Method for refreshening items of clothing
Inactive Publication Date: 2009-08-06
STEFANICH MARK R +1
View PDF2 Cites 7 Cited by
- Summary
- Abstract
- Description
- Claims
- Application Information
AI Technical Summary
Benefits of technology
[0023]The present invention is a method for refreshening garments, which makes use of a specialized “refreshening sheet.” Th
Problems solved by technology
For example, the clothing may have picked up unwanted odors by proximity to cigarette smoke or another person's perfume.
Or for another example, the back of a skirt or front of slacks may be deeply wrinkled from sitting.
Potential disadvantages of wearing a garment known to be non-fresh are apparent.
Disadvantages of laundering a garment that is not truly dirty are several: the inconvenience of waiting for the garment to be ready to wear, the environmental and financial costs of laundering garments after each wearing or even after long storage, and the gradual damage to garments caused by the laundering process.
Washing and drying clothes frequently does as much damage to them as the actual wearing of them, especially in the case of fragile garments that are worn only in clean, safe surroundings.
The detergents, bleach, or other additives to the washing process can change the color of the garment and weaken the fibers.
Even contact with liquid water can harm certain garments by rinsing out some of the dye or by creating “water spots.”
The agitation of a washing machine or even of hand laundering causes mechanical damage such as weakening of threads, pulling of seams, and small tears.
Being dried in a heated clothes dryer from a fully-wet state causes stiffening or shrinkage of some types of fiber and breakdown of others.
Drying on a clothes line outdoors can result in mechanical damage by hanging heavy, wet garments with clothes pins and the sunlight may bleach some fabrics and cause others to yellow.
Clothes do need to be laundered when dirty, but it is wasteful to do so simply because they are not optimally fresh.
Unfortunately, special devices for using steam to freshen clothing are often expensive and may require lengthy hands-on time for the user.
The disadvantage of this method is that is not very effective.
The disadvantage of this method is that it is very slow and uncertain.
A garment that seems to smell fresh after a few days of airing may nevertheless release stale or mildewed odor during wear.
These conventional processes are more effective against general wrinkling than hanging the garment in the bathroom, but are of very little value in returning stretched garments to their original shape.
Disadvantages of such treated pads or sheets include: the softening chemicals used are not effective for all fabrics and may damage or spot some fabrics; a long tumble in the dryer may be required, thus not saving much energy over actually laundering the garment; the softening chemicals may give a fabric that is intended to be crisp a less-desirable soft texture; and some persons are allergic or sensitive to softening or deodorizing chemicals and do not wish to use them.
Such sprays may leave behind a tell-tale odor themselves, which may be nearly as undesirable as wearing the non-fresh garment without treatment.
Deodorant chemicals can leave temporary spots even on washable garments.
These sprays are not effective against wrinkled or stretched garments.
This pulling on the fabric tends to stretch the entire garment, rather than return it to its original size and shape.
If wrinkle relaxing and deodorizing chemicals were combined, the resultant spray would still not help stretched-out garments.
One disadvantage of this “bath towel” method is that if the towel is dripping wet, the process takes a long time.
This longer drying time may be inconvenient for a person in a hurry and it causes increased wear damage to the garment.
The dripping water can cause water spotting on susceptible fabrics.
Also, if a long tumble with heat is needed to achieve the desired results, certain stains or odors may be “set in” and made difficult to remove even with conventional laundering.
Another disadvantage of the bath towel method of restoring non-fresh clothes is that soaking, then wringing out, a standard bath towel is an awkward job, even beyond the strength of some people.
Further disadvantages include that bath towels tend to lose lint in the dryer, which may stick to the garment supposedly being made ready for wear; that using towels in this manner damages the towels; that a wet bath towel tends to roll into a ball in the dryer such that steam is liberated slowly; the loops of a cotton bath towel's pile do not provide any cleaning action; and that an ordinary bath towel does not necessarily hold enough water to accomplish the desired degree of treatment.
Method used
the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View moreExamples
Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test
Embodiment Construction
[0030]The present invention is a method for using a “refreshening sheet” to refreshen garments or other fabric articles. The method of refreshening garments is intended to make non-fresh, but not heavily soiled, garments fresh enough to wear again.
[0031]The method makes use of a specialized refreshening sheet that carries a large load of water for generating steam, and that is composed of a blend of microfibers in a preferred weave for massaging the garments.
[0032]The sheet is composed of a microfiber textile with a deep pile texture on one side. By “microfiber” is meant a textile made up of fibers that are less than one denier. The fibers used to produce the sort of pile fabric of the preset invention are often multiply slit lengthwise, with other fibers inserted into the slits, as is known in the art. Because the added fibers do not fit perfectly into the slits, this leads to fibers that are intrinsically porous, that is, having interior voids. Also, it produces fibers that have l...
the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More PUM
Login to View More Abstract
Refreshening sheet and method for using it to restore stretched, wrinkled, or odorous garments to wearability without actual laundering. Sheet is a polyester / polyamide microfiber textile sheet with long loop pile on one side and density of 300 grams per square meter. Refreshening sheet is saturated with plain water and tumbled in a rotary dryer along with dry garments for ten to twenty minutes. The refreshening is accomplished by the generated steam and the massaging action of the slightly abrasive loops.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to the care and cleaning of garments, and more particularly to the restoration of garments that are wrinkled, stretched out of shape, odorous, or slightly soiled, without the use of laundry compositions and using very little water.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Articles of clothing preferably look and smell fresh when they are put on to be worn. “Fresh” garments have either no odor, or a slight pleasant odor. Fresh garments show no stains or spots of soil, and no wrinkles or creases. Fresh garments also should have the texture and drape appropriate to the fabric, such as a crisp surface in the case of many cotton or linen garments or a soft drape in the case of many silk or rayon fabrics. The lines of a fresh garment should be smooth and not show bags or bulges at the knees, seat, or elbows.[0003]After wearing one time, clothing may not be too dirty to wear again, but it may not look or smell desirably fresh. For example, t...
Claims
the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More Application Information
Patent Timeline
Login to View More IPC IPC(8): D06L1/00D06F58/30
CPCC11D3/0068C11D17/047D06L1/20D06F73/02D06L1/00D06F58/203D06F58/30
InventorSTEFANICH, MARK R.OLEA, SAMAHNA D.
OwnerSTEFANICH MARK R