Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~8~0~ cc . 770
This invention relates to a product for the treatrnen-t of
fab~ics with conditioning agen-ts. The products are particularly
adap-ted for use in tumble drying machines, tha-t is to say
machines in which damp fabrics are tumbled whilst warm air i9
- 5 passed around them so as to remove the moisture.
~ he practice of washing clothes and fabrics has been found
to have a harshening effect on the feel of the fabrics during
subsequent wear or usage, especially in the case of cotton
fabrics such as -towelling. It has therefore been proposed -to
soften the fabrics by treating them with fabric sof-tening agents
in tumble driers. For example, it has been proposed to spray a
fabric softening agent on the inside of the drum of a tumble
drier before putting the fabrics into the tumble drier, so that
the fabric softening agent is rubbed off the drum onto the
fabrics during the tumble drying; but this can lead to the
build-up of a sticky residue on the drum. It has also been
proposed to impregnate a piece of fabric with a softening agent
and then to add it to the tumble drier with the clothes to be
softened, so that the softening agent is -transferred from the
fabric to the clothes during tumble drying; but this is
inconvenient as a new impregnated fabric piece usually needs to
be used each time and it is relatively expensive.
According to the present invention, we have devised an
improved product for the treatment of fabric in tumble driers.
In its broadest aspect, the present inven-tion provides a product
adapted for treating fabric in a tumble drier, which product is
- formed of at least one piece of resilien-tly flexible substrate
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~ 869~ cC.770
impregnated with a fabric conditionirlg agen-t, wherein the piece
or pieces are secured in multiple laycrs. Construction of the
,products in this manner facilitates the progressive application
of the conditioning agents to the fabric during use of the
products. It is also possib]e to use in this way rela-tively
cheap substrate materials, whils-t avoiding the problem oi the
substrate s-ticking to the sides of the tumble drier or blocking
the tumble drier outlet as can readily happen with single
impregnated sheets.
By using a product of the inven-tion it is possible to ob-tain
substantially uniform distribution of the fabric conditioning
agent over the fabrics to be treated, and by adjustment of the
amount of the fabric conditioning agent in the products it is
possible to use them for more than one tu~lble drying operation.
Products according to the present invention may take a
variety of physical forms, though eaoh still embodies the
essential feature of being formed of at least one piece of
resiliently flexible substrate. The preferred substrate is
foamed plastic or rubber sheet or strips, which are preferably
highly porous and very flexible. Suitable foam is of the open-
cell type, as closed-cell foams are not sufficiently porous,
preferably with a density of about 20-30 kg/m3 and a pore
count (cells per inch) of about 30-70 (ie 10-30 cells per cm).
Such foam sheet or strips preferably have a thickness of not
greater than about 1 inch (about 2.5 cm), for e~ample from about
inch to about ~ inch (about 0.25 cm to about 2 cms).
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Specific preferred substrates which may be men-tioned are
polyurethane foams which are obtainable in sheet form having a
thickness of about 0.5 to 1 cm, and a pore count of about 15-25
cells per cm. We have found that polyurethane foams of poly-
- 5 ether type are better than those of polyester -type for form
retention at the elevated temperatures encountered during tumble
drying. ~he foam plastic used may be a reticulated foam if
desired, tha-t is a foam in which the cell walls are ruptured but
leaving the overall cell network intact. Alternatively,
laminated foam sheets may be used, -that is with :Loam of large
pore size lamina-ted to one to two layers of foam having fine
pore structures. This can provide a product more resistant to
surface damage and the finer external pore struc-ture facilitates
even application of the fabric conditioning agent to treated
fabric.
Alternatively3 the substrate may be a fabric, of either
woven or non-woven cons"ruction, but such fabric should be
treated in order to make it resiliently flexible, for example
by coating or laminating with a rubber or like material. If
nor~al fabric, ie with no tendency to retain i-ts shape, is
employed the products tend to "ball-up" in the tumble drying
process and be relatively ineffective. Also, if only single
open sheets of such substrates are used for fabric treatment,
they can more easily get caught between the rotating drum and
the body of the tumble drier or block the hot-air outlet from
the tumble drier in use.
