The importance of water washing test

A basic question that needs to be answered before officially launching textiles to the public is: how will these products behave once customers clean them? Consumers have expectations for the effect after washing. Significant changes in clothing cannot be tolerated, as this will result in products being returned to retailers, negative reviews, revenue loss, and brand/reputation damage.

For laboratories and retailers, seemingly simple tests are actually quite complex and multifaceted challenges that require thorough evaluation. Firstly, each customer's way of washing clothes is different. Factors may include: frequency, temperature, color separation, load size, washing machine type, detergent type, drying method, etc. This provides retailers with a constantly changing goal, enabling them to better understand the performance of their products in home washing. If we consider the actual evaluation content of retailers in the product washing evaluation process, we can explain how the standards are formulated to minimize variables and provide retailers with the best opportunity to understand their product performance.

To help determine the best method for standardized testing, it is necessary to consider clothing care instructions. Most retailers will stipulate that household washing tests should be conducted at the temperature indicated on the care label. If drum drying is possible, this method should be chosen as the drying method because it is the most 'rigorous' test allowed by the care instructions. Some retailers may take an additional step by testing at temperatures 10 ° C above the care instructions to consider that customers may choose to wash with water at temperatures higher than recommended. There are many 30 ° C care instructions now, as the trend in home laundry is to wash at lower temperatures. However, a considerable number of customers still choose 40 ° C water because they believe it is more effectiveClean clothes.

Different types of water washing tests

Dimensional stability test

This is commonly referred to as shrinkage testing, but it is a misconception. Dimensional stability refers to any changes in the size of a product during the washing/cleaning process, so we must also consider whether the product is shrinking while also becoming larger - this is common in knitwear and genuine knitwear. In addition, we can also observe other phenomena such as bow and skew - straight yarns passing through the fabric perpendicular to the width will twist, causing the yarns to tilt from one side to the other (skew) or show obvious yarn curves between the two edges (bow). In addition, there is also a noticeable spiral phenomenon in knitted clothing, where the side seams seem to start twisting at the bottom of the garment. This is usually caused by an imbalance of yarns used in single-sided knitted fabrics.

Promotion statement verification

This is not only important for retailers to evaluate whether their statements are true, but also requires the legality of the statements. Consumer laws do not allow retailers to make false performance statements. Examples of such statements include: improved color retention, long-lasting creases, improved stain removal, long-lasting waterproof finishingHi-VizDurability, etc.

All these statements need to be tested and benchmarked against products that claim to be 'better'. If customers file complaints with trade standards or similar organizations, these results will be retained.

Appearance after washing

In addition to changes in clothing or fabric size, retailers also pay attention to the appearance of clothing after multiple washes. Usually, they will be evaluated after washing once, five times, ten times, or similar increases in washing frequency. They hope to understand how the surface of the fabric behaves over time. They may inspect the fabric for color fading, pilling/fuzzing, cross dyeing, wrinkles, as well as the performance or adhesion of trims or decorations. Every time it is washed, a complete evaluation is conducted. This may overlap with the work of verifying promotional statements mentioned above.

Preparation water washing for subsequent testing

Not all washing is done to achieve the endpoint of the test. Some washes are carried out as preparation steps for different tests. For example, flammability testing and various pilling methods testing.

Water washing testing equipment and consumables

Therefore, washing tests can tell retailers everything, and it is important that these tests must be conducted under standard conditions to ensure consistency and reproducibility of results. For this reason, various international standards have specified several parameters to ensure the dimensional stability of washing/home washing. These parameters include:

1. Washing machine type-Vertical axis, top mounted washing machine (such as Vortex M6) or horizontal axis, front mounted washing machine (such as Wassator CLS). These machines have a high degree of standardization. From the physical dimensions of the washing machine and drum, to how the washing machine controls the washing program, every functional parameter is specified in international standards. Any machine used for these standardized tests must comply with these parameters.

Commonly used laboratory instruments, such as Vortex M6 and Wassator CLS, are programmable and can adapt to future standard changes to reflect washing trends in home washing, such as low agitation, low liquid volume, and low temperature.

