Finishing, combination with easy-care

Softener finishes are often combined with easy care and antistatic treatments. As a rule of thumb, hydrophobic softeners cause an extra soft hand whereas... 

Elastomeric finishes are often combined with easy-care and durable press finishes. The silicones reduce abrasion, increase tearing strength (Ehnendorf testing apparatus - ASTM D1424), and crease recovery. For equal crease resistance and durable press performance the amount of cellulose crosslinking agents can be markedly reduced in these combinations. ... 

In commercial use, easy-care and durable press finishes are frequently combined with other finishes to provide additional properties such as water and oil repellency, flame retardancy, soil release and the like. Often the combination of another finish with the cellulose crosslinking finish will result in a more durable effect from the first finish. Combination with pigment printing is very common because of similar chemistry to cellulose crosslinking agents and binders and the similar application conditions. 

Finishing chemicals for all kinds of performance aspects of textile goods exist in great variety, and recycling options of these chemicals are largely unexplored. As mentioned previously, chemicals used for finishes such as easy-care, hydrophobic, flame-retardant and soil-release, are usually applied in combination with hand-builders, softeners and other auxiliaries. Their separation and subsequent re-use is problematic and very little has been published in this area. Their impact on the effluent treatment and quality, monitored as BOD and COD is, however, significant. 

There are also serious side effects to fabric physical properties from flame-retardant finishing that must be recognised, often caused by the high application levels of the flame retardants. Harsh hand, loss of tensile suength and colour effects (fabric yellowing and dye shade changes) are common problems with durable flame-retardant finishes for cotton. The combination with other finishes, such as softeners, easy-care and repellent finishes, must be carefully tested. The flame retardancy of the multi-purpose finish is more often reduced than it is acceptable. 

Non-slip finishes are mostly applied by the pad-dry process, combined as needed with hand builders, repellents or cellulose crosslinkers (easy-care finish). The combination of silicic acid sols with softeners or silicone-based water repellents is crucial - their effects are contrasting. 

Permanent antistatic fmishes, based on crosshnked polyamines and polyglycols, need an alkaline catalyst. Therefore the one-bath combination with finishes, which need acid catalysis, is difficult but not impossible. Examples of acid-catalysed fmishes are the easy-care and durable press fmishes, durable hydrophylic silicone softeners and elastomeric finishes, also fluorocarbon-based repellency and some flame-retardant finishes. High finish effects result from a two-bath application with of the easy-care finish first followed by the surface-related antistatic finish. 

KAURIT M90 is used for the antishrink and easy-care finishing of cotton fabrics and spun rayons, for permanent fixation of calender effects, for the fixation of reactive filling and stiff finishes and for the stiff finishing of synthetic textiles, e.g., collar interlinings, petticoat fabrics, and lace. The product is often used in combination with other KAURIT or PIXAPRET types. 

Studies of lyocell fabrics processed with conventional open width techniques demonstrate the virtues of lyocell with low-cost production techniques and have shown the excellent easy care performance that lyocell can deliver in combination with resin finishing. The softness, fluidity and drape characteristics shine through even without fibrillation. 

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