A Study of the Removal of Synthetic Sebum from Durable-Press Fabrics, Using a Liquid-Scintillation Technique

Abstract

A study was made of the retention of a doubly labelled synthetic sebum mixture by durable-press cotton and polyester/cotton fabrics after soiling and laundering. The laundry conditions were ineffective in removing the labelled, oily soil components (tristearin, octadecanol, cholesterol, stearic acid, and oleic acid) from the fabrics. After one soiling and laundering, more tristearin was retained by the fabrics than the other four soil components. The untreated cotton retained significantly less tristearin than DP cotton and the untreated and DP polyester/cotton fabrics. In contrast, after several soilings and launderings, both tristearin and the polar components accumulated on the fabrics and untreated cotton retained significantly more of these components than the other three fabrics.