Approved and reusable. These are these hygienic masks that protect against Covid and are manufactured in Spain.
Spanish textiles have responded vigorously to the pandemic with innovation and efficiency. Faced with the banning of all masks without homologation by the consumer, Kausi explains what you should look for when choosing a safe model that contributes to the reduction of waste emissions, like his.
A year ago, almost the time that separates us from the beginning of the pandemic, we did not imagine that the mandatory use of masks was going to be part of our days. Much has been speculated since then about the different types that exist (hygienic, surgical, FFP1, FFP2, FFP3, anti-dust or homemade, reusable...) and how to use them, as well as their effectiveness against the Covid-19 virus.
The Government and the OCU have spoken, and not only do they agree that, in our country, if you are not a health professional or do not develop risk activities related to Covid-19 you do not need the FFP2 model to protect yourself from contagion (unless medically indicated), but we have approved hygienic masks whose filtration efficiency exceeds 95%.
THE ATTRIBUTES THAT CONFIRM ITS EFFICIENCY
Approved hygienic masks are those recommended by the Ministry of Health for use by the healthy population, always accompanied by measures of social distancing, ventilation and hand washing during the coronavirus pandemic.
KAUSI masks are composed of a 100% polyester microfibre outer layer and a 100% cotton inner layer, both comfortable and breathable. Their bacterial filtration efficiency exceeds 95% and their breathability indexes are less than 60 Pa/cm2, as indicated by homologation criteria. KAUSI masks are approved at European level by Eurofins, one of the few multinational networks of laboratories accredited by ISO/IEC 17025. In addition, they have an unchanging efficiency up to 25 washes.
BUT WHY DO OTHER EU COUNTRIES FORCE THE USE OF FFP2?
The textile industry in Spain is highly developed, more so than elsewhere in Europe. The national fashion firms have been quick and have done everything possible to offer really effective products against the virus.
On the contrary, in other countries where the automobile industry or the telecommunications industry (as is the case of Germany and France), are the ones that prevail, this type of hygienic masks have not been subjected to any regulatory standard or marketed at the same level as in our country. It has been the citizens themselves who have been encouraged to manufacture fabric masks at home, using in the best of cases disposable filters that they put inside. In view of the alarm due to the growing number of contagions and to ensure that all citizens are properly protected, they have ruled out the use of other models that are not FFP2, especially in enclosed spaces.
THE SERVICE LIFE OF AN FFP2
In addition to effectiveness, let's talk about durability. Health, as well as the OCU, always emphasize the proper use of masks, respecting their times and uses, whether hygienic, surgical or FFP2.
The OCU, through a survey, revealed that Spaniards use the same mask much longer than recommended. The figure reaches 21 hours in the case of FFP2, when Health advises changing them every eight hours at the most, almost three more uses than indicated. Once used, they should be thrown away. Every month 129,000 million masks are discarded worldwide, becoming waste that can take up to 400 years to decompose. In our country alone, if half of the population uses a new mask every day, around 705 million per month will be consumed, according to the Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d.
