What experiences have you had, or what do you know, about laundering
different fibers and fabrics, by hand or machine.  (A continuation of a
discussion under front-loaders, on wool and down).

8 responses total.

From the book Color and Fiber, Lambert, Staepelare and Fry, 1986:  Wool
fibers can be given a finish that prevents them from felting or fulling
during laundering.  When wool is exposed either to boiling water or to
water, temperature changes, agitation, pressure and an alkaline solution
(such as soapy water), the wool fibers migrate in among one another and
interlock--a process known as felting.  When wool is exposed to water, the
fiber's interior fills with water, its crimp straightens out, and the
scales along it open out.  Because the scales all open out in the same
direction, the fiber is able to move ahead one way but cannot go back
[irreversible shrinkage].  Agitation and the change of scale position
caused by heat or by abrupt temperature changes encourage the fibers to
move ahead and become further entangled.  When the fibers dry, the crimp
resets and the scales clamp firmly, interlocking the fibers permanently. 
        The felting process results in shrinkage...the surface of the
fabric becomes a denser, softer and more uniform texture...reduced
luster...fuzzier look, and more intense color.  
        Sometimes felting is desirable, and sometimes it is not.  Finishes
have been developed that make wool fibers more washable.  One of these
finishes coats the fiber with a thin layer of polymeric chemical [plastic]
that seals them so that they cnanot become entangled.  Another finish
softens the cementing material between scales and seals the scales to the
main body of the fiber...this finish can remove the scales entirely,
resulting in a weakened fiber. 


        This explains why you should not wash woolens in a warm wash, cold
rinse, or in a regular detergent (too alkaline), or in a machine (too
agitated), or in hot water, unless they need to be shrunk, or have 
been treated to be machine washable.  
        What sort of problems are there in washing rayon?

This response has been erased.

I heard rayons also fell apart during washing, short fibers.  I wonder why
anyone is still making clothing from (viscose) rayon. 
        Ihave seen hairdos that look felted, dreadlocks, and wonder if that
sort of hairdo is reversible, or the hair is permanently interlocked.  Has
anyone reading this ever felted their hair.  I tried twisting the ends of mine
together just now, and could not undo it and had to cut it off.
        Is Tencel still around, and what is it made of and how?  I heard it
was actually stronger than cotton, but what is it?
        Valerie, you try the hair conditioner on your sweater, and I will try
machine-washing (and measuring mine) and see which comes out worse.
        I have some mixed rayon and nylon pants, can they be machine washed?
If not, back they go to Kiwanis.

Today I asked someone with felted hair if it was reversible or washable.  Yes
it is washable, but no, you cannot undo it, only cut it shorter.

I washed an old 70% wool 30% acrylic sweater (full of holes, contributed by
Omni's basement-cleaning party) in warm wash cold rinse, regular cycle, 16
minute wash.  It shrank about 1/2-1" in sleeve length (hard to tell, the two
sleeves are now 1" different in length) and 1" in width, but it could have
been partly because it was worn before washing and had stretched a bit.
(Omni, do you buy your sweaters for two different length arms?)

  That was probably Marlene's sweater. I don't wear sweaters.

Did Marlene wear XL, with a 46" chest?  Bill's?

  Mike, Marlene's ex. He is a tall person.

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