Patent ID: 8607392

Claim:
A process for fixing an additive in a textile progressively moved along a machine path comprising the steps of: a. providing the textile, wherein the textile has a front face and an opposed back face, wherein the front face of the textile comprises a plurality of fibers extending outwardly from the front face, and wherein the fibers have an elongate length; b. applying at least one additive to the textile; c. uniformly exhausting the at least one additive along the elongate length of each fiber extending outwardly from the front face by: directing a first amount of steam onto at least a portion of the front face, wherein directing a first amount of steam comprises directing steam from a first steam pipe rotatable between a first position, in which a first distal head of the steam pipe is spaced a first distance from the textile and positioned at a first angle relative to the front face of the textile, and a second position, in which the first distal head is spaced a second distance from the textile and positioned at a second angle relative to the front face of the textile and simultaneously directing a second amount of steam onto at least a portion of the back face.