Colour Fastness to Heat and Dry Cleaning Testing
category
Colour fastness to heat and dry cleaning evaluates the resistance of dyed textiles to thermal degradation during ironing, tumble drying, heat pressing, and steam treatment, and to dye dissolution in dry cleaning solvents — properties critical for care label compliance, garment pressing operations, and dry-cleanable apparel. ISO 105-P01 (colour fastness to dry heat, hot pressing, SDL Atlas Laboratory Flat Bed Press): specimen pressed between dry wool adjacent fabric at three temperatures (110°C, 150°C, 200°C) under 4 kPa for 15 seconds — colour change and staining assessed at each temperature. ISO 105-P02 (colour fastness to perspiration and heat, combined): specimen impregnated with acid perspiration solution then pressed at 110°C and 150°C — simulates pressing sweat-soaked garments. ISO 105-D01 (dry cleaning fastness, perchloroethylene — PERC, tetrachloroethylene solvent): specimen agitated in PERC at 30°C for 30 minutes (Gyrowash machine with 12 steel balls substituting dry cleaning drum agitation), rinsed, dried, assessed against grey scale — tests disperse dye bleeding into PERC solvent and re-deposition onto adjacent fabrics. ISO 105-D02 (dry cleaning with PERC plus water — wet cleaning simulation): specimen in 30°C perchloroethylene + 0.5% water, 30 min — simulates professional wet cleaning processes. Heat fastness specification: disperse dyes on polyester grade 4–5 at 150°C (normal ironing); reactive dyes on cotton grade 4–5 at 200°C (steam ironing); acid dyes on wool grade 3–4 at 110°C (wool ironing temperature — higher temperature risks wool fibre damage independent of dye fastness).
Role
Heat and dry cleaning fastness testing validates the colour stability of textiles through professional and domestic care processes — with heat pressing causing sublimation fading of some disperse dyes at temperatures achieved in commercial laundry pressing (150–180°C), and dry cleaning solvent dissolving poorly fixed dyes from garments into cleaning solvent that re-deposits onto adjacent items, making these tests the mandatory quality verification for professional care claims on garment care labels.