Home Science: Class 12 (Book 2) — Chapter 10: Care and Maintenance of Fabrics in Institutions

Introduction and Significance of Care

Care and maintenance of fabrics is essential to prolong their serviceability, retain their original characteristics, and maintain their aesthetic appeal. It involves two primary aspects:

Physical Preservation: Keeping the material free of physical damage and rectifying any wear and tear that occurs during usage.
Aesthetic Maintenance: Retaining or refreshing the appearance by removing stains and dirt, and preserving textural and visual characteristics.
Laundry Science and Art: Laundry is a science based on scientific principles and chemical techniques, and an art requiring manual skills to produce aesthetically pleasing results.

Washing and Maintenance Equipment

Washing Equipment and Mechanisms

Top Loading Machines: Garments are loaded from the top; typically utilize agitation or pulsation mechanisms.
Front Loading Machines: Garments are loaded from the front; utilize a tumbling mechanism in a horizontal cylinder.
Fully Automatic: Single time setting controls water filling, temperature, wash cycle, and rinses without operator intervention.
Semi-Automatic: Requires manual intervention at intervals (e.g., filling and draining water); typically features a two-tub system.
Manually Operated: 50% or more of the physical work is performed manually by the operator.
Agitation: Used in top-loading machines; blades rotate or oscillate to create currents that force water through the fabric.
Pulsation: Used in top-loading machines; rapid vertical movements of a pulsator circulate the washing solution.
Tumbling: Used in front-loading machines; clothes are carried to the top of a revolving horizontal cylinder and dropped into the wash water.

Water Extraction and Drying

Spinning: Centrifugal force generated at speeds greater than 300 rpm (optimum 600-620 rpm to prevent deep wrinkles) throws water out of the tub.
Bottom-Drain: Perforated tubs stop at the end of the cycle and drain water through the bottom before spinning.
Combination Bottom-Drain and Spin: Draining occurs during the spin period, effectively removing heavy suspended dirt.
Low-Temperature High-Velocity Driers: Low-temperature air circulates at high velocity; room air passes over a heat source, through clothes, and exits via exhaust.
High-Temperature Slow-Circulation Driers: High-temperature air is drawn slowly by a fan through top perforations, downwards through clothes, and out the exhaust.

Ironing and Pressing Equipment

Ironing: Process of smoothening out wrinkles using a heated metal surface.
Pressing: Helps apply sharp creases in sleeves, trouser legs, and pleats.
Electric Irons: Feature built-in thermostats to adjust temperature according to fiber type; weight ranges from 1.5 to 3.5 kg.
Charcoal Irons: Traditional metal boxes heated by placing live coal pieces inside.

Commercial and Institutional Laundry Operations

Commercial Laundries

Dhobis and Dhobighats: Individual professionals who collect household/institutional linen and wash them at designated public areas.
Organized Sections: Commercial laundries are divided into specialized sections: reception, sorting, stain removal, washing, extraction, drying, pressing, dry-cleaning, and packaging.
Industrial Equipment: Utilize large-capacity washing machines (handling 100 kg or more per load), hydro-extractors, flat-bed presses, roller ironers, and calendaring machines.

Hospital Laundry Systems

Primary Focus: Hygiene, cleanliness, and thorough disinfection.
Material Specifications: Mostly cotton fabrics dyed with high wash-fastness colors; blankets are woolen; high-risk infectious items are replaced by disposables and destroyed by burning.
Linen Stock Requirements: Minimum of six sets of linen per bed (each set includes a bed sheet, draw sheet, and pillow slip).
Operational Flow:
1. Collection from Emergency, OT, OPD, and wards.
2. Transportation to the laundry plant.
3. Unloading and sorting (bed linen, patient dress, doctor dress, blankets).
4. Washing in large-capacity machines.
5. Hydro-extraction (centrifugal motion removing 60-70% moisture).
6. Drying.
7. Pressing, ironing, folding, and stacking.
8. Mending and segregation of condemned articles.
9. Packing.
10. Distribution.

Hospitality Sector Laundry

Primary Focus: Aesthetics, pristine appearance, and high-quality final finish.
Key Processes: Starching, perfect hot pressing, precise folding, and handling of guests' personal laundry.

Career Preparation and Scope

Technical Requirements: In-depth knowledge of textile fibers, yarn structures, fabric construction, chemical reagents, and industrial machinery operations.
Educational Pathways: Short-term Laundry Management courses, or specialization degrees in Textile Science, Textile Chemistry, and Fabric and Apparel Science within Home Science programs.
Career Opportunities: Entrepreneurial ventures in dry-cleaning and laundry services; management roles in in-house laundries of hotels, hospitals, railways, airways, and shipping lines.

Practical 1: Stain Removal Matrix

Stain Type	Condition	Cotton & Linen Treatment	Wool & Silk Treatment	Synthetic Fiber Protocol
1. Blood	Fresh	Soak in cold water, then wash in dilute ammonia.	Sponge with cold water.	Wash in cold water.
1. Blood	Old	Steep in cold water and salt (1 oz to 2 pints) until stain is removed.	1. Same as for cotton. 2. Apply starch paste, let dry, and brush off.	-
2. Ball Pen Ink	Fresh/Old	1. Steep in methylated spirit. 2. Wash with soap and water.	Same as cotton.	Same as cotton.
3. Curry Stain	Fresh	1. Wash with soap and water. 2. Bleach in sunlight and air.	Same as cotton.	Same as cotton.
3. Curry Stain	Old	1. Same as for fresh. 2. Bleach with javelle water.	Treat with potassium permanganate and ammonia; dip stained portion alternately in both.	Bleach with sodium perborate.
4. Grease	Fresh	Wash with hot water and soap.	1. If washable, same as cotton. 2. If unwashable, apply French chalk, leave for an hour, and brush off.	Same as silk and wool.
4. Grease	Old	1. Treat with grease solvent (petrol or methylated spirit). 2. Wash with hot water and soap.	Same as cotton.	Same as cotton.
5. Ink	Fresh	1. Rub with cut tomato and salt, then wash. 2. Soak in sour milk or curd for 30 mins, then wash. 3. Apply salt and lime juice, leave for 30 mins, then wash.	Treat with sour milk or curd as for cotton.	Same as silk and wool.
5. Ink	Old	1. Try fresh treatments with prolonged exposure. 2. Steep in dilute oxalic acid. 3. Rinse thoroughly with dilute borax solution.	1. Same as cotton. 2. Rinse in dilute ammonia solution.	Same as silk and wool.
6. Lipstick	Fresh	Steep in methylated spirit, then wash with soap and water.	Same as cotton.	Same as cotton.
6. Lipstick	Old	Moisten and soften with glycerine, leave for a short while, rinse, and wash with soap and water.	Same as cotton.	Steep in kerosene or turpentine, then wash with soap and warm water.
7. Tea & Coffee	Fresh	Pour boiling water through the fabric.	1. Steep in warm water. 2. Steep in dilute borax solution (1/2 tsp to 2 cups water).	Steep in warm sodium perborate solution (1 tsp to 1 pint).
7. Tea & Coffee	Old	1. Spread borax over and pour boiling water through. 2. Steep in glycerine until stain is removed.	1. Steep in borax solution. 2. Treat with dilute hydrogen peroxide.	-