KENYA STANDARD           DKS 638:2 023 
ICS 11.040.30  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Absorben t cotton gauze and gauze 
bandages -Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 2023 Fourth  Edition , 2023 
 APPROVED  DKS 638:20 23 
ii  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRES ENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute  
Kenya Medical Association  
African Cotton Industries  
Chandaria Industries Ltd  
Ministry of Health (MOH)  
Kenya Défense Forces (KDF)  
PadMad  
Kimberly -Clark  
Radbone Clark (K) Ltd  
Marvel Five Investment ltd  
Mbagathi County Hospital  
Procter and Gamble  
KIM FAY East Africa Ltd  
Onkod Company  
Mega Importers  
Maxcare Products Limited  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to  keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed.  Suggestions 
for improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome.  
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 20 23 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyrig ht subsists 
in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 25 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of Standards 
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing f rom the 
Managing Director.  
  KENYA STANDARD                                                        DKS 638:20 23 
ICS 11.040.30  
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    iii  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Absorben t cotton gauze and gauze 
bandages -Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office: P.O. Box 549 74, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 6 05490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020) 604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org, Web:http://www.kebs.org  
 
Coast Region     Lake Region       Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254  041) 229563, 230939/40  Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 05 1) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254  041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814  
 DKS 638:20 23 
iv  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved  Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Technical Committee on Towels, Hygienic and Medical Textile 
Products under the guidance of the Standards Projects Committee and it is in accordance with the procedures 
of Kenya Bureau of Standards.  
 
This standard cancel  and replaces KS 638:1999, Specification for absorbent cotton gauze which has been 
technically revised.  
The changes are as follows:  
 
a) KS 638  Absorbent cotton gauze — Specification has been merged with KS 639 Specification for 
bandages  Part 1. Cotton gauze bandages  
b) Title has been changed to Absorbent cotton gauze and gauze bandages -Specification  
c) Test methods have been updated.  
 
 
During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following documents:  
 
KS 639 :1989  Specification for bandages  Part 1. Cotton gauze bandages  
 
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these sources.  
 
 
  
KENYA STANDARD                  DKS 638:20 23 
 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    1  
Absorbent cotton gauze and gauze bandages -Specification  
 
1 Scope  
 
This Kenya Standard specifies the requirements and test methods for bleached absorbent gauze  and gauze 
bandages  for use in surgical dressings and for general medical purposes.  
 
 
2 Normative references  
 
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of  their content constitutes 
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
ISO 8498 , Woven fabrics — Description of defects — Vocabulary  
 
KS ISO 3801 , Textiles — Woven fabrics — Determination of mass per unit length and mass per unit area  
 
KS ISO 7211 -2, Textiles — Woven fabrics — Construction — Methods of analysis — Part 2: Determination of 
number of thr eads per unit length  
 
KS 816, Methods for determination of absorbency of absorbent textile materi als 
 
KS EAS 256 , 
 
KS ISO 105 -J02, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part J02: Instrumental assessment of relative 
whiteness  
 
KS ISO 9073 -10, Textiles — Test methods for nonwovens — Part 10: Lint and other particles generation in 
the dry state  
 
KS ISO 1833 -11, Textiles — Quantitative chemical analysis — Part 11: Mixtures of certain cellulose fibres with 
certain other fibres (method using sulfuric acid)  
 
KS ISO 139 , Textiles — Standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing  
 
3 Definitions  
 
For purposes of this sta ndard, the following definition  shall apply.  
 
3.1 
absorbent cotton gauze  and gauze bandages  
cotton cloth of plain weave, chara cterized by its good absorbency.  
 
 
 
4 Requirements  
 
4.1  Yarns  
 
Yarns used to make cotton gauze and gauze bandages shall be uniformly spun, of good appearance and free 
from spinning defects  like neps.  
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
2  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved  4.2 Gauze  and Ban dages  
 
4.2.1  Gauze  and bandages  shall be of plain weave (1/1) and free from weaving defect s defined in KS ISO 
8498 . They shall also be single ply and of uniform width.  
 
