Practical Hints

Faults in finished fabrics causes and remedies by H.R. Sheikh, Professor Emeritus, Textile Institute of Pakistan. The quality of apparel fabrics is reflected by comfort, hand drape, wrinkle recovery, crease resistance, colour, print, design and aesthetic appeal for the consumers. These characteristics are related to the low shear mechanical properties such as tensility, shear, bending compression and surface characteristics of fabrics. These properties are determined by the raw-materials used, manufacturing technique employed, constructional parameters selected and finishing sequence adopted. However, lack of control over pertreatment processes and application of in appropriate wet-processing technology leads to the development of faults in finished fabrics. Causes and remedies of some of the commonly occurring faults are briefly reported as follows:

1. Pre-treatment processes S. No Faults Causes Remedies

1. Oil and grease stains

2. Singe Marks

3. Draft Stains April 2009 4. Rope Marks

5. Tendered Areas

Due to carelessness of the maintenance workers Emulsifiers are used to and the machine operatives, oil spills over parts remove oil and grease which come in contact with the fabrics and stains stains. are produced. Blockage of some of the flame orifices and creases Colour should be in the fabrics lead to non-uniform singeing and stripped and the fabrics affected areas appear darker after dyeing or printingre-singed and readyed. If wet cloth after bleaching is left for relatively longer The cloth showing stains period of time after bleaching, then after dyeing, is acidified, washed and printing or finishing it will exhibit stains of deeper dried to remove the colour. stains. In order to remove the When scouring and bleaching the cloth in rope form folds, cloth is stentered under high pressure during mangling, folds develop and in case of severe longitudinally. folds it is mercerized. Minor tendering is curable by boiling the Chemical degradation during bleaching produces cloth in caustic soda

tendered areas of faded color in dyed cloth.

solution and redyeing. Acute tendering cannot be repaired.

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2. Dyeing Causes Dark selvedges are caused by non-uniform winding of cloth during dyeing on jiggers. Bronzing effect also appears during dyeing in open jiggers with vat and sulphur dyes. Remedies The defective cloth colour is stripped and it is redyed. During the process of redyeing beaming of cloth should be perfect. In case of vat and fast colours cloth should be stripped of colour and redyed. Boiling leveling bath should be used for direct dyed cloth. Levelling agents should also be added. The dye must be stripped, reduced or reoxidised. Adjust the colour by shading method.

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1.

Dark Selvedges and Bronzing

2. Dye Stains

Dark selvedges are caused by non-uniform winding of cloth during dyeing on jiggers. Bronzing effect also appears during dyeing in open jiggers with vat and sulphur dyes.

3. Dye Molting

Erroneous recipe concentrations and dyeing methodology result in unlevel dyeing.

4. Sided Dyeing

The cloth should be Unequal pressure on the dye mangle in continuous stripped of colour and dyeing produces differences in colour depth on redyed with uniform sides. pressure on the dye mangle. The cloth should be boiled and stripped of colour. The use of dyestuff brands of big particle size especially in pigment and vat colour dyeing results Highly dispersed brands of vat colours should be used in darker dyed spots on the fabric surface. for redyeing of cloth. Colour intensity on one side of the fabric is different from that on the other side. The main Colour should be stripped cause is non-uniform drying of both faces of the and fabric redyed. fabric. 3. Printing

5. Specky Dyeing

6. Colour Migration

S. No

Faults

Causes

Remedies

1. Colour Seepage

Print paste feed must be Unequal feeding of printing paste of low viscosity equal and uniform and its causes stains in parts of the fabric not to be viscosity should be printed. suitable. Squeegee pressure should Pressure differences of the squeeges variations in be adjusted. Good quality

2. Squeeze Marks

3.

Colour stains on unprinted parts

colour intensity of printed fabric. Poor quality of thickener and rubber of thickener and rubber also causes this problem. suitable shore hardness should be used. Colour from a defective preceeding screen is over printed in the main white grounds. This is due to The defective screen must be repaired. wear of gelatin or ducco of the screen.

Eccentric printing or White or coloured spots Fabric areas differing in the colour depth than the engraved rollers must be 4. and colour depth surrounding areas or appearance of unprinted repaired and engraving difference white spots caused by defective printing rollers. depth should be increased. Engraved printing rollers Scratches in the printing rollers or dullness of the should be repaired. Doctor 5. Doctor Blade Streaks doctor blades can cause white wavery lines in blades should be cleared warp direction. and sharpened. Defective blankets should Defective woolen or rubber blankets of the either be repaired or 6. Blanket Marks printing machine cause color stains on replaced with new comparable distances of the printed fabric. blankets. Screens or rollers should Misalignment or overlapping of the printed design be properly fitted on the is caused by defective fitting of rollers or screens Misalignment or printing machine. Errors in 7. on the printing machine. It may also be due to overlapping of design engraving or errors in engraving or photographing of the photographing of the design. design should be rectified.

4. Washing S. No 1. Faults Causes Low efficiency of color fixation process causes weaker or pale colour after washing. Remedies

2.

3.

4.

Colour of the dyed fabric Weaker Colour should be devcloped with correct concentration Squeezing mangles of the Saturation of the washing containers with dyewashing machine should Stains on white grounds stuffs or contaminated water cause stain on white be cleaned. Washing portions of the fabric. liquor should be frequently renewed. Temperature of the In complete removal of excess colour or low washing basins should be Poor washing fastness washing process efficiency causes poor washing adjusted. Soap or other fastness. chemicals which are are added should be removed Blanket as well as the Stains on the machine blanket can cause colour Poor washing fastness drying oven should be stains on the back of the printed cloth. cleaned. 5. Steaming

S. No

Faults

Causes

Remedies

Uniformity of temperature Colour intensity differences Non-uniform temperature and steam distribution inside the steamer cause differences and steam distribution in 1. on cloth sides. in colour intensities between cloth sides. the steamer should be perfect. Temperature during Improper insulation and heat distribution causes steaming should be evenly 2. Water Drops dropping of condensed water on cloth during distributed and insulation steaming. of the steamer should be improved. 6. Finishing 6.1. Stentering S. No Faults Causes Remedies

Startch stains and white 1. lines on finished cloth

2. Longitudinal Creases

3. Wrong and narrow width

Starch stains and white lines on the finished Fabric should be desized cloth are produced because of incomplete and restarched. dissolution of the starch in the padding liquour. The cloth should be Longitudinal creases are produced if the cloth padded in a solution of hot passes on non-uniform cylinders after starching. water and dried on an even surface. Cloth should be passed Frequent stoppages during mercerization or again through the Stenter drying produce cloth with non-uniform width. to get the required width.

6. 2. Calendering S. No Faults Causes Remedies

Cloth should be padded in Grooves or scratches on the calendar bowls hot water and 1. Non-lustrous spots or lines cause non-lustrous spots or lines on the cloth. recalendered on a smooth flawless calender. The cloth should be If cloth with high starch content and high thoroughly dried and 2. Poor finish of cloth moisture regain is calendered, the finish of the treated with suitable cloth will be poor. finishing recipe before calendering. Initial scouring and bleaching should be Residual acidity in bleaching and mercerization proper. Optical brightener processes, incomplete dissolution of the optical should be properly 3. Poor degree whiteness brightener and use of poor quality softeners can dissolved. Bleached fabric lead to poor degree of whiteness of the cloth. PH should be adjusted and suitable softening agent should be used. Acknowledgement: The paper is mainly based on the information published in the relevant book of the textile and clothing Division of the EPB now TDAP.

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