2. drying equipment-Vortex M6D and precision drum dryer. Like the former, these devices comply with international standards in terms of drum size, size and quantity of lifting blades, drying rate, and other aspects. Similarly, the laboratory chooses programmable devices to cope with any changes in future standards and improve multifunctionality.

3. detergent-Consumers have multiple choices when choosing detergents - low-temperature optimization, with or without optical whitening agents, with or without enzymes, with or without softeners, making it difficult to standardize the use of detergents. In addition, some detergent formulations are more common in certain regions, such as AATCC reference detergents in the United States, IEC and ECE variants in the European market, JIS detergents in the Japanese market, and specialized liquid detergents for delicate items.

The commonality among all these reference detergents is that they are designed to represent consumer detergents, rather than replicas. It is impossible for one or two reference detergents to be the same as all existing commercial products. During the standard revision process, the committee will consider whether these formulas are still applicable and whether adjustments are needed as commercial detergent formulas change.

The removal of ECE B and AATCC phosphate containing detergents from the revised version of ISO 6330:2001 indicates the changes implemented due to the formula no longer being representative. In the years between the 1994 standard and the 2001 standard revision, commercial detergent manufacturers removed phosphates from their products. Phosphates have long been used to improve the efficiency of detergents, but once they enter wastewater through washing machines, they enter aquatic systems and become fertilizers for micro plants such as algae. These 'algal blooms' cover the water surface, causing organisms below to lack light and oxygen. Removing these substances from household detergents also reflects the removal of these substances from household washing standards.

A recent example is the modification of detergent formula, but also retaining the original formula as a substitute. Sodium perborate tetrahydrate is used as a bleaching agent in IEC and ECE detergents. Many years ago, many countries banned or restricted the use of sodium perborate in household washing, such as the United States and Germany, which had long banned the use of sodium perborate. Hydrogen peroxide is used in many products, from detergents to cosmetics, and is a source of hydrogen peroxide. When used with low-temperature bleaching activators, it is a suitable bleaching agent for detergents. However, this chemical itself has toxicity issues and has been included in the European REACH regulation list. In 2021, in order to adapt to the trend of consumers no longer using sodium perborate in detergents, ISO 6330:2021 listed sodium percarbonate as an alternative bleach. This reflects a change in commercial detergents, but since both perborate and sodium percarbonate are used as sources of hydrogen peroxide, they are also considered representative of household detergents, although household detergents no longer contain perborate.

4. Wash and replenish fabrics-In a home laundry environment, it is rare to wash a single item separately. Usually, it is washed together with many other items, with a washing capacity not exceeding the capacity of the washing machine used. Other items can actually affect their performance during the washing process. When washing an item separately, there may be differences in stirring, liquid interaction, and wear, which may result in deviations compared to the washing cycle of a household washing machine. To compensate for this and in a standardized manner, size stability standards and most other post wash performance methods require the use of reinforced fabrics.

In the ISO 6330 standard, there are three types of heavy-duty products, sometimes referred to as' heavy-duty fabrics' or 'wash cloths'. The choice depends on the composition of the tested product. But they are all used to achieve a test load of 2.0 ± 0.2 kilograms. This consistent load weight will result in a consistent level of agitation during each wash and reduce variations caused by a decrease or increase in load size. There are many supplementary fabrics related to other household washing machine standards. AATCC also specifies three different types of reinforced fabrics, which differ from ISO reinforced fabrics in multiple ways and should not be interchanged. However, their functions are the same, all of which are used to achieve a typical load capacity of 1.8 ± 0.1 kilograms.

How to explain the results?

Retailers and manufacturers will collect all the information they obtain from these home laundry tests, and then approve, reject, or take corrective measures for improvement and retesting. Retailers set tolerances for the products they are prepared to accept. For example, the size change of any product after washing cannot be zero, and the acceptable level also depends on the material of the product - for example, cotton may shrink more than polyester.

Compared with woven clothing, knitted clothing has larger tolerances because the dimensional stability of knitted products is poor, especially single-sided knitted structures.

This also depends on the ultimate use. A 5% shrinkage rate may be unacceptable in slim fit shirts, but it is almost imperceptible in flowing long dresses.

