The Soiling Characteristics of Textile Fibers

The influence on soil retention of filament denier and cross-sectional contour of a series of man-made fibers has been studied. The fibers used included normal acetate (with the usual serrated cross section), circular cross-sectional acetate, nylon. Terylene, 2 and viscose rayon. Filament deniers varied from approximately 2 to 16. Soil content was determined by dissolving the soiled fiber in a suitable solvent and measuring the optical density of the resulting suspension. In general, soil retention increases with decreasing filament denier, and for any one type of fiber, e.g., acetate, circular cross-sectiunal fibers retain less soil than those of similar denier but having a serrated cross section. Soil retention by any one type of fiber is a linear function of the gross surface area of the filaments. There are differ ences in soil retention by various chemical types of fiber that apparently cannot be re lated to differences in physical size and shape of the filaments. The influence of static electricity on soiling is not clear, soil retention showing no correlation with the mag nitude of the electrostatic charge. The visual appearance of soiled fibers is not neces sarily indicative of the quantity of soil retained.