Effect and durability of different brand of easy ironing sprays on the mechanical properties of cotton and spun silk fabrics / Nursyahirah Md Nor and Nur Farahani Borhan

Easy ironing spray is an ironing aid that is sold to fulfil the market demand. There is an apparent need for having the ironing aid because some the fabrics properties especially cotton and spun silk wrinkles badly. Most of the fabrics treated with the easy ironing process would have a black or white spot appear on the fabric surface. Moreover, the frequent use of the easy ironing spray affected the fabric properties. There were many easy ironing sprays in the market. To address the issue, the suitable tests were conducted to investigate the effect and durability of different brands of easy ironing spray namely Faultless®- Heavy Starch, EASY-ON® - Speed Starch - Crisp Linen™ Scent and Fabulon on mechanical properties of the plain Weave cotton and twill weave spun silk fabrics. Samples of the cotton and spun silk fabrics were washed, cut, treated, and tested to determine their mechanical properties before and after applying the easy ironing spray. The performance of the easy ironing sprays were evaluated based on the time taken for ironing and effect on the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, impact penetration and wrinkle recovery angle. From the results, Fabulon were found to be good as ironing aid among others for both fabrics. It eased the ironing process and increase the absorbency of the fabric after being applied. However, the strength of cotton and spun silk fabrics were weaken because the application of easy ironing sprays. Hence, the treatments applied on the fabrics act as an ironing aid and increase the absorbency of fabrics but it also made the fabrics loss its strength properties.