Common Quality Issues in Softening Finishing:


Inadequate Hand Feel: The softening style in softening finishing varies according to customer requirements, such as softness, smoothness, fluffiness, and different textures like oily or dry. Different softening agents should be selected based on the required style. For instance, there are various structural softening agents that differ in softness, fluffiness, smoothness, yellowing tendency, and impact on the fabric's water absorption. In the case of silicone oils, the performance varies among modified silicone oils with different modification genes, such as amino silicone oil, hydroxy silicone oil, epoxy-modified silicone oil, and carboxy-modified silicone oil.


Color Change and Yellowing: Yellowing is generally caused by certain structural softening agents and the amino groups in amino silicone oil. Cationic softeners provide excellent softness and feel, but they tend to yellow and affect hydrophilicity. If cationic softeners are converted into softening oils, the yellowing can be significantly reduced, and hydrophilicity can be improved. Additionally, combining cationic softeners with hydrophilic silicone oils or hydrophilic finishing agents can enhance hydrophilicity. Anionic or nonionic softeners are less prone to yellowing, and some softeners do not yellow, nor do they affect hydrophilicity. Amino silicone oil is currently the most widely used silicone oil; however, amino groups can cause color change and yellowing, which increases with higher amino content. It is advisable to use low-yellowing amino silicone oils or modified silicone oils that are less prone to yellowing, such as polyether-modified or epoxy-modified silicone oils. Furthermore, during emulsion polymerization, cationic surfactants like 1227, 1831, and 1631 may be used as emulsifiers, which can also contribute to yellowing. The choice of emulsifiers during silicone oil emulsification affects the "color stripping effect," leading to different levels of color stripping and lightening, which can be categorized as color change.


Decreased Fabric Hydrophilicity: This is generally due to issues related to the structure of the softening agents used and the absence of water-absorbing groups after the silicone forms a film, which can block hydroxyl groups on cellulose fibers, carboxyl groups on wool, amino groups, and other water-absorbing centers, resulting in decreased water absorption. It is advisable to choose anionic, nonionic softeners, and hydrophilic types of silicone oils whenever possible.