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~ 69~6 cC.770
The product as a whole should have some three dimensional
shape so as to facili-tate contact oE its outer surfaces with the
fabrics during the -tumble drying process, and hence to improve
the uniform applica-tion of the fabric conditioning agent -to the
fabrics. Specific forms of the product which may be mentioned
by way of example, include thos.e formed from single sheets oE
substrate which are folded or wrapped and then tied in a
particular multiple layered form, especially in the region of
the tying. If desired the sheets may be cut before or after
they are tied. Specific product forms from single sheets are
folded fan shapes and rolled cylindrical shapes. Instead of
being tied, the sheets may be otherwise secured, for example by
adhesive or thermal treatment, but in this case this is better
done before impregnating the substrate wi-th conditioning agent.
Alternatively, the product may be made of more than one
sheet or strip of substrate which may again be folded or wrapped
together and then tied or otherwise secured into a bundle or
bunch, the overall shape of which depends on the shape of each
piece and how they are tied together. For example strips of
flexible substrate may be tied at their ends to form an octopus-
like shape-with from two to about twelve or even more "arms".
Alternatively, bundles of the s-trips may be tied in the middle
to give a two-ended mop-head type construction. Instead of
strips which may be o:E rectangular, round or other cross-section,
the sheets of flexible substrate may be tied together in a
variety of ways, a particularly preferred form being to tie a
number of for example about two -to twelve pieces of foam sbeet
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together in such a way as to presen-t an overall ball-like
appearance. For exan1ple oval-shaped pieces of foam shee-t can
be used to form "leaves" or "petals" of the substrate projectin~
from a coll~mon centre, if desired with the appearance of a flower,
such as a rose.
Various forms of the product of the invention are described
in more detail below with refe:rence to the accompanying drawings.
The preferred forms are those which are suitable for lree-tumbling
with fabrics in -twllble driers, but it is also possible to a-ttach
products to the interior surfaces of the tumble driers, either by
pressure sensitive adhesives or by other means, for example
mateable woven hook and loop fastenings, eg of the "Velcro"
(trademark) type or by tapes or hooks. The products may also
carry loops or tapes for convenien-tly carrying the products or
for hanging them between their use.
. It will be appreciated that -the products of the invention
may be coloured or they may carry patterns or writing~ for
example instructions on how to use the product. Furthermore,
the products lend themselves to attractive packaging, for example
i 20 in transparent boxes, or by shrinkwrapping so that the bulky
.~i .
nature of the products is conveniently controlled for transport
and storage. The products may also be designed for alternative
use after they have been used for fabric trea-tment, for example
as a bath sponge, upholstery-cleaning or car-washing sponge.
As described above, the product contains a fabric
conditioning agent which is impregnated into the flexible
substrate, either before or after the sheets or strips of
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substrate are formed in-to the final product. Preferably the
conditioning agent is solid a-t room temperature but melts or
softens at a temperature reached during the treatment of the
fabric, usually in the region of abou-t 3~C -to about 80C in
normal tumble drying operations. The conditioning agent can
then be more readily transferred to the fabric during use, and
progressive migration of the conditioning agent from the inner
parts of the product to its outer surface is facilitated.
Alternatively, the conditioning agent may be a viscous liquid
or pasty material, but this is not desirable due to the sticlsy
nature of the product and the relatively low levels of the
conditioning agent which can consequently be used.
:- As described above, $he product of the invention is employed
; to treat fabric with conditioning agents during tumble drying.
The preferred conditioning agents are so-called softening agents
~hich make the treated fabrics feel softer to the touch. Many
fabric softening agents are quaternary ammonium compounds, having
the general formula:
; r+ O
lN(R1R2R3R~ ) n~ X- (I)
wherein N1 is a C16 to C22 alkyl group, R2 is a C1 to C~ alkyl
group and R3 and R4 are the same as R1 or R2, and any of R1,
R2, R3 and R~ may be saturated or unsaturated, linear or brancbed
chain alkyl groups, or they may con-tain substituent groups, eg
hydroxy groups or R1, R2, R3 and R~ may be connected to the
nitrogen atom wi-th linking groups, eg amide, ester or ether
linkages, or 2 or 3 of ~ 3 and R4 may be conjoined with the N
atom to form a heterocyclic ring such as a morpholinyl ring, X
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8~ 6 cc 770
is an anion and n is the valency of X. Suitable anions (X )
are Cl , HSO~ , SO~ , C2EI5S04 , CX3SO~ , HCOO , CH3COO , Br ,
I and H2PO~ , of which the chloride, sulphate, bromide and
acetate ions are preferred. Typical con~ercial produc-ts of
this type are di-tallow-dime-thyl ammonium chloride, dicoco-
dimethyl ammonium chloride, di-(s-tearoyloxyethyl)dime-thyl
ammonium chloride and 3-behenoyloxy-2-hydroxypropyl trime-thyl
ammonium chloride.
