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Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal
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Effects of Household Fabric Softeners on Thermal Comfort of Cotton and Polyester Fabrics After Repeated Launderings

Jessie H. Chen-Yu

Virginia Tech, chenyu{at}vt.edu

Jiangman Guo

Virginia Tech

Beverly Kemp-Gatterson

Virginia Tech

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of household fabric softeners on the thermal comfort of fabrics after repeated laundering cycles. Several textile properties can influence thermal comfort of a garment. This study focuses on two of these properties, air permeability and water vapor transmission. A 3 x 2 x 3 experimental design was developed with three fabric softener treatments (i.e., rinse-cycle softener, dryer-sheet softener, and no softener), two fabric types (i.e., 100% cotton and 100% polyester), and three laundering cycles (i.e., 1, 5, and 25). Results showed that both rinse-cycle softener and dryer-sheet softener did not have a significant influence on the air permeability and water vapor transmission of polyester specimens. Significantly different results, however, were found in cotton specimens. The rinse-cycle softener significantly decreased the air permeability of cotton specimens, but the dryer-sheet softener did not. Repeated launderings had a greater effect on the reduction of air permeability of cotton specimens treated with the rinse-cycle softener than the dryer-sheet softener. For the water vapor transmission, both rinse-cycle softener and dryer-sheet softener treatments significantly decreased the water vapor transmission of cotton specimens. The influence of softener treatment started right after the first laundering cycle. Repeated launderings did not cause significant differences in the effect of fabric softener treatments on water vapor transmission.

Key Words: fabric softeners: thermal comfort • air permeability • water vapor transmission • repeat launderings

Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, 535-549 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1077727X09333277
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