Influence of Scouring Operations on the Properties of Control and DMEU-Finished Cotton Drill Fabric

Abstract

Desized-mercerized (DM) cotton drill was scoured in the laboratory using three techniques— viz. pressure-kier-boil (PK), open-kier-boil (OK), and pad-roll-steam (PS). From the physicochemical data obtained on these fabrics, the descending order of purification attained is PK > OK > PS > DM. However, the evaluation for resilience and strength-abrasion properties has shown that the better the purification attained, the greater is the loss in these properties. On DMEU finishing, the improvement in conditioned wrinkle-recovery angle shows a descending order similar to the above with increasing purification. However, the gradation in the overall performance of DMEU-finished fabrics at the wash-and-wear level is DM>PS>OK>PK, and at the durable-press level it is PS>DM>OK>PK. The values for the slopes of these profiles show a reverse trend.