Recovery from Creasing and Mussing of Cotton Finished with Experimental and Conventional Durable-Press Reageots

Abstract

Cotton fabric finished with experimental reagent systems, N-methylolacrylamide (NMA) plus phosphate salts, N-methylolmethacrylamide (NMMA), NMMA plus phosphate salts, and N-methylolpolyethyleneurea, dp = 2, (NMP-2), showed different rates of recovery from creasing and mussing in laundering tumble-drying, compared to cottons finished with conventional crosslinking reagents, dimethylolethyleneurea (DMEU), dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU), and formaldehyde. At similar levels of conditioned wrinkle-recovery angle (WRA) or durable-press (DP), fabric treated with experimental reagent systems recovered from creasing (WRA) more slowly in the initial period (6 seconds) but more rapidly in the second period of measurement (1 minute) than those treated with conventional reagents. The fabric treated with experimental reagent systems recovered from mussing more rapidly in the initial period (15 minutes) and less rapidly in the second period of measurement (1 hour).