The man made friends with polyester for a long time, in the early 40s of the last century, and this friendship continues to this day. Polyester is present everywhere in our life, but first of all in clothes and household items.
What it is?
Polyester is a type of fabric. Raw materials for its manufacture are polyester fibers, which are obtained in the process of refining petroleum products. Polyester production began in the 30s – 40s of the 20th century. In our country, it appeared back in 1949 and entered production in the 60s. In the 70s in the US, everyone was already talking about the magic fabric, which you can not erase for several months, but it will still be like new. True, in the USA and in other countries it was called quite differently - Dacron, Melinex, Terylene, and in the USSR - Dacron.
Natural fabric or synthetic?
Polyester, of course, is a synthetic type of fabric, but it rightfully occupies the first place among all the variety of synthetic material.
The composition of the fibers of polyester fabric is pure processed polystyrene, extracted from refined oil. In the production of polystyrene is melted to obtain a liquid polyester and carry out chemical cleaning of the product. It is then passed through narrow openings in order to obtain thin polyester fibers. Further, the fibers after processing go to the manufacture of fabrics.
Such a brief description of the fabric production gives an idea that polyester is pure synthetic, derived from synthetic materials. Of course, various natural fibers can be added to it in order to improve the quality of the material obtained. Thus, the manufacturing process itself depends entirely on what kind of fabric and with what properties you need to get at the exit.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are certainly more advantages to polyester than minuses. Polyester fabric has a very wide application not only in everyday life, but also in production. The advantages include:
- good wear resistance;
- ease of care for the fabric;
- no shedding;
- the resistance of the color of the fabric to sunlight;
- lack of pellets on the fabric;
- high drying speed;
- hypoallergenic;
- heat preservation;
- low absorption of dirt and oil;
- low price.
The disadvantages of polyester are also present.
- In addition to dirt, polyester, unfortunately, does not absorb moisture. Due to this fact, products made of polyester fabric are not very comfortable in summer. It is hot in it - it does not “breathe” at all due to its high density. That is why doctors do not recommend wearing polyester clothing for people with a high degree of sweating.
- Some professionals have a negative attitude towards wearing polyester items due to the presence of monomers in the fabric.
- Polyester fabric, besides, is poorly stained, and also it cannot be washed at high temperatures.
- Polyester is highly electrified and cannot be ironed or bleached.
Types and their properties
There are many types of polyester, but not always the inscription “100% polyester” can be seen on clothing tags. Experts have noticed long ago that if any other component is added to the raw material of polyester in the production of this material, it is possible to change and improve its properties.
For example, when cotton is added to a fabric, its hygroscopicity can be enhanced. This material does not fade, dries quickly after washing, so it is just perfect for bed linen.
But when you add elastane or spandex polyester fabric will become more elastic. From her make-fitting things that stretch well: stockings, socks, underwear. True, these things to dry in the open air is not recommended because of their rapid burning out in the sun.
Polyamide is often added to polyester fabric. Thus, the material becomes like a silk fabric. It does not fade in the sun and perfectly retains the shape that it gives, and this fabric almost does not get wet.
Another polyester increases the strength characteristics of a material such as viscose. Moreover, it becomes more resistant to molting. There are two varieties - woven on a loom and non-woven fabric. The definition of one or another variety depends on the method of production of the material, for the manufacture of which either weaving machines are used, or the fibers of the material are combined in other different ways.
Comparison with other materials
As soon as polyester entered production, and then on store shelves, consumers unwittingly began to compare it with other types of fabrics, primarily cotton, although this is not entirely correct, because these fabrics are made from different types of raw materials: polyester is a synthetic material, and cotton is natural fabric.
Nevertheless, they are often compared in order to determine which is better - natural fabric or synthetics. Some will say that comparisons are unnecessary, because the cotton in this dispute definitely wins. It is soft, breathable, perfectly absorbs moisture.
Yes, in the summer, the clap has no rivals. But in winter, polyester occupies a leading position, since winter clothing is made from polyester fabric. Polyester in this case acts as a fabric, and as a heater. There is simply no equal to him in the cold. It is more expedient to compare polyester with acrylic. Acryl is the same synthetics, in the production of which fibers from refined oil are used, only they are thicker and more wavy. Acryl is often used to make warm sweaters, hosiery and blankets.
The difference between acrylic and polyester is that on acrylic, pellets are often and very quickly formed, which spoil the whole look of a thing, and therefore clothes from it become unusable in a relatively short time.
The advantages of acrylic are its softness, it is not prone to shrinkage, does not wrinkle at all, while maintaining a neat appearance. Erase things from acrylic in the same way as polyester - at a water temperature no higher than 40 degrees. Acrylic dries after washing too quickly.
In the production of acrylic is often mixed with wool, getting excellent material with all the advantages of wool and acrylic. It is warm, fluffy, breathable. This is another similarity of acrylic with polyester - it combines perfectly with natural fibers, which undoubtedly improves the quality of both materials.
