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Damage and Responsibility When a garment or other textile article is damaged in use or in the care process, a determination of the cause can often be made because of the obvious nature of the damage. Once the cause is identified, responsibility can usually be assigned to the consumer, manufacturer or drycleaner. The manufacturer is responsible to offer a product that will perform satisfactorily for its normal life expectancy when it is refurbished by the care process specified by the care label instructions. Damage such as severe general color loss and dye bleeding in the care process, shrinkage that makes an item un-wearable, color fade from the decomposition of fluorescent brighteners, and failure of trim and decorations to withstand the care process are examples of manufacturer responsibility. |
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The consumer is responsible for damage that occurs during use and home care. This includes failure to follow care instructions, further complicating a stain by using a home remedy such as water or soda, chemical damage from spillage of alcoholic beverages, medications, perfumes, after shaves, hair dyes, perspiration and shrinkage of garments due to improper washing techniques.
The drycleaner is responsible for damage caused by re-deposition of soil in the care process, damage due to improper spot removal procedures, holes or tears caused by mechanical means, damage resulting from articles left in pockets and failure to follow care label instructions. It may be difficult to determine responsibility for some types of damage. In cases where the cause of damage is uncertain, a garment can be examined by laboratory methods to analyze the nature of the damage and the probable responsibility. The following are definitions of the various common types of textile damage, with responsibility attributed where possible:
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Any change of appearance
in the product such as pilling, puckering, or permanent
wrinkles is attributable to characteristics of the fabric
if prescribed care procedures have been followed. (See
also Color Change and Fading.)
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Changes
in the feel of the fabric such as stiffness or limpness
are usually attributed to characteristics of the fabric
or failure of the fabric finish, assuming prescribed care
procedures have been followed.
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As
used in light fastness testing, a change in color of any
kind (whether a change in hue, saturation, or lightness)
discernible by comparing the exposed area of the specimen
with the masked area, when viewed in north skylight or
equivalent source with illumination of 538 lux (50 foot
candles) or more on the surfaces.4 For example,
under the collar or lapel and inside seams or hems.**
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A transfer of color
from the surface of a colored fabric to an adjacent area
of the same fabric or to another surface principally by
rubbing action.5 For example, when the dye from a blouse
rubs off onto the waistband of a skirt.**
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Delamination
is the separation of a layered fabric structure in laundering
or dry cleaning, and is considered a product failure
if the prescribed scare procedure has been followed.
Blistering or partial delamination is more common than
complete separation.
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Holes
and tears caused by chemical damage, including prolonged
exposure to ultraviolet light, are characterized by
fiber weakness in the area of damage. This damage may
appear only after the agitation of drycleaning or laundering
washes out the weakened fibers. Holes and tears can
sometimes be easily extended, demonstrating fabric damage.
Laboratory techniques can frequently detect chemical
residues in drycleaned garments in the areas of damage.
Most corrosive chemicals are water soluble and are completely
removed in laundering.
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A generic term for
changes in length or width of a garment or fabric specimen
subjected to specified conditions. The change is usually
expressed as a percentage of the initial dimension of
the specimen.6
Most fabrics, unless specially treated or processed during manufacture, tend to undergo dimensional changes in length or width during laundering or dry cleaning. The three types of shrinkage in fabrics are relaxation, fiber or yarn swelling, and felting. |
This
type of shrinkage occurs when the latent strains in the
fabric, acquired in manufacture, are released by the fibers.
This tends to occur more readily in laundering than in
dry cleaning. Heat, steam or water, and mechanical action
are the primary causes. Such shrinkage can be minimized
by manufacturing controls or special finishes. It is beyond
the control of the consumer, drycleaner, or launderer.
Puckering or bubbling can result when relaxation shrinkage
occurs unevenly in a fabric. This condition may not respond
to restorative measures.
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Some
fibers swell in diameter when exposes to water or moisture,
resulting in the length of the fiber decreasing. Such
shrinkage can be recovered with hand ironing, or the garment
may stretch back to size during wearing. Commercial laundry
equipment is not designed to restore this type of shrinkage,
so allowances are usually made in the manufacture of the
fabric or the finished article to prevent loss of fit.
Fiber swelling does not occur in dry cleaning as it does
in laundering.