Other preferred softening agents are the reac-tion products
of about 2 moles of a fatty acid of the formula ~COOII and a
hydroxyalkyldiamine of the formula:
N~2 5 6 (II)
wherein R~ is a C15 to C1g alkyl group, R5 is a C1 to C3 divalent
hydrocarbon group and R6 is a hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to
i5 3 carbon atoms. ~ typical commercial product of this type is
, the reaction product of 2 moles of stearic acid with 1 mole of
¦ hydroxyethyl ethylene diamine, which has a mixed chemical
¦ structure because of the mul-tifunctional nature of the diamine.
Similar products include the quaternised products of about 2 moles
¦ 20 of oleic acid reacted with 1 mole of hydroxyethyl e-thylene '~
7 . diamine and the product of about 2 moles of a mixture of oleic
and stearic acids reacted with 1 mole of hydro~yethyl ethylene
-- diamine. The softening agents are preferably used in
admixture with a nonionic surfactant.
Other types of fabric softening agents which may be used
; in the present in~ention are known in the art and described in
the literature, for example in ~Proceedings of the American
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cC,770
Association o~ 're~tile Chemists an~ Coloris-ts~, AIDerican Dyes-t
~-- Repor-ter, pages P~2 and P~3, January 28, 1957.
Other Iabric condi-tioning agents which can be employed in
the products of the invention, either alone or in admixture,
~ 5 especially in admixture wi-th fabric softening agents as
i described above include:
(1) Optical brighteners, ie fluorescent brightening
agents such as substituted disulphonated diaminos-tilbene
compounds for example as disclosed in United States Patent
iO No.2,612,501, and triazole compounds of -the -type disclosed in
' United Sta-tes Paten-t No.2,78~ 3.
I (2) Essential oils and fragrances.
¦ (3) Antistatic agents, which in many cases are compounds
of the same general structures discussed above ~ith respec-t to
fabric softening compounds. Specific antistatic agents which
may be mentioned by way of example are ethoxylated compounds
such as ethoxylated amines, ethoxylated quaternary amulonium
compounds, ethoxyla-ted aliphatic alcohols and alkyl phenols,
ethoxylated carbohydrates such as sorbitol ethoxylates,
ethoxylated aliphatic mono- and di-carboxylic acids, and amides
or esters thereof, and polye-thylene glycols. The antistatic
properties of the preferred quaternary ammonium compounds as
, well as other fabric softening agents may be enhanced in
! particular by combining -these materials wi-th ethoxyla-ted amides
such as tallow ethanolamides or ethoxylated aliphatic alcohols.
, (~) Germicides, such as the halogenated salicylanilides~
eg tribromosalicylanilide, hexachlorophene, neomycin sulpha~e,
benzalkonium quaternary compounds, and the lil~e.
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cC.770
(5) Bodying agents, such as carboxymethylcellulose,
hydroxye-thylcellulose, starch, polyvinyl acetate and the like.
Polyvinyl acetate is also effective to improve ease of ironing
and may be employed for that purpose.
(6) Soil release agents, such as the polyacrylic polyvinyl
alcohol compositions described, for example, in United States
Patent No.3,377,2~9, and fluorocarbons, or copolymers of
ethylene glycol with -terephthalic acid which are useful for
treating polyester fabrics for this purpose.
(7) Ironing aids, for example silicones such as dime-thyl
silicone.
~8) Surface active agents, used in admixture with o-ther
conditioning agents, for example nonionic surfactan-ts used wi-th
quaternary ammonium fabric softening agents. In this case it
i5 is preferred to have a ratio of the cationic quaternary
ammonium compound to the nonionic compound of about 2:1 to
about 20:1, especially about 3:1 -to about 10:1, parts by weight.
It will be appreciated that several of the conditioning
agents described above are normally solid non-meltable ma-terials,
ie at elevated as well as at room temperatures, in which case
they should be employed either in aqueous solution or dispersion,
or with other conditioning agents which are liquid or meltable
- solids. When the condi-tioning agen-ts are impregna-ted into the
substrate they should be in liquid form, either due to melting
or due to the presence of a solvent which can subsequently be
evapora-ted.
