Abstract
A survey of soil redeposition on different fabrics in the commercial drycleaning process with three kinds of drycleaning solvents was carried out. The cleaning solvent was analyzed at the same time. The following results were obtained.
1. It was observed that soil redeposition on the fabrics was affected not only by the degree of dirtiness of the cleaning solvent but also by the chemical and physical character of the fibers.
2. The most highly soiled fibers were cotton, polyester-cotton blend and wool, and the least, acrylonitrile, polyester filament, polyplopylen, nylon and silk. Rayon, polyester spun and acetate came between the former and the latter.
3. It was proved that soil redeposition was caused mainly by suspended dusts and dirty oil or fat dissolved in the solvent. Infra-red spectra of non-volatile components of the used cleaning solvent showed that those components were mainly natural soil.
4. The sum total obtained by adding ten individual rates of soil redeposition on each of twelve fabrics through ten experiments with one type of cleaning solvent showed approximately the same order as the order of accumulated rates of soil redeposition on the fabrics through ten repetitions of the drycleaning operation. This fact was true with any of the three drycleaningsolvents; petroleum solvent, perchloroethylene, and 1, 1, 2-trichloro 1, 2, 2-trifluoroethane.