Temporary dimensional changes can occur with changes in relative humidity in fabrics made of hygroscopic fibers such as rayon and cotton. This can be seen in draperies, which may undergo daily variations in length depending on atmospheric conditions. |
Felting
is peculiar to animal fibers which include wool. Felting
is the irreversible dimensional change that occurs in a
relaxed fabric when it is subjected to heat, detergent,
and agitation on repeated laundering, or the mechanical
action of dry cleaning at high moisture levels, and is accompanied
by a change of surface appearance of the fabric. |
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Terms
such as "preshrunk" and "shrinkage controlled" relate to special processing
of fabrics for reduction of dimensional loss. The degree of control is
usually expressed in residual percentage. |
A knitted
or woven fabric may become distorted in one or both directions
due to inherent characteristics of the yarn or to manufacturing
influences. The condition is a fault of the fabric unless
the method of prevention is specified by the care label
or unless it can be corrected by a normally applicable method. |
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The
two main atmospheric contaminants that affect colors are
ozone and nitrous oxide. Fading from nitrous oxide is commonly
referred to as fume fading. Acetate fabrics, especially
blues and purples, are particularly susceptible to fume
fading, usually turning a reddish color. Careful choice
of dyes as well as application of chemical inhibitors can
prevent this problem. All color types are susceptible to
the effects of ozone. Fading from atmospheric contaminants
is considered a fabric failure unless it can be corrected
by a normally applicable method. |
Chemical
residues in fabric can cause fading. Household cleaning
chemicals containing bleaches; cosmetics containing alcohol;
medications, particularly acne medications containing benzyl
peroxide; and laboratory spills are the major sources of
chemicals that cause fading. The effect may take time to
develop, but is accelerated by heat. Spot fading caused
by chemical residues is usually considered consumer caused. |
| 6.1.8.4 Heat | |
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Loss
of color by a cleaning process is characterized by a uniform
color change because the action of solvent or water is uniformly
distributed. An exception may be an article in which fabric
from two different bolts was used and demonstrated different
degrees of color fastness. Color loss or failure when the
prescribed cleaning method was used is considered a fabric
failure. |
Permanent fading caused by the
heat of drying, steam finishing, or ironing at temperatures
appropriate to the fiber content of the fabric or care
label instruction is considered a fault of the fabric.
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| 6.1.8.6 Perspiration | |
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Light
fading occurs in some articles from exposure to sunlight,
fluorescent light, or any light with
a high ultraviolet content, and is characterized by non
uniformity. Protected areas of the faded article, such as
under the collar or lapel and inside seams and hems will
appear unfaded by contrast. Fading is not always uniform
in the exposed areas, as light exposure may be more concentrated
in some areas than others. |
Fading
caused by perspiration is characterized by location on the
garment, such as under the arms, across the shoulders, around
the neck over the thighs, and around the waistline. Colors
should be resistant to perspiration. Perspiration normally
has a wide pH range of from 3.5 to 8.0. Fresh perspiration
is normally acidic. Bacterial action over a period of time
makes it alkaline. Excessive acidity or alkalinity is an
individual condition against which there can be no assurance
of colorfastness. Acceptable resistance is specified in
ASTM Standard Performance Specifications for Textile Fabrics
published by American Society for Testing and Materials.
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| 6.1.9 Holes, Tears, Cuts, and Abrasions | 6.1.10 Redeposition |
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Holes, tears, cuts,
and abrasion on fabrics are usually caused during use,
though occasionally they can occur in the process of laundering
or dry cleaning. Holes caused by insects occur during
storage. These can be identified by microscopic examination
from the appearance of the ends of the yarn, as can holes
caused by abrasion.
Sharp tears and cuts are not easily identifiable as to agency of damage. Items should not be accepted by the launderer or drycleaner without inspection for preexisting damage. When sharp tears or cuts are discovered after processing and become an issue of responsibility, the servicing agency (launderer or drycleaner) must assume responsibility unless it can be proved that the damage occurred in use. Insect damage may not be apparent before laundering or dry cleaning, but because of the long incubation period of larvae, is assumed to have occurred during periods of storage, by the consumer, not during short periods of servicing. |
Soil,
dyes, and cleaning aids may be transferred to fabrics during
laundering
or dry cleaning, causing white or light colored fabrics
to become gray, yellow, or off-white. Laboratory tests for
redeposition include localized stain removal and microscopic
examination. If redeposition is uniformly distributed or
if it is confined to an area where stain removal was carried
out prior to cleaning, the fault is with the cleaner. If
only specific panels or sections of the article are affected,
involving fabric from two different bolts, redeposition
is the result of a soil attracting characteristic of the
fabric in the affected part, and is considered a manufacturing
problem. |
| 6.1.11 Stains | 6.1.12 Trims and Decoration |
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Discolorations resulting
from accidental contact with a foreign substance are
usually the responsibility of the wearer or user. This
also applies to colorless substances such as sugar-containing
spills (e.g., soft drinks and alcoholic beverages),
that become discolored on aging or exposure to heat
and are usually indelible. Questions of drycleaner or
launderer responsibility arise only when the fabric,
color, or appearance of the product has been damaged
by methods of removal or attempted removal of the stains.
Self-staining due to dye migration is a product failure,
assuming the prescribed care method was used.
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The Federal Trade
Commission has ruled that items attached to
or made an integral part of a textile product, such
as beads, sequins, sewn-on belts, linings, collars,
ribbons, shoulder pads, and fasteners are expected to
have the same qualities of colorfastness, dimensional
stability, and appearance retention as the major component
materials. Any failure of these parts in prescribed
cleaning and finishing is considered a failure of the
whole product and is the responsibility of the manufacturer.
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*Reprinted with permission from International Fabricare Institute - From the booklet: "Fair Claims Guide for Consumer Textile Products" by American National Standards Institute
**Examples added by Dryclean Dave
4 American Association of textile Chemists and Colorists Technical Manual (AATCC), 1986, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, p. 299.
5 Ibid, p. 299.
6 Missing from IFI Handbook
7 Available from ASTM, 1916 Race St., Philadelphia, PA 19103.
E-mail: info@iriscitycleaners.com