Healthcare Fabrics and Finishes ~ 2
28.12.2011 § Leave a comment
Are stain resistant finishes waterproof? Are they bleachable?
Because all stain resistant finishes are breathable, any liquid will go through the fabric eventually. It may bead up on the surface at first, but the finish will not make the fabric waterproof.
Similarly, one should not assume that a fabric is chlorine resistant because it has a stain resistant finish. Both GreenShield and Nano-Tex are chlorine resistant, but they will not make a fabric chlorine resistant. The fiber needs to be a chlorine resistant fiber, the way the fiber is dyed needs to be chlorine resistant, and the finish needs to be chlorine resistant. All three – fiber, dye, and finish – have to qualify in order for the fabric to be chlorine resistant.
So far, the largest concentration of chlorine we allow to clean any of our fabrics is a 1:5 proportion of household bleach to water. This is amply sufficient for disinfecting purposes.
A third brand (in addition to GreenShield and Nano-Tex) for healthcare fabrics is Crypton. In general Crypton does not allow chlorine, but sometimes they allow a little more diluted solution of 1:10 household bleach to water. Our Hocus Pocus, for example, is a Crypton product that is also bleach cleanable.
Woven-Words 
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