Home
Share |

Content about acetic acid

May 15, 2013
Dry Cleaners, Name That Chemical Tool

CONCORD, N.C. — These similarly named stain-removal chemicals can be easily confused and/or misused

CONCORD, N.C. — It is hard enough to keep straight all the chemical tools available for stain removal. It is even harder when names are similar but their application and risk of use are drastically different. The chemicals described in this month’s column are ones that can be easily confused and/or misused.

Amyl acetate is a dry-side solvent or co-solvent used on stains such as paint, ink and glue.

Acetic acid (28%) is a wet-side spotting agent used as a tannin removal agent, a booster to tannin removers and to neutralize alkaline pH from protein spotters, bleaching, and color change from perspiration.

Acetone is a spotting agent available for paint and glue removal, but its use should be extremely limited due to its aggressive effect on acetate and acetate-blended fabrics.

AMYL ACETATE

Amyl acetate is a mildly aggressive dry-side solvent that can be used by itself or as a co-solvent “booster” when the dry-side POG you are using needs help removing the last traces of a stain. Due to the distinctive aroma of amyl acetate, many old-time cleaners/spotters referred to this chemical as “banana oil.”

December 15, 2011
Take Care of ‘Little Things’ for Greater Stain Removal Success

CONCORD, N.C. — When I’m around fabricare colleagues, they often say a certain competitor “just doesn’t know how much he doesn’t know,” or a variation on that theme. Little things can make a big difference, and I’m going to remind you of a few that will help you offer more effective and safer stain removal.

It’s unfortunate when color loss happens during stain removal, and it’s even worse to present to a customer a garment with color loss that easily could have been corrected.

A change in color due to the pH of the spotting tool is usually correctable. As soon as you notice the color around the stain changing, pull the area over the vacuum nose of the spotting board and begin flushing with wet steam. Apply tannin/acid formula to neutralize a protein/alkali spotting agent, or protein/alkali to neutralize a tannin/acid spotting agent. The surrounding color will usually return to the original color quickly.

WHEN USING RUST REMOVER

A stain removal tool that must be neutralized immediately is rust remover. The most common type is dilute hydrofluoric acid.

August 23, 2011
Spotting Tips: Tannin Removal Ticket to Better Business

CONCORD, N.C. — It seems to me that cleaners are looking for a remedy to tannin stains, but few are willing to make the commitment to gain the working knowledge and experience to solve the problem.

Stain removal requires a basic knowledge of fibers, fabrics and dyes. In an industry that is dominated by business models that proclaim “I can do it cheaper than you,” we fail to realize that we are stating to the consumer that there is little or no difference in service and quality.

Look around and you will see a difference in the marketplace. The “me too” cleaners that never bothered to set themselves apart are quietly fading away.

With the perception of a flat economy, the consumer is becoming more demanding about the quality of products and services. Start setting yourself apart from the competitors left in your area. This is the way to “steal” 5-10% from each competitor by acquiring the knowledge and techniques to remove the stains those competitors won’t or can’t get out of the customers’ garments.

April 23, 2010
Excellence in Stain Removal, Part 2

The Clothing Care Council (CCC) offers every drycleaner an opportunity to distinguish himself or herself with the voluntary Award of Excellence (AOE) certification program. This month, I’ll cover the second half of AOE’s stain-removal test, which features egg, red wine and spaghetti-sauce stains on swatches of plain white silk.

EGG

March 5, 2010
Facing Your Fabric Fears

Too many drycleaners in the industry have never taken the time or made the effort to acquire a working knowledge of fibers, fabrics, dyes and trims. This means that they’re ill-equipped to deal with many of the garments coming across their counters.

July 10, 2009
How Do You Restore an Acetate Fabric?

Q: Is there any way to restore sizing damage or color loss in acetate fabrics once it has occurred?

A: If part of an acetate fabric suffers discoloration, it’s sometimes possible to correct the damage. There are two methods a drycleaner can use.

For the first method, dissolve five ounces of mineral oil in one gallon of solvent. Soak the acetate fabric in the solution for about 15 minutes. Extract lightly and reclaim the solvent.