 
4.2.2 Gauze and Bandages shall be fully bleached, free from sizing, dressing and filling materials and 
substances liable to cause  tendering.  
 
4.2.3  Each gauze and bandage shall be of one continuous length and shall be tightly rolled.  
 
 
4.3 Length  
 
Gauze  and bandage length shall be as specified on the label with a minus tolerance of 3 % of the total  length, 
when measured in accordance with Annex  C. 
 
4.4 Width  
 
The gauze and bandage  width shall be as specified on the label with a minus tolerance of 2%, when  measured 
in accordance with Appendix D. 
 
 
4.5 Mass per unit area  
 
The mass, in grams, per square metre shall be as given in Table 1.  
 
4.6 Threads per cm  
 
Threads per cm of the various types of gauze  and bandages  shall be as given in Table 1.  
 
Table 1 — Requirements for absorbent cotton gauze  and gauze bandages  
 
Type  Mass, in g/m2 min. Threads , per cm 
Warp  Weft  
I 49 16 – 19 13 – 15 
II 37 12 – 13 10 – 12 
III 32 10 – 12 9 – 10 
IV 27 9 – 10 7 – 9 
V 25 8 – 9 6 – 8 
VI 22 7 – 9 6 – 7 
VII 20 7 – 9 4 – 6 
VIII 13 5 – 6 3 – 5 
IX 10 min. 5  min. 4  
Test method  KS ISO 3801  KS ISO 7211 -2 
Note: Bandages shall be made f rom gauze of types I to VI  while cotton gauze shall  be of type 
I to IX  
 
 
4.7  Absorbency  DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    3  
The time taken by a gauze  and bandage  specimen to be saturated with water and for complete submersion to 
be attained shall not be more than 10 s.  This shall be t ested in accordance with KS 816. 
 
4.8 Water soluble substances  
 
The water -soluble  substances shall not constitute more than 0.25 % of the weight . This shall be tested in 
accordance with Annex  E. 
 
4.9 Ash content  
 
The ash content shall not exceed 0.6 % of the dry weight. This shall be tested in accordance with Annex  G. 
 
4.10 Foreign matter  
 
The ratio of foreign matter to dry weight shall not be more than 0.4 %. This shall be tested in accordance with 
Annex  H. 
 
4.11 Substances soluble in ether  
 
Substances soluble in ether shall not constitute more than 0.5 % of the weight. This shall be tested in 
accordance with Annex  J.  
 
4.12 Colouring s ubstances  
 
The color resulting from the dye test shall not be more than a very faint yellow and has no bluish or greenish 
tinge. This shall be tested in accordance with Annex  K. 
 
4.13  Fluorescent brightening agents  
 
 
Fluorescent brightening agents shall not be used in the manufacture of cotton gauze and bandages and when   
tested   in accordance with Annex L, no point of fluorescence shall be visible.  
 
 
4.14  Scouring l oss 
 
The scouring loss shall not exceed 1 %. This shall be determined in accordance with  KS EAS 256 . 
 
4.15 pH v alue 
 
The pH of aqueous extract of the gauze and bandage fabric shall be within the limits 6 – 8. 
 
4.16 Dextrin or s tarch  
 
No dextrin or starch shall be present. This shall be tested in accordance with Annex  F. 
 
4.17 Mass of p ackage  
 
 
The net mass of packages shall not be less than 2.0% of the declared value. The net mass shall be determined 
in accordance with Annex M. 
 
4.18 Whiteness  
 
The gauze  and bandage  fabric shall be white when tested  in accor dance with KS ISO 105 -J02. 
 
4.19 Linting  DKS 638:20 23 
 
4  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
Gauze  and bandages  shall not lint when tested in accordance with  KS ISO 907 -10.  
 
