Under the modern chemical fiber industry, synthetic fibers have become widely used thanks to their performance and cost efficiency. For professional laundries, these fabrics need careful handling. Different synthetic fibers have different washing restrictions and care requirements. Inappropriate water temperature, mechanical force, or chemicals easily cause wrinkling and static buildup, or even permanent damage and customer complaints. Therefore, accurate fiber identification and scientific care are important for laundries to move from “simply cleaning clothes” to “properly protecting garments”. It’s a core competitive strength for professional laundry services.
Kingstar is deeply in the laundry technology field. We, Kingstar, believe that precision is the only premise of professional care. When facing the complicated chemical world, our solution empowers practitioners to customize the most suitable washing and care path for each fiber by providing precisely adjustable temperature, time, and mechanical action.
Six Chemical Fibers
The first step of correct care is knowing the “language” of the fabrics. The following are six major chemical fibers.
- Polyester
– Characteristics
It has high strength, good wrinkle resistance, and shape retention. It is easy to wash and dry quickly. There are also disadvantages. Its moisture absorption is poor. It easily has static electricity generation and dust adsorption. Its air permeability is poor.
– Care
It has good durability in ordinary machine washing and water washing. The water temperature should not be too high ( lower than 40℃) to prevent permanent curing of creases. The drying temperature should be moderate because high temperatures can easily cause the fabric to harden and lose its luster. After washing, fabric softener can be added to reduce static electricity.
- Nylon
– Characteristics
Its strength and abrasion resistance are outstanding among synthetic fibers, and it has good elasticity. However, its heat and light resistance are poor, and it easily tends to yellow under sunlight and deform when heated. It easily has static electricity.
– Care
People should avoid long-time soaking, direct sunlight, high-temperature washing, and high-temperature drying.
- Acrylic
– Characteristics
It is fluffy, soft, warm, bright in color, and light-resistant.
It has poor abrasion resistance and easily causes pilling. It has normal heat resistance.
– Care
Gentle washing with neutral detergent should be done with cold or lukewarm water. There should be no strong rubbing or wringing. Also, drying temperature should be low. Flat drying is recommended to maintain fluffiness.
- Vinylon (PVA):
– Characteristics
It has excellent moisture absorption, just like cotton. And, it is comfortable to wear.
It has good strength and corrosion resistance, but its resistance to hot water is poor. It shrinks and deforms easily when wet and heated.
– Care
Avoid high-temperature washing and drying.
- Polypropylene
– Characteristics
It is the lightest synthetic fiber, almost non-absorbent, but it is good at discharging moisture. It has good warmth retention and poor light and heat resistance. It easily ages. Low absorbency makes oil stains difficult to remove.
– Care
It can be washed conventionally, but high temperatures should be avoided (≤30°C recommended). The problem of oil stains adhering to it needs pretreatment or the use of detergents with strong oil removal capabilities. People should avoid high-temperature ironing and direct sunlight.
- Spandex
It has good elasticity and recovery. It has low strength, poor heat, and poor chlorine resistance. It is rarely used alone, usually blended with other fibers.
– Care
All clothes with spandex must avoid heat.
Chlorine bleach should be avoided.
Wringing should be avoided. People should press out water and dry flat or hang in the shade. High-temperature drying or ironing will forever destroy elasticity.
Kingstar Professional Solutions
In the face of a wide variety of chemical fibers and their blended fabrics, what laundries need is a flexible and precise washing and care system. The design philosophy of the Kingstar washer extractors SHS series and the Kingstar dryers SDR series is precisely to transform complex care knowledge into simple and reliable operational realities.
- Precise temperature control
Chemical fibers are generally sensitive to high temperatures. The Kingstar washer extractor SHS series features a high-precision temperature control system that accurately controls water temperatures for washing and rinsing at set values (such as 30℃ or 40℃) with minimal error. This fundamentally eliminates accidents such as nylon yellowing, vinylon shrinking, and spandex losing elasticity due to uncontrolled water temperature, and ensures strict implementation of the low-temperature washing requirement.
- Diverse programs
The diverse programs preset by the equipment are your helpful digital assistants.
– Synthetic Fiber / Gentle program
It provides moderate and safe cleaning power for polyester, nylon, etc.
– Wool / Delicates program
It gives gentle, high-water, low-speed care for acrylic wool-like fabrics and delicate blends.
– Chemical fiber drying program
The low-temperature slow-drying mode in Kingstar SDR series dryers ensures efficient drying and gentle tumbling. It also protects other fabrics.
- High cleanliness and gentle dehydration
For difficult stains on polypropylene and other fabrics, the optimized water flow design and intelligent dosing system of the Kingstar washer-extractor SHS Series ensure detergents work effectively even at low temperatures. In addition, the multi-stage adjustable gentle spin function allows operators to select the lowest speed for clothes with spandex or acrylic sweaters. This helps achieve the perfect balance between moisture removal and fiber structure protection.
Professional Upgrade
For laundries, mastering the knowledge of washing and care of chemical fiber means:
- Risk control
It greatly reduces washing accidents and compensation caused by misoperation.
- Value-added service
Laundries can clearly explain the care points of different fabrics to customers to build trust. The refined services should be priced reasonably.
- Efficiency first
Choosing the correct programs according to different fabrics can achieve the mutual winning of cleanliness and service life.
Conclusion
Kingstar is willing to be your solid support for exploring the world of fabrics and enhancing service value with reliable equipment and professional washing logic.
Q&A
Q1: If you receive clothes with an unclear fabric label, what can you do to quickly identify it?
A1: Visual check + burning test (in a fire-safe area)
Take a small piece of thread and ignite it:
– Polyester
It burns quickly, with black smoke, melting drips, a sweet aroma, and hard black ash.
Hand feels: stiff
– Nylon
It burns slowly, melts, and bubbles. It smells like celery, light brown hard ash.
Hand feels: smooth
– Acrylic
It burns slowly, with black smoke, pungent odor, and black, irregular, hard ash.
Hand feels: fluffy.
Q2: After clothes with spandex are washed, customers said that their elasticity has reduced. What are the reasons?
A2: The biggest enemy of spandex is high temperature.
Please check:
Whether the washing water temperature was too high (should be ≤30°C cold water)
Whether a hot water program was used by mistake
Whether the drying temperature was too high or the drying time too long
Whether the ironing temperature exceeded the safe limit
Chlorine bleach will also damage it.
Q3: What are the professional tips for washing and drying polyester and nylon clothes that easily generate static electricity? (despite fabric softener)
A3:
Washing: Antistatic detergent should be used. Or, a special antistatic agent should be added in the final rinse cycle.
Drying: They more easily have static electricity when they are completely dry. Removing the items when they are about 80–90% dry, then air-drying the remaining moisture effectively reduces static. Also, the dryer should be properly grounded.