May 13, 2009
Good Stain Removal Has Its Perks

I’m thankful for specialty coffees and all the places that sell a vast number of brews to satisfy varied tastes in hot beverages. The combination of a paper cup and a dark beverage — what a gift to the garment-care professional!

But to keep this situation a gift, you must know the tools and protocols needed to deal with a combination (tannin and protein) stain. The stains in a typical latté include coffee, milk, and flavored or sugared additives.

April 22, 2009
How Can I Remove Easter-Egg Dyes Consistently?

Q: Easter is always the time I get lots of frilly, child-sized dresses with smudgy pastel stains on their sleeves and bodices, which I can only assume resulted from these girls dying eggs or eating dyed eggs in their Sunday best. I’ve had good luck and bad removing these stains, and every time I can’t remove the stains, the parents complain that they can’t pass these special dresses on to other kids. What’s the secret to getting rid of these stains completely, every time?

December 19, 2008
Make Stains Vanish without a Trace

Exceeding customer expectations is about taking the time to do things right. It’s about spending the time necessary to remove the last traces of a stain. It’s about knowing how to get out of trouble when the garment doesn’t respond as expected, and having the knowledge to go beyond what your competition can do. If your best isn’t good enough, the customer is going to look somewhere else.

May 14, 2008
You Can Remove Tannin Stains

She went through her incoming bundle with a purpose. Then she found it: a beige silk blouse with a harsh red stain on the right cuff and sleeve.

The stain was dry and starting to darken on the edges. She said it was two days old, but it was probably closer to 10. She said it was a 1998 California burgundy. Red wine on silk — a challenge for any cleaner.

This is a classic tannin stain. Tannin stains come from plants; coffee, tea, mustard and wine are good examples. It takes an acidic spotter to break down a tannin stain.

March 12, 2008
Running in Reverse

I just happened to be at the counter when I saw the lady get out of her car. I saw that look on her face — but was pretty sure I hadn't taken her candy.

It turned out that her husband had given her the forest-green silk outfit for their anniversary. But when she showed it to me, the jacket was lime-green under the arms. She had worn it with only a scarf on one of those unseasonably warm November days.

January 2, 2008
Never Let Them See Their Sweat

Ever hear this comment from a customer? "That underarm stain wasn't there when I dropped it off — you must have put that stain on my clothes." Lots of people don't think they perspire and are reluctant to admit that they're the source of their own underarm stain.

September 5, 2007
Keep Napped Fabrics from Getting Nappy

‘My coat was soft and smooth when I left it for cleaning, and now it’s rough and stiff, and feels awful. What did you do to my expensive cashmere? It’s ruined.”

Let’s hope you never have to face an irate customer over the appearance of a napped fabric such as camel’s hair or cashmere. Napping is the process of producing a surface finish in which the fiber ends are raised to the surface of the fabric — some surface fibers stand up, rather than lay flat as in a plain weave.

July 25, 2007
How Do I Handle A Red Wine Stain?

Q: What's the best procedure for handling red wine spillage on cotton blends that include stretchy material, such as a cotton/elastic blend or a cotton/spandex blend?

A: Follow the procedure below until the stain is removed. Repeat a step if the stain responds to it. If the fabric contains spandex, test it first with heat on an unexposed area and look for puckering or fabric distortion.

Stain removal procedure:
1. Spray area with a fine mist of water.

December 5, 2006
Using Amyl Acetate

Amyl acetate is a dry-side agent that is much more aggressive in certain respects than either VDS or POG. It’s important to have amyl acetate on the spotting board, since it helps dissolve stains that usually aren’t dissolved by other dry-side agents. Many spotters don’t use amyl acetate because they don’t understand its purpose.

Amyl acetate has an aroma similar to bananas and is often referred to as “banana oil.” Spotters also confuse amyl acetate with acetic acid and acetone.

December 5, 2006
Using Amyl Acetate

Amyl acetate is a dry-side agent that is much more aggressive in certain respects than either VDS or POG. It’s important to have amyl acetate on the spotting board, since it helps dissolve stains that usually aren’t dissolved by other dry-side agents. Many spotters don’t use amyl acetate because they don’t understand its purpose.

Amyl acetate has an aroma similar to bananas and is often referred to as “banana oil.” Spotters also confuse amyl acetate with acetic acid and acetone.