How to Scour Nylon in a Beck or Beam
Scouring of Nylon is recommended before any heat-setting, bleaching, or dyeing processes are performed on the goods. Scouring will remove any excess oils, waxes, lubricants, or general soil that may be left in the fiber after manufacture, handling, storage, etc. For the most part nylon preparation consists of scouring with detergents which may consist of nonionic ethoxylates or anionic detergents in conjunction with various builders, sequestrants and alkali to remove contaminants as described above. Nylon containing graphite , such as lace, should be scoured before storage as graphite becomes more difficult to remove over time.
In addition to the general scouring, nylon is sometimes whitened as a base for pastel shades or even optically brightened. This may be performed after scouring or as one step during the scouring operation. This whitening is generally achieved through the use of either oxidative or reductive type bleaches. The following represents a typical procedure which would cover 60-70% of the normal requirements.
Enter goods into bath at 100°F(38°C) and add:
1.00-2.00 % owg Orconol CHSA Conc™
0.20-0.30 % owg Soda Ash to pH 8.5-9.0
0.50-1.00% owg Orcopon PCA™
0.10-0.20% owg Sodium Hexametaphosphate
If large amounts of graphite are present in the fabric, 1 oz/gal(7.52 g/L) Orco Citrisolve DL-AAS-250™ may be added to the dyebath.
Raise temperature slowly to 140-150°F(60-66°C) and hold for 20-30 minutes. Cool back with overflow-rinsing to 120°F(49°C) and drop bath. Refill and rinse for 10 minutes. Drop bath a second time and repeat rinse step. Proper rinsing is important so that no contaminates or residual detergent is carried over into the dye cycle.