2—PERMANENT-PRESS EFFECTS IN WOOL: PART V: METHODS OF STABILIZING SET

Abstract
Shrink-resist wool set in the normal way can lose wanted set or acquire unwanted set during machine-washing and tumble-drying because the molecular-bond rearrangements responsible for setting can still occur during the laundering cycle. The set can be stabilized to withstand such laundering by any of the following methods: The stability of set is enhanced by a combination of the methods because these operate by different mechanisms. Prevention of thiol-disulphide interchange appears to be more important during washing, whereas the presence of cross-links appears to be more important to aid recovery during tumble-drying.