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The amoull-t of the fabric conditioning agent used in a
product of the invention depends of course on the type of -the
agent and the type of produc-t, esp0cially if multiple use of -the
product is intended, and the optimum levels can readily be
determined. For example, in the case of a fabric soitening
agent, i-t is normally preferrecl to have about 1 gram to about
5 grams, preferably about 2 to ~ grams, of softening agent
available for application to a typical domes-tic fabric load in
a tumble drier. Products intended for mul-tiple use should
contain proportionately more fabric condi-tioning agen-t. As al]
of the fabric conditioning agent is not discharged from the
product, it is generally preferred to have a to-tal amount of
abou-t 25 grams to about ~0 grams of fabric conditioner in the
product intended for multiple use, usually over about 5 to 10
dryer cycles. In general an amount of about 0.1 gram of fabric
conditioner per cm3 of plastic foam is found to be suitable for
optimum discharge from the product.
It is possible to use more than one product at a time in a
tumble drying machine so as to secure sequential release of
fabric conditioning agents during the drying cycle, for example
by using softening agents which melt at different temperatures,
or for the simultaneous treatment of different types of fabrics.
It may for example be particularly advantageous to secure the
release towards the end of the fabric treatment of cer-tain
conditioning agents such as germicides or perfumes, especially
if they interfere with or are inhibited by other fabric
conditioning agen-ts.
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` ~869~ cC 770
Products accordillg to -the inven-tion are illustrated by ~he
accompanying drawings of which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a generally ball-shaped
product;
~igure 2 is a perspective view of a produc-t in flower for~
Figure 3 is a perspective ~iew of a further produc-t taking
the form of a tied bundle of subs-trate strips;
Figure ~ is a plan vicw of a further generally ball-shapecl
product;
Figure S is an elevation of the produc-t of Figure ~; and
Figure 6 is a perspective view of an alternative ball-
shaped product.
3 Referring to Figure 1, twelve pieces of soft open-cell
polyurethane foam, each having a thicl~ness of about 3/16 inch
~ i5 (about 0.5 cm), and each being of generally oval shape with a
; maximum length of about S inches ~12.5 cm) and a minimum wid-th
¦ of about 4 inches (10 cms), were impregnated with an alcoholic
solution of a mixture of a quaternary ammonium fabric softening
agent, namely di-hardened tallow-alkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride
3 20 recrystallised from acetone, and a nonionic e-thylene oxide-
propylene oxide condensate ob~ained as Ethylan PB (trademark), in
the ratio o~ gO:10, and a perfume. 'rhe mixed conditioning
~ agents became fluid at about ~3C and the total amount deposited
33 on the sheets made into each product was about 20 grams. 'rhe
25 impregnated pieces 1 ~ere dried and then tied together by nylon
¦ cord passed around the middles of the pieces, ie perpendicular
to and about mid-way along the maximum dimensions, in such a
manner that the whole product 2 takes a ball-like appearance
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with the edges O:e the pieces 1 protrwding from a more clensely
packed closely folded centre 3. It should be appreciated tha-t
the pieces of foa~n can be impregnated with -the fabric softening
agent in sheet form before being cut into shape if desired, or
after being tied in fin~l product form. All -the pieces 1 may
be tied in-to a single bundle if desired, bu-t it is preferred to
tie them into two bundles of six each, with a generally hemi~
spherical shape, which bunc~les themselves are then tied together
bacl~ to back to give a better final product shape.
In a practical test, -the product shown in Figure 1 was
compared for its fabric sof-tening and antistatic proper-ties with
a conventional commercially available liquid fabric softening
product of the type which is added manually to the final rinse
water in a spin dryer after washing the fabric normally, and
1~ with a commercially available fabric softening product of the
impregnated non-woven fabric type for tumble drier use. In the
test the conventional rinse cycle product and the other
commercially available fabric softening product were used under
the recommended conditions in a domesti.c washillg machine with a
2~ spin dryer, and in a domestic tumble drier, respectively. ~he
product of the invention was used in the same domestic -tumble
drier for ~5 minutes, with the outlet temperature being fron1
2~C to 78C at the end of the drying cycle, for trea-ting both
cotton towelling and.nylon garments. It was found that the
2~ product of the invention discharged 2.7 grams of -the fabric
softening agent in the first tumble drying operation and
progressively smaller amounts of the softening agent in
subsequent tests until the product was no longer sufficien-tly
.
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cC 770
1~18~9~
- effective after about 5 cycles of use. The other -two products
had to ~e changed each time ot` use.
