bambus
Why thin fabrics can be warm
Short answer: Warmth comes from the air a fabric holds, not from how thick it is. A thin but dense fabric can hold mo...
Read more
What fabric density means for airflow
Short answer: The closer the threads lie, the less air gets through the fabric. Density decides both how warm a fabri...
Read more
How a fabric breathes
Short answer: A fabric breathes when water vapour can pass through it and out into the air. That depends on how open ...
Read more
Why air between the layers keeps you warm
Short answer: Still air is a very poor conductor of heat, and that is exactly why it keeps you warm. Clothing warms y...
Read more
What evaporation does to body temperature
Short answer: When sweat evaporates it draws heat out of the skin, and that is the body's main way of cooling itself....
Read more
Why a wet layer pulls heat out of the skin
Short answer: Water conducts heat far better than air, so a wet layer draws heat away from the skin many times faster...
Read more
How a fibre takes up water
Short answer: Water works its way in between the fibre's molecular chains and binds to the spots that attract water. ...
Read more
Why soap residue stiffens fabric
Short answer: Detergent that is not rinsed out dries into a hard film between the fibres. The film binds the fibres t...
Read more
Limescale in the machine and stiff towels
Short answer: Limescale builds up both in the machine and in your clothes, and both make washing less effective. A ma...
Read more
What hard water does to fabric
Short answer: Hard water contains limescale, which bonds to fibres and soap. The result is a greyish film that makes ...
Read more
What chlorine does to a fibre
Short answer: Chlorine is a strong oxidising agent that breaks the long molecular chains in the fibre. The fabric fir...
Read more
Why clothes fade by a window
Short answer: A window blocks some ultraviolet light, but not all of it, and over weeks that is enough to bleach fabr...
Read more