If manufacturers find that the shrinkage rate is high, they may be able to better shape the fabric during post-processing. If they find that the color changes significantly, they can study dye selection and fixing or cleaning processes.

If retailers find that the shrinkage rate is high and cannot be improved, they can consider using other materials or developing an appropriate set of care instructions so that customers will not notice the problem and can also minimize excessive color fading in situations where improvement is not possible.

Home wash testing is extremely important for both manufacturers and retailers, but it must be conducted under controlled conditions as much as possible.

Common questions about water washing test consumables

ECEWhat is the difference between IEC and IEC?

IECIt's the International Electrotechnical Commission. This is a standards organization that publishes standards for the electrical department. The detergent they authorize will be used by laundry equipment manufacturers to verify its performance.

ECEIt is the European organization for color fastness, which collaborates with the International Organization for Standardization to develop color fastness standards, and its detergents are used in these standards.

In fact, these detergents themselves are very similar.

Simply put

Any detergent called 'A' does not contain phosphates

Any detergent called 'B' contains phosphates

Any IEC detergent containsFluorescent brighteningagentOBA

• No ECE detergent containsFluorescent brighteningagentOBA

Therefore, for example, in addition to IEC A containingFluorescent brighteningagentBesides OBA, ECE A and IEC A are basically the same.

IECThere is also a detergent formula containing protease, namely IEC A *. This is the most representative commercially available biological detergent.

What is TAED?

TAEDTetraacetylethylenediamine is a low-temperature bleaching activator used in the European market. It can form an oxidative bleaching system with perborates and percarbonates at lower temperatures, which are typically less likely to generate hydrogen peroxide. In the United States, NOBS (SNOBS) is the first choice for low-temperature bleaching activators.

The IEC/ECE detergent you see does not contain perborates/percarbonates or TAED. Why?

If borates/percarbonates and TAED are mixed into detergents, they will react over time (especially in hot countries with high humidity), reducing the bleaching potential of the detergent and severely shortening the shelf life of the product. Adding them separately before testing can maintain their chemical activity and shelf life.

Although ECE B has not been used for any household washing methods since 2001, why still provide it?

ECE BStill used in ISO 105-C06:2010, which is a standard for color fastness to household and commercial washing. AATCC standard reference detergent(Excluding fluorescent whitening agents)Also used for this standard, but in regions outside of the Americas, ECE B is more common.

SDL AtlasWhat products are available for water washing testing?

403657 AATCCStandard reference detergent (including fluorescent whitening agent)- 7.3kilogram

403658 AATCCStandard reference detergent (excluding fluorescent whitening agent)- 7.3kilogram

400652 IECPhosphate free standard reference detergentA*

403235 ECEPhosphate free standard reference detergentA - 2kilogram

403236 ECEPhosphate free standard reference detergentA - 15kilogram

403237 ECEPhosphate standard reference detergentB - 2kilogram

403238 ECEPhosphate standard reference detergentB - 15kilogram

403239 IECPhosphate free standard reference detergentA - 2kilogram

403240 IECPhosphate free standard reference detergentA - 15kilogram

403738 (SDL) IEC-WLiquid standard reference detergent- 1rise

403720 (SDL) PRINT TESTDurable detergent- 5Kg(Only applicable to)NextAccredited laboratory)

403408 Tetraacetylethylenediamine(TAED) - 90-94%activity

204648 Sodium perborate tetrahydrate- 2Kilogram（204648Purchase number for China region (including Hong Kong)

202161 Used for evaluating stainingAATCCGray card

202162 Evaluate the color change levelAATCCGray card

403231 Evaluate the color change levelISOGray card

403232 Used for evaluating stainingISOGray card

401357 AATCCCotton reinforced fabric-type 1

401359 AATCCpolyester/Cotton reinforced fabric-type 3

203709 ISOCotton reinforced fabric--typeI

203710 ISOpolyester/Cotton reinforced fabric-typeII

403468 ISOPolyester reinforced fabric-typeIII

403386 AHAMCotton reinforced fabric

403380 ULCotton reinforced fabric