~ he fabric softening properties were evaluated by a panel
of experienced fabric feel assessors, and the antista-tic
properties by a standard antistatic cling test, in which a 6 KV
static electricity charge was applied to treated fabric and the
time in which it then takes to fall away from an earthed metal
place is measured.
In these tes-ts, the softening and an-tistatic proper-ties of
iO the product according to -the invention were Iound to be about
equal to those of -the conventional rinse cycle product, wi-th
marked benefits over untreated fabric. The product according
to -the invention achieved this without the inconvenience of the
special rinsing prior to spin drying when using -the conve~tional
produc-t. Both -the product according to ~he in~ention and the
compara-tive liquid product were far superior for fabric
softening to the known impregnated non-woven fabric product.
The antistatic properties were particularly good, with the time
for "de-clinging" being decreased from about 50 seconds to only
3 seconds on the initial application of the 6 K~ charge, by the
treatment with the product according to the invention.
i Further successful results were achieved when the product
of Figure 1 was impregnated with an ~0:20 mixture of the same
sof-tening agen-t, di-hardened-taliow-dimethyl amllloniulll chloride
with a differen-t nonionic surface active agent, namely Tergitol
. . .
lS-S-12 (trademark), which is a condensate product of a secondary-
linear (C11-C15) alcohol with 12 moles of ethylene oxide. Good
results were also achieved when 1% of perfume was added -to this
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:~8~ill6
fabric softening composition, with an at-tractive lasting :fresh
smell bein~, impar-ted to treated fabric in mul-tiple dryer cycles.
Fur-ther -tests l~ere also conducted with alternative iabric
softeners, namely 80 parts by welght of 3-all~yloxy-2-hydroxy-
propyl -trime-thyl ammonium chlo:ride (the alkyl group was derived
from rape seed oil and con-tained about 6~% C22, about 22% C18
and about 12% C20 alkyl groups) or a condensation produc-t of 2
moles of stearic acid with 1 mole of N-hydroxyethylenediamine and
20 parts by weigh~ of secondary-linear C11-C15 alcohol - 12 E0
condensate. 35 grams of these mixtures were employed in the
product cons-tructed as in Figure 1 made of sheets of a laminated
foam having an inner layer (6 mm) of large pore size and tl~o
outer layers (1 mm) of foam of small pore size. These products
were used to treat fabric in five successive tumble drier
cycles, and in each case the softening effect was readily
noticeable compared with untreated fabrics.
The product of Figure 2 takes the form of a flo~er,
perhaps rose-like in appearance, formed of ten "petals" ~ each
of generally oval shape which are secured toge-ther by binding with
nylon cord to form a stem portion 5, which can if desired be
; covered by a plastic foam cap (not sho~n) to improve its
appearanceO The petals ~ (and cap, if any) are each for~lled of
soft open-celled polyurethane foam of about 3/16 inch (about
0.5 cm) thicl~ness impregnated with the same second mixture of
fabric conditionlng agen-ts as described for the product of
Figure 1, except tha-t the ratio was chaMged from 80:20 to 70:30.
In Figure 3, a bundle of seven sof-t polyurethane foam
strips 6, each about 2 inches (about 5 cm) wide and about
.
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:~86~ cc. 770
3/16 illch (a'bout 0.5 cm) thick i3 held -toge-ther by an encircling
strip 7 O:r the same foam material wrapped around the mid-por-tions
of the strips and then secured by stapling (not sho~n). 'rhe
product was impregnated ~ith the same fabric conditioning agent
as described for Figure 2 abo~e by treatmen-t of the foam in
sheet form before cons-tructing the product shape as shown.
Both proclucts of Figures 2 and 3 were folmd to give
satisfactory fabric sof-tening and antistatic properties in u,se.
In Figures 4 and 5, eight hesagonal pieces of -thick
plas-tic foam sheet 8 are superimposed with -two larger pi,eces 8a
being adjacent and the progressively smaller pieces 8b, 8c and
8d being towards -the outer ends of the products so as to give an
ove:rall ball-shaped appearance. ~he eigh-t plastic foam pieces
' are held together by an elastic cord 9 passing through their
centres and held at each end by a thin plas-tic disc 10.
Before being assembled together as shown, the plastic foam
pieces are impregnated with a fabric conditioning agent.
During use of the product, the conditioning agent melts at
the elevated temperatures met during tumble drying, and some of
the conditioning agent at the sur~ace oi' the product is removed
by contact with the fabric being treated. Both surface tension
, and the pressure exerted by the elastic cord through the product,
- then encourage the remaining fab,ric conditioning agent to move
towards the surface of the product for more effective and
multiple use of the product.
