Effect of Different Laundering and Drying Procedures on the Performance of Fire‐Protective Fabrics

ABSTRACT Fire‐protective fabrics play a critical role in keeping firefighters and other workers exposed to heat and flame hazards safe. However, some fibers used in these fabrics are sensitive to laundering, which may lead to significant reductions in their performance. This study analyzes the effect of laundering procedures using different types of laboratory washing equipment, washing temperatures, and drying methods on the mechanical strength and water repellency of five commercial fabrics with different fiber contents used as outer shell in firefighter protective clothing. The fabrics were also subjected to repeated launderings performed in a commercial facility. It was observed that accelerated laundering according to the AATCC TM61 test method did not correctly simulate the effect produced by repeated commercial laundering. On the other hand, domestic laundering using a front‐loading machine and flat drying led to a similar reduction in strength in the fabrics as commercial laundering performed at the same temperature of 40°C (69%–90% strength reduction after 50 laundering cycles depending on the fabric). Both procedures resulted in fibrillation at the surface of the fabrics, which was attributed to the spinning step. However, no laboratory protocol was able to create the complete loss in water repellency observed after 50 cycles of commercial laundering.