Many often compare sintepon and polyester, not knowing that synthetic winterizer - this is polyester, that is, a type of polyester filler. Modern synthetic winterizer has evolved markedly since the time when polyester fabric and synthetic fillers only began to appear on the market.
At that time, they were not of the best quality due to the use of glue for its sizing. Nowadays there are no third-party gluing components in the padding polyester, it has become much thicker and more voluminous. In addition, modern synthetic winterizer does not roll into lumps of clothing inside, as, for example, down, and also retains its appearance even after many washes.
Viscose is the precursor of polyester. It appeared earlier, so consumers and experts know more about it, but as soon as polyester appeared on the market, it immediately began to compete with it and force it out of the stores. It happened due to the strength of polyester fabric, which viscose, alas, can hardly boast.
As well as the advantages of polyester in comparison with viscose it is possible to call a more tolerant ratio of polyester to bleaching and boiling. With viscose, such manipulations are prohibited, otherwise you can permanently spoil the fabric.
But the advantages of viscose is also a lot. Due to the fact that viscose is a product obtained by chemical means from natural raw materials (cellulose), it has all the positive qualities of natural fabric - it does not roll down, it is well ironed, absorbs moisture, does not cause allergic reactions. And this fabric has a beautiful sheen, which resembles a silk play. In the same polyester fabric more metallic reflection, as well as a more dense texture of the canvas.
The advantage of such a material as microfiber over polyester is that this synthetic material tends to "breathe", and therefore it is used to sew both bedding and sportswear. Microfiber unlike polyester absorbs moisture well, but it also has its drawbacks. It can be spoiled by stroking only once. In addition, it does not tolerate bleaching agents.
Like polyester, microfiber keeps its shape well, does not stretch and is resistant to color loss.
Areas of use
One of the advantages of polyester is its versatility. In this regard, it is used both as a fabric and as a heater in winter clothes. In this form, it is used not only in winter outfit for adults, but also in overalls for young children, but it performs its function just as well as padding polyester and down. It is worth the same warm clothing on the polyester lining at times less than, for example, the same down jacket on the heater "down-feather." And this is another advantage of polyester material.
In winter clothes, polyester is used not only as a heater. For the most part, all winter clothing is made of polyester fabric. All thanks to its crush resistance, its ability to maintain its shape and its low hygroscopicity, which is very important in rainy or snowy weather. Such clothes will not fail in the winter and on a warm snow day, and in severe frost.
Polyester fabric found its use in clothing for athletes. Of course, in the manufacture of such clothes is not used pure polyester, since it is completely non-hygroscopic. But in the composition with cotton fibers, it acquires the ability to absorb moisture. Elastane is often added to such fabric, thanks to which the material stretches well and does not hinder movement, which is very important for people involved in active sports.
Polyester fabric is also used for the manufacture of bags, backpacks, hiking clothing, tents and other tourist equipment. Polyester is applicable in the manufacture of curtains and tulle, as well as other home textiles.
Subtleties of care
The most important point in the care of polyester fabric is the correct washing mode. Fortunately, now in washing machines there is no need to think about what temperature to set and how many turns to wring out the fabric, as the machine itself, in accordance with the specified program, selects the desired temperature and other characteristics of washing. The hostess only needs to turn the pointer on the desired type of fabric, for example, "Synthetic".
If the polyester is washed by hand, you need to remember that This fabric can not be washed in water, the temperature of which exceeds the mark of 40 degrees. And, of course, you should always look at the fabric tags on the product. There may be prohibitive signs on machine wash and dry cleaning.
In addition to these data, you can see on the tags and instructions on ironing synthetic clothing. And if there are no fabric types on the iron, the notes on the tag will be very helpful. The number of points on the sign of the iron usually indicates at what temperature it is allowed to iron that and other things.In general, polyester fabric is completely undemanding: it does not wrinkle almost, does not fade, and simple dirt can often be removed almost immediately after their appearance with an ordinary wet wipe.
Reviews
Earlier, after seeing an indication of the presence of polyester on a clothing tag, many people were suspicious of him, because they believed that natural fabric is much better, more beautiful and more useful.
They did not trust Polyester for a short time, as he quickly won his audience, and the quality of this fabric over the years only got better. And now it is rising. Some of its variants with the addition of various components even exceed the properties of the same wool or cotton.
Most often, buyers leave positive feedback on winter clothing, which is made of polyester. Many note its excellent qualities, especially the low degree of wetting and crushability. Often, young mothers note that children's overalls on polyester are no worse than downy counterparts, and they consider the biggest advantage of polyester clothes to be that after washing these things retain their original appearance. Consumers like that after drying clothes there is no need to spend time leveling the felted material inside the jumpsuit.
How to make polyester, see the following video.
