sporulated bacteria or fungal spores, they'll be pretty well bulletproof.

I'd say sun it for a few days and then use it on something other than brassicas.

I believe the source of the pathogens aren't so much the row covers, but are in the soil. I think a focus on promoting beneficial soil fungal and bacterial life through such things as quality compost, leaf molds and earth worms & their castings for examples will target the source of the pathogens by keeping them from gaining the upper hand and yield better results in the next growing season compared to just sanitizing row covers. I do think the row covers could indeed harbor dormant pathogenic spores, and while I think sunlight is great at killing actively growing things like molds and some fungals, microbial spores have evolved to survive things like sunlight and go on to live another season. I believe one option that can be effective in sanitizing this row cover is by removing and destroying spores in a brief soak in vinegar, or better, alcohol.

pathogens can be a problem, I learned the hard way long ago in reusing tree and flower pot containers recycled from landscaper projects. they had to be either subject to hard winter freeze or dipped in chlorine bleach bath. pathogens can stick to plastic and survive.