Abstract

The influence of temperature, detergent type, and labric finish on bacterial survival and strength retention and clongation in fabrics were investigated in this study. Previous research has shown that temperature is a critical factor in the removal, redeposition, and destruction of microorganisms in the laundering process. The results showed that fabric finish did not have any significant effect on bacterial survival but did influence both strength retention and breaking clongation. Temperature significantly affected bacterial survival and breaking strength and clongation. The addition of a detergent, especially a phosphate detergent, in the laundering process is important in diminishing bacterial survival on fabrics.

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