Abstract

Apart from removing soils and preventing redeposition, chemical and mechanical activities during washing also change the structure of the textile treated. The intensity of these changes is dependent on the initial level of quality of the textiles treated, as well as upon the processing conditions (temperature, washing agent, mechanical parameters, number of washing cycles, etc). The aim of this paper was study cumulative effects of washing on properties of cotton fabrics and their blends through RAL-GZ 992 quality criteria evaluated through ash content, whiteness, tint deviation, mechanical and chemical damage. Electrokinetic potential, pilling resistance and morphology of cotton and their blends were selected as evaluation criteria for surface characterization of cotton and their blends after multiple washing cycles.

INTRODUCTION

Washing process is regulated by chemistry, mechanical agitation, temperature and time. The impact of particular factors can be represented by a washing cycle, within which is the circle dealing with water, which connects the factors in the process. Synergic effect of particular components incorporated into detergent determines its chemical activity. One of the primary requirements for a successful detergent formulation is to remove various soils and preserve an initial characteristic of textile materials as long as possible. Surfactants play a dual role in the soil removal: overcome the attraction between soil and fabric by attaching themselves to both, loosen the soil and deflocculates it at the same time, i.e. they break it up into colloidal particles and stabilize their aqueous dispersion. It is enhanced by presence of anionic and non-ionic surfactants in the washing bath. The development of new detergent formulations is targeted to low temperature washing based mostly, on the high efficient and environmental friendly components (1-5). Soil removal during washing process is also enhanced by mechanical input, proper wash time and temperatu ...