Effects of fiber electrostatic cling and moisture regain on timothy grass pollen attraction

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to determine if there is a relationship between fabric parameters such as electrostatic charge and moisture regain on the attraction of Timothy grass pollen, and to determine the effects of various fabric treatments on their pollen attraction. Half of the fabrics were treated with acidic acid (vinegar), basic (ammonia), and fabric softener. Both untreated and treated fabrics were exposed to Timothy grass pollen. The pollen counts of both untreated and treated fabrics were then determined. The results showed that untreated wool was found to be the least attraction to Timothy grass pollen while nylon was the most attracted to this pollen. The relationship between electrostatic cling time and pollen attraction was not established in the fibers studied except nylon, which had the highest cling time and the highest pollen count. When examining the relationship between fiber moisture regain and their pollen attraction, the results showed that other than wool, which had the highest MR and the lowest pollen count, no consistency was found between the MR and pollen count for the rest of the fibers tested. For fabric treatments, the results showed that dilute acidic acid was found to be most effective in reducing the pollen counts in all fiber fabrics except made no change in wool. Fabric softener was found to be the least effective treatment in lowering the fabric pollen attraction on all fiber fabrics except nylon.