Microfibre release and surface protrusion of washed woven fabrics

Textile care such as washing and drying are among the activities that a garment undergoes for cleaning and maintenance purposes. However, washing has been reportedly to give negative impacts to the environment through microfibre release and causes impairs to the appearance of a garment. The protrusion formed on the textile surface would cause microfibre removal into the washing wastewater and causes change on the fabric surface. Therefore, the ultimate goal of the current study is to determine the microfibre release from woven cotton, rayon and polyester fabric with sequential washes and to see the effect of the action on the surface protrusion of the fabrics. The three types of woven fabrics were brought to series of washing procedures at lab scale. The microfibre released from the washings were determined and the protrusion formed on the fabric surface were observed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It was discovered that fabric which is composed of cellulose based and staple yarn releases great amount of microfibres, supported with severe protrusion on the fabric surface. On the other hand, filament based with high density construction releases a little amount of microfibres with minimal protrusion on the fabric surface.