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In a practical test of ~ product as shown in Figures
and 5, a polyurethane foam was used having a thickness of 12 ~ml
per sheet, and the diameter of the product a-t its wides-t point was
about 6 inches (15 cms). ~he total amount of -the Eabric softerl-
5 ing agent uscd was ~5.5 grams of a mix-ture of 58% di-hardened-
tallow dime-thyl al~monium chloride, 22% of secondary~linear
C11-C15 alcohol - 12 E0 condensate and 20% water. This product
was used to treat fabric in a domestic tumble drier using the
recommended procedure, when it was found that the product
- 10 discharged about 5 grams of fabric softener in -the first drying
cycle, abou-t 2 grams during the next cycle and then gradually
decreasing an~ounts of between about 1 and 2 grams for each of
the next 10 cycles. The treated fabrics were found to be
no-ticeably sof-ter than compara-tive untreated fabrics.
15Fur-ther tests were also undertaken in which differen-t
fabric conditioning agents were used. In one test a 15%
aqueous dispersion of a copolyl~er of e-thylene glycol and
terephthalic acid formed by reacting 2 moles of the for~er with
1 mole of the latter and then reac-ting the product with
additional polyethylene glycol, obtained as Permalose T (trade-
mark) was used to i~lpregnate -the foam sheet which was then
dried. ~be resultant product, which contained 30 grams O:e the
anti-soiling aid, was used to treat polyester fabrics in a
~ tumble drier and it was :Eound that satisfactory illlproved anti-
- 25 s-tatic alld an-ti-soiling proper-ties were impar-ted to the trea-ted
fabric over 5 successlve dryer cycles.
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In another test the product was impregna-ted wi-th 20 grams
of a 2~:1 mixture by weight of tallow alcohol ~ 50 E0 condensate
and disodium ~ di(2"-anilino-~"-diethanol-aminotriozin-6"-
yl~nino)-stilbene-2,2'-disulphonate (obtained as Photine C
(trademark)). Cot-ton shee-ting was dried in a tumble drier
using this product and it was found to improve in apparent
whiteness under artificial lighting, for several -tumble drier
cycles.
In a variation of the form of the product of Figures
iO and 5, it is possible to have a hollow centre which can if
desired be filled with fabric conditioning agent.
The product shown in Figure 6 is constructed somewhat
similarly to the product of Figure 3, except for -the shape of
the piece of plastic foam. In this product six pieces 11 of
i5 plastic foam sheet are used, each having the shape of a
rectangle from which two triangular parts have been cut from the
two longer sides so as to form si~-sides pieces each with a
"waist" in the middle region thereof. The six pieces are tied
together in the middle 12 with nylon cord so as to give an
ao oYerall ball-like appearance. The sheets of plastic foam
are impregnated before cutting with a fabric conditioning agent
as described for Figures ~ and 5. The fabric conditioning
agent may be applied either in molten liquid form or as a
solution in a solvent, eg isopropyl alcohol, which is -then
evaporated.
- 18 - /. .
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cC.770
igO6
In a practical app]ication of a product as in Figure 6,
polyurethaIle sheeting l~as usecl of 6 mnn thickness, and the
overall maximum leng-th of -the product l~as 5 inches (12.5 cm)
and the maximum width (ie at the end of each piece of foam
plastic shee-t) was 4 inches (10 Clll). rrhe pieces of foam
plastic were impregnated with about ~3 grams of the same fabric
softener mix used for the product of Figures ~ and 5. When
this product was used in a tumble drier it, was found that fabric
was softened satisfactorily for at least 5 drying cycles.
When a comparative -test l~as undertaken using a single sheet
of the same plastic foam impregnated with the same fabric
conditioning agent, it was found that when a satisfactory level
- of the fabric conditioner was discharged in the first drying
cycle, there was insufficient fabric conditioner available
subsequently for satisfactory mul-tiple use properties. A
furtl~er comparative test was undertaken using a colmnercially
available product with a single sheet of this foam, about 20 cms
by 7.5 cms, carrying about 2.5 grams of fabric softening agen-t.
It l~as found that during a normal tumble dryer operation only
about 0.5 gram of the fabric softening agent was transferred to
the fabric being dried, which was insufficient to give a
sa-tisfactory fabric softening effect or any appreciable anti.-
sta-tic proper-ties, and there was no benefit to be achieved on
attemp-ted re-use of the produc-t.
;
.
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