4.20 Fibre Composition  
 
The gauze and bandages shall be 100% cotton when determined in  accordance with KS ISO 1833 -11 
 
4.21 Sterility  
 
When specified, the gauze and bandage shall be sterile in the package and shall comply with the  
requirements of sterility in accordance with KS 1029 . 
 
 
5        Packaging  
 
5.1        Gauze  and bandages  shall be packed in packages as follows:  
 
5.1.1 Gauze shall be firmly and uniformly rolled lengthwise to form a cylindrical roll and shall be wrapped 
along the width of the gauze with good quality clean paper or, with any other suitable material such as 
cellophane or plastic.  
 
5.1.2  Each gauze bandage shall be wrapped along its width with good quality clean paper, or with any other  
suitable material such as cellophane, plastic, or polythene.  
 
5.1.3  The pack age shall be well closed on both sides and stuck so as to  avoid infiltration of any foreign matter 
into the gauze.  
 
5.1.4  Sterile gauze and bandages shall be so packed individually such that the sterility of the product shall be 
maintained  until the package is opened.  
 
 
6  Labelling  
 
Each package shall have a legible label in English and or Kiswahili impr inted in indelible ink marked with the 
following information:  
  
i) Manufacturers name  
 
ii) Registered trademark  ; 
 
iii) Country of manufacture ; 
 
iv) Production b atch / Lot No;  
 
v) Date of manufacture and expiry date ; 
 
vi) The words ‘Absorbent Cotton Gauze  or ‘Gauze Bandage’ ’; 
 
vii) Width in cent imetres and length in metres;  
 
viii) The word ‘Sterilized’, if sterile.  
 
ix) Mass of package in kilograms or grams ; 
 
x) Type, according to Table 1; and  
 
xi) Number of bandages in the package, if it contains more than one.  
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    5  
 
 
 
 
Annex A  
(normative)  
 
Testing conditions  
 
A.1   All measurements and tests shall be carried out in a standard a tmosphere as specified in  KS ISO 139  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
6  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
 
 
 
Annex B  
(normative)  
 
Conditioning of test specimens  
 
 
B.1   Apparatus  
 
B.1.1 Oven  
 
B.2  Procedure  
 
B.2.1 Samples shall be dried, prior to being conditioned for a period of not less  than 4 h in an atmosphere 
having a relative humidity not exceeding 10 % at temperatures of 50  °C to 55  °C. 
 
B.2.2 A sample shall be conditioned until it reaches an equilibrium in a standard atmosphere specified in 
Annex  A for  a period not less than 12 h . Equilibrium state in the standard atmosphere can be established by 
weighing the test sample (exposed to moving conditioned air) once every hour until the difference between 
two successive weighings becomes less than 0.5 %of the weight of the sample.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    7  
 
Annex C  
(normative)  
 
Determination of length  
 
 
C.1       Apparatus  
 
C.1.1      Metre r ule 
 
C.1.2      Flat t able  
 
C.2 Procedure  
 
C.2.1  Lay on a flat table a gauze sample conditioned in accordance with B.2.2 without tension.  
 
C.2.2 Take length measurements of the gauze sample using the metre rule ( C.1.1) in a direction parallel to 
the gauze selvedge.  
 
C.2.3       Repeat the procedure in C.2.2 on four other samples.  
 
C.3        Calculation and expression of results  
 
C.3.1    Take the average of the five length measurements.  
 
C.3.2  Express this as the average length of the gauze.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
8  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
Annex D  
(normative)  
 
Determination of width  
 
D.1          Apparatus  
 
As specified in C.1. 
 
D.2          Procedure  
 
D.2.1        Lay the sample down manually without tension on a flat table.  
 
D.2.2  Take width measurements perpendicular to the edges of the sample at five different positions equally 
distributed along the length of the sample.  
 
D.3         Calculation and expression of results  
 
D.3.1       Take the average of the five measurements in D.2.2.  
 
D.3.2       The average width is the width of the gauze sample.  
  
