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Instructions for how to test for colorfastness to washing
2019/08/15
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Once you determine you need to test a fabric to see how it will react to your potential use of a laundry supply on it, here are the steps you should take.
Firstly ,preparating the accessories :
Rotawash color fastness tester (Launder-O-meter)
Silver balls weighting 0.89g having a diameter of 0.7mm
Hot oven
Step one: Always Test In An Inconspicuous Area
You never know how your test will turn out when you start it, so you don't want to do it in a really noticeable area since you might end up with a faded or even bleach stained spot on the fabric.Instead, choose an inconspicuous area to test in.
What is an inconspicuous area for testing? Typically, a great place is on the wrong side of the hem of an item, or an inside seam.Just be careful that you only treat the hem, and that the testing solution does not soak through into another area of the fabric when you're doing your test.
Step two: Testing For Colorfastness To Chlorine Bleach
The next step of the process depends on whether you're testing the effects of chlorine bleach, which has its own testing procedure, versus whether you're testing basically any other laundry supply.
If you're testing the use of chlorine bleach on your fabric for stain removal, use Step 2a, but for all other supplies skip down to the instructions in Step 2b.
Chlorine bleach can be used not only on white fabric, but also on colorfast colored fabrics.
If you don't know if a colored fabric meets these criteria though, you've got to do a test to find out before bleaching it, or you run the risk of ruining the fabric.
First, create a solution of one tablespoon of bleach in 1/4 cup of water and use a cotton swab to dab a little of this diluted bleach solution onto the inside seam or hem.
Let this solution sit for one minute on the fabric and then blot the seam dry with a white paper towel. Look at the paper towel - is it clean, or did color come off on it? Also look at the seam. Is it the same color as the untreated fabric around it, or a lighter color?
If the seam fabric looks the same and there was no color that came off onto the paper towel you can feel more confident that the fabric is colorfast and can be safely washed in chlorine bleach.
Caution: Before using household bleach on a fabric you'll need to do this test on all colors on the clothing item, and even on all decorative trim.
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