Abstract
The formaldehyde treatment of wool fibers and fabric prior to bleaching by hot alkaline peroxide solutions has been investigated. Although pretreated fabrics exhibit lower alkali solubility and better handle after bleaching, characteristic degradation, shown by various single-fiber as well as fabric properties, is not retarded by the pre treatment. Formaldehyde pretreatment alone, under the conditions used, lowers the breaking stress and breaking extension of single fibers, but this degradation may not be severe enough to cause concern for many fabric uscs. Other experiments, without formaldehyde pretreatment, fail to support the claim that wool fibers possess increased susceptibility to damage when strained prior to bleaching.
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