Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-12-13

- LEvEN years ago Pennsylvania State College tackled
- the problem of how to wash dirty shirt. And the
k- scientists still it.
odd may quite as silly as it sounds
Laundering you thought about it-involves
advanced chemistry, physics and bacterology This
strange interesting research ago
at the suggestion of the laundrymcn themselves who
wanted to learn how to properly wash shirt what clean
ing soaps harmful and what machines fabrics
unduly short they find the best way TO
make a dirty shirt clean with the least
So the Pennsylvania Laundryowners Association turned
the job 10 scientific experts by setting up research
fellowship at the Pennsylvania State College.
In effect the laundymen told Or Pauline Beery Mack,
Director of Richards Institute of the College go
and all the shirts she wanted dirty them up give
them the works IN the tub And that is just what
done.
The laundrymen wanted washed time
roned and reoned and pulled and stretched this
way and that In other words they to learn just
how much punishment a shirt and other fabrics could
stand without giving up.
Or Mack has been doing just that for II years now
making elaborate her work progressed With her
assistants she has everything conceivable to shirt
o how much il take
Elaborate scientific apparatus was used to the
fabrics The
threads under the microscope
All this probing by the Pennsylvania College
entsts has turned interesting things about laundry
washing and ironing.
They found out for example that shirt properly
washed. loses threc-tenths of per fabric
strength every time goes through the works Skipping
the scientific figures the average
withstand about 300 washinCs
The pulling and strainng a shirt every day wear
they discovered much damage the garment
the trip through the laundry
Whs<ers under the chin rubbing like sandpaper did
to out collars than laundering
To test the various types Of laundering and soap.
searchcrs shirts pieces, washing half
tub and the other half another Then the parts
compared
The scientists tried everything 10 keep white shirts
white and they put months Of work the problem of
removing stains with minimum of harm to the fabric
Standard oveng, numbered and lcttcred their
guide to strength before and. after laundering
Or Mack "a standard white fah,ic a guide the
retention of whitcncss standard sod fabric TO measure
the amount Of dirt removed during laundering, ana
standard coored fabric 10 give measure of the degree
fading
Against these pieces of cloth she was able to compare
samples after they had undergone successive hard
WashuEs
The strength Of the fabrics before and after washing
measured by driven breaking strength"
and motUr-drvcn bursting strength machine.
spectrophomc'or which IS mehly scientific piece OF
apparatus measuring reflected light to
whitoucss retention and depth of color
rr Mach found chat some methods of home laundering
have tendency 70 weaken tho strength of fabrics after
each washing moro than necessary
Two common features she reported. seemed 90
undue drying a line doors. particularly
strong and 4hc Of electric without auto
matte temperature .outro
L,.crs your clothes lie around damp invites u,I,y.
fungus which the fiber The material food
and IeraIy cats away tho fabric
Mdeu hc-rcmoycd from cotton linen rayon by
short vigorous bleaching treatment This process ycakcjs
The. strength fbrc-buf docs harm than viii
actually be caused the fungus itself MlIcW
appearance many SPOTS laundercd fabrics.
and these deter d areas subsequently become holes and
the
The scientists also pared home auudrcs
ftrea ones and discovered that the Inter properly
llu gets linens osi-tr with fabric strength
which means longer life for fabrics than does home
laundering
Tho average dirt removal efficiency Of 10 different
home washing pros, dar,s compared with the fycyear
ay,tge dirt removal OF 90 Pennsylvania certified
aurdres showed tat home methods only IS per
IS effective the commercial methods
When 81 came 10 removing stains Tho scientists The
Pennsylvania state College did considerable digging INTO
Tho night way 70 treat them without at The
harmng tho fabrc.