Influence of Drying Conditions on the Wrinkling of Fabrics

Wrinkles are formed in fabrics because of mechanical action and the physicochemical effects of water and heat during washing and drying processes. This study aims to identify the main drying conditions that affect the wrinkles by evaluating the smoothness appearance of various fabrics, under four different sets of drying conditions. It was found that the woven fabrics that had a low degree of freedom of yarn movement wrinkled more easily than the knit fabrics. Furthermore, depending on the hydrophilicity of the fibers, the degree of wrinkling was influenced by the temperature and humidity during the drying process. In particular, synthetic fibers with low glass transition temperatures (T_g) wrinkled more significantly at high drying temperatures. Wrinkles generated during the washing process could be partially removed by mechanical force during tumbling under the Heater and Heatpump(t) conditions. However, under the Heatpump(h) and Line Dry conditions, they tended to be fixed in drying processes with less or no applied mechanical force. Repeated washing and drying resulted in an increased degree of wrinkling in the hydrophilic laundry, particularly in the wool fabric, due to shrinkage and felting. It can be concluded that the drying temperature and mechanical force affect the formation of wrinkles. Wrinkle formation in synthetic fibers can thus be mitigated by controlling these factors, in consideration of the glass transition temperature of the fibers.