News
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
What sunlight does to colour
Short answer: Ultraviolet light breaks the chemical bonds in the dye, and the molecule loses its ability to absorb li...
Read more
Why colour transfers the first few times
Short answer: After dyeing there is always some surplus dye sitting loosely on the surface of the fibre. It rinses ou...
Read more
How dye binds to a fibre
Short answer: Dye either bonds chemically to the molecules of the fibre or lodges physically in the pores of the fibr...
Read more
Where friction is greatest on a garment
Short answer: Friction is greatest where two surfaces are pressed together and move, which means under the arms, at t...
Read more
