Important to Stress on

Chemical damage (oxy or hydro)Cellulose fabrics such as cotton, ramie & rayon, can easily & readily be damaged by strong acids & oxidizing agents. When these chemicals contact the fabric, a degraded cellulose is formed. The chemical reaction weakens the yarns, weakening the fabric structure.Hydrocellulose is a weakened form of cellulose which is produced when an acid reacts with the fabric. This type of damage can be caused by various Acidic substances.Many food & beverages which are acid in nature can weaken the fabric.

Chemical damage (oxy or hydro)

Citric acids which are found in fruit juices, such as grapefruit, orange, lemon & tomato can cause hydrocellulose. If this acid bearing substances contact the fabric & are allowed to remain for a length of a considerable period of time , degradation will occur. The damage may not become apparent until the item is later cleaned & a hole develops. Similar damage would occur if mineral acids such as hydrochloric or sulpheric acid contact the fabric, even dilute concentrations of these acids weaken fabrics.

Alcohol can cause color losses:

Many dyes, specially on silk and acetate are soluble in alcohol, thus spillage or contact with solutions containing alcohol can cause color loss. Some common solutions that contains alcohol are alcoholic beverages, perfumes, skin fresheners, after shave lotions

Shirt

Shirt ProblemsThere’s a wide variety of elements which can influence the success in processing a quality shirt.

Some elements can be controlled by proper processing, others are inherent properties of the shirt which influence the results of processing.

The following are shirt problems, their causes, techniques of prevention & solutions.

Ring around the collars & cuffsIf ground-in soils around are not completely removed during washing, check the washing formula (low alkalinity, water temperatures, & levels, overloading are the most common factors. Severely soiled collars & cuffs may need to be post-treated & scrubbed with a solvent-based cleaner & rewashed. See the following photosCollars & cuffs, particularly on polyester & cotton blend shirts may appear soiled when the fabric is very worn & pilled. Replacing or turning the collar &/or cuffs is the only solutions

We shouldn’t keep using our shirts until the cleaning method becomes so harsh that they will definitely cause premature damage to the collars & cuffs as well as reducing the life span of the shirt , thus it’s very important to timely change our shirts to maintain the personal hygiene & cleanliness

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ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles in collars & cuffsIf the interfacing fabric used in collars, cuffs or front placket has not preshrunk or shrinks at different rate from the outer fabric, puckers will result. The outer fabric is now larger than the interfacing & it’s extremely difficult to obtain a smooth finish. If this type of puckering is not too severe, it maybe minimized if the shirt finisher works the excess material to the back of the collar with a hand iron. If the shirt finisher is not pulling out & smoothing the collars & cuffs or the press pad has lost its resiliency, puckering will occur. Rewashing & proper finishing should correct this problem.See the following photo

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Puckers or wrinkles in collard & cuffs

ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles in front placket

ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles in Banqueting If the interfacing fabric used in front placket has not preshrunk or shrinks at different rate from the outer fabric, puckers will result. The outer fabric is now larger than the interfacing & it’s extremely difficult to obtain a smooth finish. If this type of puckering is not too severe, it maybe minimized if the finisher works the excess material to the back of the collar with a hand iron. If the finisher is not pulling out & smoothing the collars & cuffs or the press pad has lost its resiliency, puckering will occur. Rewashing & proper finishing should correct this problem.See the following photo

ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles in Banqueting Laundry faces such problem whenever there’s a wrong selection! For example the current Banquet uniform with the interlining may perform well in the dry-cleaning, however with time, specially with the service type, the uniforms might be subject to soils that dry-cleaning with all the available auxiliary additives fails to clean & wet washing is the solution, only here starts the puckering case as shown in the photos

ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles of Banquet uniform

Puckering on jacket side

ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles of Banquet uniform

Puckering on jacket side

Puckering on jacket placket

ContinuedPuckers or wrinkles of Banquet uniform

Puckering on jacket placket

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Shirt problemDark marks at collar pointsDark area may develop at the collar points, this can be the result of the shifting of adhesives or resins used to apply on the interfacing (there’s no remedy for this) Touching up or pressing shirt collars with a hand iron with a dirty face plate can result in soil marks at collar points. Rewashing should remove this.

ContinuedShrinkage

Most dress shirt are difficult to shrink. Some manufactures have already allowed from two to three percent shrinkage. This means a shirt with a 15 ½- inch neck & 33-inch sleeve length could shrink approximately1/8 to ¼ inch in the neck & ½ to ¾ inch in the sleeve. This shrinkage is usually not enough to cause a complaint.

Antiperspirant

Natural or blends may be easily weakened when a strong acid comes in contact with the fabric. Shirts often shows this type of damage under the arm. Tests run on damaged fabric show the presence of chlorides. Aluminum chlorides found in antiperspirants will weaken the fibers under the arms. Darning laundering, the acid-weakened fibers break & wash away, leaving a hole or a tear. This type of damage is often found in an all-cotton shirt; the polyester fiber used in blends is not really damaged by anti-perspiration.

Perspiration damagePerspiration if allowed to stay in the shirt, will eventually weaken the fabric, allowing the weakened area to be removed during washing. This type of damage will often be found on all-cotton shirts rather than blends..

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