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bosses, tutorials and Afnor standards to find your way around


MANUFACTURE CORONAVIRUS MASK – Wearing a mask is compulsory in public transport, and recommended in public spaces. Instead of buying it, many French people sew it themselves. If you want to make your mask, discover the Afnor standards, our cars, patterns and advice.

[Mis à jour le 15 mai 2020 à 18h03] Since the start of the health crisis, the mask has raised debate. Should we wear it? Is it effective? Should it be made compulsory? If the Academy of Medicine recommends wearing protection to “retain [l]es postillons and avoid their dispersion in the immediate environment “, the government opted for an obligation only in public transport. Surgical masks or washable cloth are now sold in supermarkets and pharmacies. But if you want a protection personalized to your taste, making your mask appears to be a good option.Choosing colors, patterns, prints, you can let your creativity speak while remaining protected.

Please note, not all homemade masks are created equal in terms of protection against coronavirus. The manufacture of these fabric protections has not yet been the subject of a scientific study on its effectiveness against Covid-19, but in 2009, researchers from the University of Cambridge, in England looked into the issue during the flu epidemic. The most filtering materials would be vacuum filters and tea towels, but they are too thick or rigid and prevent breathing. However, we must find the right balance between protection and breathing. The 100% cotton fabric would be the big winner for the manufacture of a mask, a recommendation shared by Afnor.

It is not always easy to find your way around to make a mask to standards, so that it is as effective as possible. While some have had time to refine their technique during confinement, others are embarking on the exercise for the first time. Fortunately, the tutorials have flourished on the Web to allow the French to make their mask without making a mistake. The only outstanding question therefore remains: which fabric to choose? Until you decide, find the instructions below to make your mask, tutorials and patterns to Afnor standards.

Many of you are rightly looking for documents and recommendations from Afnor, the French agency responsible for evaluating standards in France (like the NF standard). “The performance of any mask can be deteriorated by a faulty implementation,” recalls Afnor, which gives recommendations for practical use for people who are not used to wearing a mask, while companies are invited to check the level of efficiency of those they order for their employees, referring to the document “Afnor Sec – Barrier masksEmployers will thus be able to know what are “the requirements set and what level of protection should be associated with the masks ordered”.

The authority published in late March its recommendations for manufacturers but also individuals for artisanal manufacturing. These masks are the ones with the best protection rates (excluding surgical masks and FFP2). They however ask for material and some notions of sewing. Linternaute.com was able to consult it in a few minutes after requesting the document on the Afnor website. You can make the request directly via a form by clicking below.

Receive by email the document and the bosses of Afnor

Many patterns have been posted on the web in recent days. Here is that of a duckbill mask published by Afnor and available in the document to download above.

© Afnor

© Afnor

You can also find all the patterns provided by Afnor and the advice by clicking on the button below:

Several tutorials have been put online and offer masks to make at home, in fabric, with craft filters or simple materials to find such as absorbent paper. First, here is the tutorial from Professor Daniel Garin, associate professor at the former Val-de-Grâce Armies Training Hospital. To do this, you will need:

  • A sheet of paper towel or a simple paper towel.
  • Elastics.
  • A stapler to fix everything.

Another possibility, opt for a simple fabric mask, easily achievable in a few seconds:

  • A sufficiently large piece of cloth.
  • Two elastic bands to fix the mask.

Finally, you can make a mask following Afnor standards. Some sewing notions may be necessary to achieve this. This mask is made of fabric, if possible cotton and must be connected by an elastic band.

Yes, if you follow the Afnor instructions (see at the top of the article to download the document), the barrier mask produced can be reusable under certain conditions. It will be necessary to wash it after each use for 3 to 4 hours maximum via a washing cycle in the washing machine of 30 minutes minimum (wetting, washing and rinsing included) at a temperature of 60 degrees. “It is recommended that the barrier mask be completely dried within less than two hours after leaving the wash. The barrier masks must not dry in the open air”, specifies Afnor, who also indicates that any damage detected must lead to a replacement of the mask which must be discarded in a specific packaging (plastic bag for example).

Before embarking on a reusable mask, you still need to know which fabrics to choose. Ouest-France CHU had shared a tutorial very followed at the beginning of the epidemic, advising the use of fleece or fleece, sewn between cotton. For its part, the Afnor details in its very precise instructions the recommended fabrics. Avoid: excessively hot fabrics and irritating materials. To make a mask in the rules, prefer the materials validated by the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) and the French Society of Hospital Hygiene. It is therefore advisable to sew with 150 g / m² cotton canvas for the outer envelope. Inside, viscose of 130 g / m² must be placed.

On the web, there are many tutorials that recommend using and incorporating a coffee filter or vacuum cleaner into your mask to better filter the air. This is an error according to Afnor which alerts the general public: “despite their good filtering capacity, these types of filters do not meet the requirement in terms of the safety of inhaled air. Indeed, these materials are likely to release irritants into the air that can cause a risk of allergy (especially severe asthma attacks) and / or toxicity, and these types of filters do not show good results in terms of breathability “. Forget them and replace them if you wish with a layer of felt.

If “the mask does not at any time exonerate barrier gestures”, as underlined by Afnor (French Association for Standardization), an artisanal mask nevertheless allows the best protection against the virus. Less effective than FFP2 masks, homemade masks, however, represent a significant barrier to protect themselves from Covid-19 infection. On the association’s website, you can find the manufacturing principles and rules. You will also find below valuable advice on how to design an effective mask.

The homemade mask is less effective than surgical masks and FFP2 reserved for caregivers, a fact proven by several studies. One of them (available here in english) claims that homemade masks are three times less effective than surgical masks, but still help curb the spread of the virus. But if the FFP2 mask protects its wearer, the simple fabric mask can be useful. Wearing a cloth mask will not protect you yourself but will protect others if you are contaminated. We can therefore think that a generalized use of these masks (for example when you do your shopping) will limit the spread of the virus and therefore, ultimately, protect you. “It is established that people in the incubation period or in an asymptomatic carrier state excrete the virus and maintain the transmission of the infection,” explains the Academy of Medicine. “In France, in this context, the general wearing of a mask by the population would constitute a logical addition to the barrier measures currently in force”. The Academy of Medicine went even further at the beginning by explaining that the wearing of this so-called “general public” or “alternative” mask could be made compulsory for the outings necessary during the confinement period “. This is ultimately not the case, but the mask has nevertheless become necessary if you wish to use public transport.

The user must “apply it on the chin and on the face”, explains Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg on franceinfo. It is then necessary “to put the strap of the bar then the strap of the top” to place it correctly. “If you have glasses, you take off your glasses to put on the mask, then put your glasses back on after,” he said. Using a mask well is therefore necessary, but “at no time exempts barrier gestures”, notes Afnor. “It is an additional protection for healthy people when they move or work”, summarizes Rim Chaouy, manager of health and safety at work pole of Afnor and pilot of the project. A document posted online by the French Standardization Association, entitled “AFNOR Spec – Barrier masks”, details the recommendations for use, for people who are not used to wearing a mask.

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