Care and Maintenance of Textile Products Including Apparel and Protective Clothing

Rajkishore Nayak, Saminathan Ratnapandian

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138566750
• eBook ISBN: 9781351342728
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Proper care and maintenance of textile materials is essential in prolonging their durability and appearance. This books describes methods of care and maintenance for textile products, focusing on types of laundering and dry-cleaning processes, chemicals, and equipment, while considering the environmental impacts of these procedures and green cleaning approaches. It details care labelling of garments, including electronic care labelling and instructions for different specialty textiles. Factors such as pilling, abrasion, snagging, color fading, and dimensional change are discussed. This book also emphasizes care and maintenance of textiles used for protection from fire, bullets, cold weather, and chemicals.

chapter one
Introduction

Textile products get soiled, stained, dirty and even worn during their use, and may not be usable after a certain period [1,2]. Hence, they need regular care and maintenance, which helps to extend the durability of the clothing and ensures that fresh clothing is ready to wear when needed [3]. However, this is one of the most neglected aspects by many consumers. Most garments cannot be put into the washing machine straight and come out perfect after washing. Hence, proper care is necessary to retain the original properties. Proper care and maintenance helps to reduce the budget allocated to purchasing clothes and improve the wearability. Furthermore, this can reduce the environmental impact by the reduction in the usage of raw materials, processing chemicals and power consumption [4].

On one hand, the technological developments in the washing machine and detergency have reduced the total environmental impact per wash. On the other hand, the amount of clothing owned by individuals has gone up, which has also lead to the increased frequency of washing. It is worth mentioning that during the use of a specific garment, the most energy is consumed in its cleaning and maintenance [5]. Hence, the cleaning and maintenance of the textiles in the right time with appropriate chemicals and protocols cannot only reduce their environmental impact but also improve their durability [6].

A care label carries instructions for the cleaning of a textile product [2,4,7–9]. Care labels contain a series of directions describing procedures for refurbishing a product without adverse effects. Care labelling for garments is essential to identify the product, to assist the consumer in product selection and the retailer in selling the product, and to help the consumer in effective care of the garment [10]. The information on care labels is strongly emphasised as most consumer complaints and claims against apparel products concern colour change, deformation and damage during laundering.

Manufacturers of textile items provide proper care instructions in the clothing. However, the inability to follow the instructions, to select appropriate chemicals or washing cycles lead to permanent damage to the clothing [11,12]. It is the consumer’s responsibility to take proper care of the textiles [13]. Most consumers who take care of the textiles might have experienced one or more problems such as colour fading, shrinkage, wrinkling and damage to the buttons, bids and sequins or other mechanical damage [14–20].

Several factors such as the type of fibre, type of detergent or chemicals used, temperature, agitation and duration affect the clothing properties after washing or dry cleaning [21–23]. The wrong selection of any of these parameters or in combination can damage the whole garment. Hence, the care labels need to always be followed before selecting any washing cycle or chemicals for the cleaning of the clothes.

This book covers the methods of cleaning clothes, namely wet cleaning or laundering and dry cleaning, which are most commonly used for the care of clothing items. The chemicals and types of machines used for these processes will also be discussed along with their ecological concerns. In addition, the potential new eco-friendly chemicals currently being used in these processes will be highlighted. Furthermore, the types of stains, their removal and impact of stain removal on clothing properties will be covered. The care and maintenance of woollen clothing items will also be discussed.

chapter two
Cleaning of textile materials

The history of cleaning of clothes or laundering dates back to 2500 BC, when soap was used in washing around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (now southern Iraq) [24]. Laundering is the process of removing stains, dirt, bad smells and microbes from clothes usually using water as a solvent, containing detergents or other chemicals accompanied by agitation, heat and rinsing. In some instances, cleaning uses solvents other than water and other specialty chemicals and equipment. The former process using water is known as washing and the latter process using chemical solvents is called dry cleaning.

The effectiveness of laundering clothes depends on the kind, amount and temperature of water; soaps, laundry aids and detergents [25–29]. The hardness of water, turbidity, colour, dissolved salts and metals may also affect the laundering [30–32]. The degree of soil removal in the cleaning process depends on the fabric substrate, fibre geometry, yarn and fabric structure, type of soil, chemical finish, cleaning method and interaction among all these factors [33–36]. Fibres with polar surfaces such as cotton and rayon can interact very strongly with water, whereas hydrophobic fibres such as polyester have been shown to interact with water slowly by dispersion forces, which may affect the cleaning efficiency.

Fibre geometry such as fibre diameter, cross-section, surface contour and crimp can affect the soil-retention property [37]. Fibres with a larger diameter, circular cross-section and smooth surface are not easily soiled. The presence of surface irregularities in the fibre acts as a sink for deposition of soil. During laundering, soil release from these sinks is a much slower process compared to a smooth surface. Increased mechanical action and/or increased detergent concentration can improve the soil removal from these areas.

The yarn structure involves staple or filament yarn, yarn fineness (coarse and fine) and amount of twist in the yarn [38,39]. High twist and staple yarns may prevent soil removal during laundering. Fabric structure involves woven, knits, nonwovens and composites, which may also vary in tightness, weight and thickness [40]. Open structures can offer less resistance to soil removal compared to tight structures. Similarly, lightweight fabrics can be cleaned more easily than their heavier counterparts.

The presence of various functional finishes in the fabric can alter the soil-removal efficiency from clothing. For example, the durable press (DP) finish can reduce the soil removal from cotton fabric. Similarly, the application of soil-release or soil-repellent finishes to fabric can improve the efficiency of cleaning. Other finishes such as flame retardant, hydrophilic/hydrophobic, antimicrobial [41,42], finishes to improve the handle and comfort can alter the cleaning efficiency depending on the nature of both the finish and the substrate.

