MATERIAL SOLUTIONS: READER’S QUERY


setting in the final stenter, resulting in tiny, ‘cracked-ice’ creases forming in laundering. The laundry ironer cannot remove these. It can then take twenty launderings at high temperature before the finish is just about acceptable to the end user. It is important to check for this on delivery of new textiles to the laundry using the droplet test. One droplet of water carefully placed on the new fabric should be completely absorbed in under three seconds if it has been properly de-sized. If it fails the droplet test, this can be repeated after one normal wash. Some batches do have a removable finish, and it is fine to remove this in the wash before first issue. Squareness of the weave: a 400 thread- count fabric could be woven with 300 ends x 100 picks or with 200 ends x 200 picks. The 300 x 100 construction is the cheapest to weave but it will have significantly less stability in laundering, which will be most obvious at the ironer. Even the slightest misalignment will be magnified, resulting in unwanted creases and misshapenness. The launderer and rental operator will get a much better result with the 200 x 200 ‘squarer’ construction, but the cloth will cost slightly more.


Susceptibility to tearing: a rental operator buying new sheeting items with a 200 thread-count might specify a minimum tensile strength of say 400N per 50mm strip in both warp and weft, and this should perform well as a rental item to give up to 200 wash and re-use cycles. However, although a good 400 thread- count fabric might offer the same excellent tensile strength, it could well have a much lower tear strength. This is because the


FIVE STARS: High thread count linen enhances the five-star quality for the guest room


act of tearing affects individual threads sequentially and the finer threads in the 400 thread-count will probably each snap more easily than those in the 200 thread- count material. Washing of high thread-count linen calls for separation from percale and lower thread-count materials. The high thread- count material will also be more susceptible to snagging on any burrs or other damage on the metal parts. A washer extractor process might require adjustment to the time between reversals to avoid any greater tendency to roping with the finer fabric. It could also call for reduced speed in the final extract, to maximise textile life by minimising any greater tendency to bursting. In a tunnel washer, the membrane press stage should employ a special sequence, with tamping to safely speed-up dewatering and a


carefully managed ramp up to final pressure. Energy consumption should be lower with higher thread count materials, because they should carry slightly less water per square metre which will evaporate more rapidly in the ironer. Time in the tumble dryer should be minimised – just enough to break the cheese – and the tumbler can probably be run cold. Let the ironer, which is far more energy efficient, do the majority of the drying and produce a superior finish as well. Ironing of high thread-count linen calls for a well-tuned ironer, with a perfectly straight lay-down, edge to edge feeding into the first nip and rolls that are exactly parallel. The clothing thickness and the roll to bed pressure should be even side to side with uniform vacuum across each roll. The roll springing needs to be even, with no dimples from misfeeds (especially the type of damage caused by a duvet cover with a crumpled-up pillowcase trapped inside). The beds must not exhibit any significant cold spots.


The folder has to manipulate the limp high thread-count material through the sequential stages of the folding process, which calls for just as much care in the set- up as for the ironer itself. Correct tuning of the ironer is key to success, and the laundry engineer has a major role to play here.


Conclusion


DISCERNABLY DIFFERENT: The drape, handle and breathability of high thread count textiles is immediately apparent to the discerning customer


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Although processing of high thread count linen is not for the lazy or faint-hearted, if you are prepared to address each of the points described here you should produce superb, high-quality results and delight the most critical customer.


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