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Risks of damages in stain removal and washing

di by ING. VITTORIO CIANCI
Direttore LART – Laboratorio Analisi e Ricerca Tessile

The challenges of stain removal
Regardless of the type of washing, pre-spotting and stain removal are often necessary steps. Pre-spotting is performed before washing and targets heavily soiled areas or specific stains that could set due to heat or solvent action. Heat, in particular, can thermoset dye substances in stains, making them more difficult to remove. Stain removal, or post-spotting, takes place after washing. It eliminates stains that become more visible after cleaning and require localized, targeted treatment. In general, when pre-spotting is done correctly, the need for post-spotting is minimal.

Precautions

Precautions to take:
• always try to determine the origin of the stain to apply the appropriate treatment. If the origin is unknown, test general treatments such as oxidation, reduction, or solvents;
• ensure that the selected treatment does not damage the fabric fibres;
• for coloured garments, check the fabric's colour resistance before applying treatment. In many cases, the stain may disappear, but colour degradation can leave a visible mark;
• verify whether the fabric has special finishes (e.g., resin coatings, synthetic films) that could be affected by the treatment.

It is not recommended to apply stain removers on delicate items like linen, silk, and fabrics printed with glitter (specifically, the classic sparkles)

golden fabric full-field with glitter pigment

Severe fading on cotton and viscose fabrics: caused by stain removal or pre-treatment with unsuitable stain removers (such as sodium hypochlorite).

Discolorations.
In weak and open-weave fabrics, as well as pile fabrics, abrasions and deformations frequently occur due to the pressure of the stain-removing gun.

Risks of damages in washing

A garment is washed because it is dirty. Dirt generally consists of various substances that accumulate on fabric, such as dust and smog, which layer and blend together. Bad odours (e.g., sweat, urine) are also considered dirt, as they affect clean-liness, which is associated with a fresh scent.

Precautions to take:
• check the care label to determine whether water washing is allowed and under what conditions (e.g., temperature, mechanical action) or if dry-cleaning (perchloroethylene or hydrocarbons) is required;
• anticipate potential damage based on the material and inform the customer of risks such as de-lamination, bubbling, creasing, colour bleeding, or excessive shrinkage;
• have a thorough understanding of materials and their behaviour during washing. In the treatment of wool, there is a high risk of felting, and it is necessary to clean it with a gentle mechanical action.

In the treatment of wool, there is a high risk of felting, and it is necessary to clean it with a gentle mechanical action.

Thermo-adhesives and lamination detachment can occur even after dry-cleaning. The mechanical action of washing and the drying temperature in the tumble dryer have caused (in this specific case) the detachment of the internal reinforcement fabric, causing wrinkles. Even after the rinsing stage can result halos on the garment, if the rinsing is not made quickly and abundantly.

Also, in this case with cotton-linen-viscose fabrics: excessive shrinkage occurred.

cotton t-shirt left before washing, right after washing

curtain left before washing, right after washing

Cotton: colour stains after simple water washing (low colour fastness to tap water – colour shifts towards pink or yellow; more sensitive colours include light blue, beige, and colonial shades)

Metals: possible defects during the bleaching phase due to catalysis of the cellulose/hydrocellulose reaction. In the image, the bleaching caused degradation and breakage of the cotton fabric of the
zipper

Pigment-printed fabrics: if washed with solvent can cause stains

Pigment-printed fabrics: colour fading if washed in a washing machine and dried in a tumble dryer. Pigment-coated fabric with degradation of the coating

Resinated and laminated fabrics: if dry-cleaned or treated with solvent-based products can result wrinkles, undulations, delamination of the film, stains. Image on the left: wrinkles

Stains from leather applications: after waterwashing or dry-cleaning (leather is generally not resistant to either water or dry-cleaning)

LART Laboratorio Analisi e Ricerca Tessile Textile Research and Analysis Laboratory
Via Vasco de Gama 2 – 41012 Carpi (MO)
T. 059 645279
lart@lartessile.it – www.lartessile.it

DETERGO MAGAZINE # MARCH 2025

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