Soil release from a textile material can involve three consecutive steps such as: (1) the induction phase, when the water and surfactant get diffused into the soil-fibre interface and into the soil, (2) separation of soil from the fabric and (3) final phase (leveling), when the soil removal is very slow [43–45]. The constituent of soils may involve solid particles; liquids such as oils; and mixtures of both solids and liquids. The surface tension of oily soils is significantly lower, which can penetrate fibres more readily than water-based soils. The viscosity of the oil is a deciding factor in soil release. The higher the viscosity, the harder it is to remove from the substrate. Oily soils can be more easily removed from synthetic fibres such as polyester than from cotton.

Clay soils adhere firmly to textile fibres as they are small, have an active surface, behave as colloids and have a large surface area in proportion to mass. Soil particles are more deposited at sites where a geometric bond is formed either in a fibre crevice or an interstitial void between fibres and yarns. The ease of their removal depends on the nature of the washing solution and the mechanical energy during the laundering process.

2.1 Wet cleaning (using water)

Wet cleaning or washing is the method of cleaning clothes that is usually done with water, often in the presence of a soap or detergent. Soaps and detergents are used for the emulsification of oils and dirt particles so that they can be easily washed away [46,47]. The washing will often be done at a temperature above room temperature to increase the activities of any chemicals used and the solubility of stains. In addition, high temperature kills microbes that may be present on the fabric.

Laundering is a complex process as an improper selection of parameters such as temperature, agitation, time and chemicals can permanently damage the fabric [48]. Furthermore, if the fabric is being treated with any of the functional finishes such as waterproofing, flame retardant, permanent press, deodorizing, antibacterial, soil release and pest control, the washing behaviour will be different. Special techniques should be adopted to improve the durability of the finishes.

Laundering is an exercise to decontaminate clothes that were in contact with the body, as the body is a source of contaminating the clothes [49]. This helps in clothing care and restores the clothing attributes such as style, feel and appearance. The laundering process provides freshness to the clothing items that are soiled, stained and musty, which make them ready to wear [50]. Laundering is always considered as an assembly of mechanisms consisting of textiles, detergents, washing machines and skills. The recent trend in laundering is more frequent washing at lower temperatures as compared to the less-frequent washing discussed earlier.

In addition to the factors related to the machine and chemicals, the hardness of the water can also affect the quality of washing [30,31,51,52]. The soaps and detergents are less effective in hard water. To avoid this problem, approaches such as the use of more soap or detergent, a longer washing cycle or higher temperature is necessary. Washing parameters such as frequency, washing temperature, type of detergent, use of a tumble dryer and ironing conditions are often related to the culture [53,54]. For example, cotton T-shirts are washed in cold water by Spanish consumers (48%), whereas Norwegians (48%) prefer to wash the same products at 60°C [53]. Similarly, the average washing temperature in Europe is about 45.8°C [55].

A comparative study of energy and water consumption of automated laundering around the globe showed that the energy use per wash cycle mainly depends on the average washing temperature [54]. An estimated value for lowering the washing temperature and eliminating both tumble-drying and ironing of a cotton T-shirt can lead to around a 50% reduction in global climate impact [56].

2.1.1. Washing with a machine

While laundering in a machine, it is essential to understand the nature of clothing, equipment to be used, chemicals used and when to launder [57]. Two important things, namely the colour of the clothes and the material they are made of, should always be considered while washing. Generally, for washing purposes, the colour of the clothes can be considered as ‘light’ or ‘white’ and ‘dark’, which should not be washed together. The material specification of textile items is mostly indicated on the care label. It is essential to consider the material type before washing as the washing protocols and laundering chemicals can permanently damage the cloth.

Light- and dark-coloured items should always be separated during washing. Light-coloured items should not be washed with dark-coloured items to avoid the risk of cross staining [58,59]. While washing new clothes, the dyes can leach from the fabric and stain other clothes in the load. Hence, the new clothes should always be washed alone if a machine is used or washed separately by hand. Colours such as white, cream or a pale pastel shade should be considered as ‘whites’ and should be washed separately from the other dark colours.

The care instructions should be always followed while washing, drying and pressing the clothes [60]. Some clothes need to be only washed by hand or dry-cleaned and dried flat or dried under shade. Deviation from these specifications may cause colour fading or the change of the size and shape. Hence, following the care instructions can help to clean the clothes appropriately, to retain the aesthetics, dimensions and to increase the wearability.

All fabrics cannot be washed with the same washing and tumbling conditions. For example, denim fabrics or terry towels need to be washed in a heavier cycle than the inner clothing or delicate clothing items. Hence, these items should be separated and washed in different loads to avoid any potential damage to the cloth. This will also ensure that all the clothes in a particular laundry load are properly cleaned.

The types of washing machines (i.e., top-and front-loading) are described in Section 3.1. The top-loading machine is better for the thicker fabrics, whereas the front-loading machine is preferred for thinner and delicate fabrics as it is less harsh [54]. H...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Series preface
• Authors
• List of abbreviations
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Cleaning of textile materials
• Chapter 3 Equipment for the care of textiles
• Chapter 4 Care labelling
• Chapter 5 Care instructions for specialty textile items
• Chapter 6 Stains
• Chapter 7 Storage of clothing
• Chapter 8 The environmental impact and health hazards of cleaning
• Chapter 9 Future trends
• Chapter 10 Conclusions
• References
• Index