The effect of laundering variables on the flame retardancy of cotton fabrics

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Abstract
Some durable flame retardant finishes for cotton fabrics can become ineffective if improper laundering procedures are used. For example, one flame resistant fabric will lose a significant amount of its flame resistance after 5, 10 or 20 soap launderings (yet show no reduction in phosphorus content) while another fabric treated with a different formulation will remain flame resistant. Synthetic detergents, rather than soap chips, and soft water have been recommended for some tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphorium chloride‐based flame retardant fabrics to prevent a “lime soap” deposit which impairs performance. The effect of these laundering variables has been studied in relation to a variety of different types of durable flame resistant fabrics.