Your wallet and the planet will thank you if you wash and reuse your surgical masks against Covid-19
Not so disposable after all. According to UFC-Que Choisir, surgical masks used as a barrier for the coronavirus Covid-19, are reusable many times over. “ Our express test on three models purchased in supermarkets and drugstores shows that after ten machine washes at 60 ° C, surgical masks, theoretically disposable, retain excellent filtration capacities”, reports the association of consumers.
Despite the high-temperature washes, UFC-Que Choisir notes that the masks remain “well above the minimum requirements for fabric masks bearing the official Afnor / DGA filtration guarantee”, which serves as a reference. According to the test, after ten washes at 60 ° C, the masks would lose only 0 to 8% of their capacity to filter particles.
Even after drying and ironing
Tumble drying and gentle ironing at the lowest iron setting of the masks will not deteriorate the filtering quality either. “Despite a slight felting, washed surgical masks are therefore on par, and beyond, with the most efficient fabric masks bearing the Afnor / DGA guarantee. “
“The masks also remain breathable enough to be worn for several hours without too much discomfort,” adds the association. It, therefore, concludes that contrary to official instructions, but together with what researchers had already discovered without publishing the results of their experiments, “the reuse of surgical masks for non-medical use is therefore possible without compromising their performance”.
