Factors Affecting the Drying of Apparel Fabrics

Abstract

The hanging strip water gradient determination and its interpretation on the basis of a capillary bundle model have been applied to a study of the effect of finishing agents on the water-holding capacity of cotton printcloth. Water repellents, cross-linking reactive resins, and surface resins all reduce the water capacity to varying degrees and thereby should make them easier to dry. However, the effect of water repellents is negligible if the fabric is wet out with a surface active agent or by mechanical action, both of which are normally met with in laundering. The reductions in capacity pro duced by reactive or surface resins are not affected by these factors.