Determining the Drying Time of Apparel Fabrics

The objective of this work was to determine the drying time of a range of apparel fabrics simulating both during and after wear and in doing so, develop: (1) a laboratory method for wetting specimens in a reproducible manner, applicable to a wide variety of apparel fabrics and a large number of specimen; and (2) a method for determining drying time, including a practical laboratory definition for the end-point `dry'. The methods were applied to seventeen fabrics varying in fiber content and in fabric structure. Fabric specimens can be wetted by machine, can be line dried, and can be dried using a simulated on-skin method. A workable laboratory definition of `dry' is provided.