D.3.3     If there is more than one specimen in the sample of gauze, take the average as the width of the 
sample of gauze.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    9  
 
Annex E  
(normative)  
 
Determination of water soluble matter (water extract)  
 
E.1             Apparatus  
 
E.1.1          Balance,  accuracy 0.1 g  
 
E.1.2         Graduated f lask 
 
E.1.3          Beakers  
 
E.1.4          Weighing b ottle  
 
E.1.5          Burner  
 
E.1.6          Funnel  
 
E.2            Procedure  
                  
E.2.1         Take 5 g of the test sample (B.2.2) and add 500 ml  of distilled water.   Boil the contents in a 
beaker gently for 30 min, adding sufficient water to main tain the original volume (500 ml ). 
  
E.2.2        Pour the extract through a funnel having a fibre glass felt into another vessel. Transfer the gauze   
to the funnel and press out the water absorbed therein with a glass rod . Wash the gauze with two 150 ml  
portions of hot water, pressing the gauze after each washing.  Filter the combined extracts and washings.  
 
E.2.3       Evaporate to concentrate the filtrate. Transfer the filtrate to weighing bottle and dry at 105  ºC to 
constant weight. Weigh the residual, R. 
 
E.3          Calculation and expression of result  
 
E.3.1       Calculate the percentage water soluble matter from the following formula:  
 
                       
RR
WR W 20 100  100 X
55    100 X −=−=−  
   
  where     
 
   W  is the  original mass of sample (5 g); and  
  
         R  is  the mass of residual.  
  
E.3.2     Express the value above as the percentage water soluble matter.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
10  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
Annex F  
(normative)  
 
Determination of starch and dextrins  
 
F.1 Apparatus  
 
As in C.1. 
 
F.2 Procedure  
 
F.2.1 Repeat the procedure in E.2.1 and E.2.2. 
 
F.2.2         Cool the liquid and add about 5 ml  of acetic acid and about 0.15 m l of 0.1 N of iodine and note the 
colour change.  
 
F.3 Result  
 
The sample shall be free of starch or dextrin if no blue or violet colour appears.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    11  
 
Annex G  
(normative)  
 
Determination of ash content  
 
G.1         Apparatus  
 
G.1.1        Weighing balance,  accuracy 0.1 g  
 
G.1.2       Crucible  
 
G.1.3        Sulphur ic acid 
 
G.1.4        Burner  
 
G.1.5        Oven ( ashing)/muffle furnace  
 
G.2        Procedure  
 
G.2.1        Weigh accurately 5 g of the gauze sample and place in a crucible of a known weight.  
 
G.2.2        Wet the sample in sulphuric acid solution, 10 %.  
 
G.2.3   Heat the sample on a low flame until carbonization.             
 
G.2.4   Move the crucible with its contents to an ashing oven/muffle furnace at 600  °C (dark red) until ashing 
of the sample is complete and no carbon is left.  
 
G.2.5    The crucible is drawn out and left to cool in a desiccator, then weigh. Repeat heating for 60 min, then 
cool and weigh until constant weight.  
 
G.3           Calculation  
Ash  p ercentage          = 
100 X o
WW     
 
where    
 
 Wo  is  the weight of ash left in the crucible;  and 
  
 W   is  the weight of sample.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
12  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
Annex H  
(normative)  
 
Determination of foreign matter  
 
H.1        Apparatus  
 
H.1.1     Stoppered b ottle  
 
H1.2       Extraction a pparatus  
  
H.1.3     A fine sieve No. 150 micron  
 
H.1.4      Weighing balance , accuracy 0.1 g  
 
H.2        Reagents  
 
H.2.1      Chloroform  
 
H.2.2       0.5 % diastase solution  
 
H.3         Procedure  
 
H.3.1     Dry the sample to constant weight at 105  °C. Weigh accurately 5 g of dried sample and put it in a 
stoppered bottle and weigh. Repeat drying and weighing until constant weight.  
 
H3.2      Extract the dried sample with chloroform for 1 h in the soxhlet apparat us. Remove the sample from the 
apparatus and allow the residual chloroform to evaporate. Transfer the sample to a suitable vessel and add 
400 ml  of water. Heat slowly and boil for about 1 min. Cool by adding approximately an equal volume of water.  
 
H.3.3       Decant the liquid through a fine sieve No. 150 micron, squeezing the sample by hand  to remove as 
much of the liquid as possible.  
 
H.3.4      Return the sample to the vessel and repeat the washing process for five further times with 400 ml  of 
water each time.  
 
H.3.5       Place the  washed sample and any loose threads or fibres from the sieve in a beaker and immerse 
with a 0.5 % solution of diastate.  Maintain the sample at 70  °C until it is free from starch.  
 
H3.6         Decant the liquid through the sieve, return any loose threads or fibres on the sieve to   the sample in 
the beaker and repeat the washing process with boiling water.  
 
H.3.7        Dry the sample at 105  °C to constant weight.  
 
H.4         Calculatio n  
 
Calculate the percentage of loss in weight, which is expressed as percentage of foreign matter, by the following 
formula:  
 
 
K =
100X
oo 
WW W−  
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    13 where     
 
  K  is  the percentage of foreign matter;  
 
 W  is  the weight of residue; and  
 
 Wo is  the weight of sample used in the test.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
14  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
 
Annex J  
(normative)  
 
Determination of ether soluble substances  
 
 
  J.1 Apparatus  
 
 J.1.1            Weighing balance,  accuracy to 0.1 g  
 
 J.1.2 Extraction a pparatus  
 
 J.2 Reagent  
 
 J.2.1 Ether  
 
 J.3 Procedure  
 
J.3.1 Weigh accurately 5 g of the sample and extract with ether for 4 h by means of a soxhlet. The 
ether shall circulate at the rate of less than 4 cyles per hour.  
 
J.3.2 Vaporize the extract and dry the residue to constant weight at 105° C.  
 
J.4 Calculation  
 
The percentage of ether soluble substances, P 
 
 
100 X 
oo
WW WP−=
 
 
where    
 
 Wo is the weight of specimen used in the test; and  
 
          W   is the weight of residue.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    15  
 
 
 
Annex K  
(normative)  
 
Colouring matter test  
 
K.1             Apparatus  
 
K.1.1           Percolator  
 
K.1.2          Weighing b alance  
 
K.1.3          Column  
 
K.2          Reagents  
 
K.2.1          Ethyl a lcohol  
 
K.3          Procedure  
 
K.3.1         Slowly extract 10 g of the sample packed in the narrow percolator with ethyl alcoh ol (95 % ). 
  
 K.3.2     Collect 50 ml  of the extract and take a 20 cm column in a cylindrical glass container of a cross -section 
area of 1 cm2.  
 
K.3.3          Exam ine a column 20 cm in depth of extract against a white background.  
 
K.4          Report  
 
It shall include the resulting colour degree.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
16  © KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved   
 
 
Annex L  
(normative)  
 
Fluorescence test  
L.1           Apparatus  
 
L.1.1         Ultra -violet radiation source  
 
L.2           Procedure  
 
L.2.1    Examine the sample under ultra -violet radiation of wavelength 365 nm (Nanometre = 10-9 metre). It 
shows no blue fluorescent except that which may be shown by a few isolated fibres (absence of fluorescent 
brightening agents).  
 
 L.3          Report  
 
The sample shall pass this test if no point of fluorescence shall be visible.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DKS 638:20 23 
 
© KEBS 20 23 — All rights reserved    17  
 
 
Annex M 
(normative)  
 
Determination of net mass of package  
 
 
N.1 Apparatus   
 
N.1.1 Weighing balance,  accuracy to 0.1 g  
 
N.2 Procedure  
 
N.2.1 Remove the wrapping from the packages of gauze.  Condition the unwrapped packages in 
accordance with B.2.2 . 
 
N.2.2 Take the mass of each conditioned package to the nearest gram.  
 
N.3 Calculation  
 
Calculate the average mass of the packages. Report this as the mass of packages.