Comfort in textiles and clothing

1A4_0165_ THE ROLE OF FIBER MOISTURE MANAGEMENT AND SURFACE PROPERTIES IN BACTERIAL GROWTH AND ODOR DEVELOPMENT ON TEXTILES

---

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the role of fiber hygroscopic properties in favoring or rather reducing the growth of bacterial types known to be responsible for malodor on human body surface or on the used textiles. Most of odor-generating bacteria require water activity higher than 0.90, i.e. are sensitive to moisture content. In this study, textile surfaces made of cellulosic fibers such as the wood-based fiber lyocell as well as with the non-absorbing polyester were compared. Bacterial growth under different moisture contents was measured by applying bacterial strains of defined number of bacterial colony forming units (CFU) on the textile surface and assessing the count after 24 hours. The tested bacterial types showed lower growth on cellulosic materials than on the non-absorbing polyester. Odor development on the same textile types was investigated. Test persons sweated on textiles under defined conditions, with different fiber types on left and right body sides. The fabrics were incubated for several hours and the odor intensity and hedonics were evaluated by trained personal according to the evaluation scale of VDI3882. High variation within odor degrees among individuals results in high standard deviation of the average degree. The trend is higher odor development on polyester fabrics compared to cellulosics. This trend becomes more conceivable when left-right comparison is made for each participant. Here, the synthetic side showed higher odor development, in terms of intensity as well as in terms of hedonics.

Keywords: cellulose fibers, lyocell, bacterial growth, hygiene, odor

How to Cite:

Abu Rous, M. & Liftinger, E., (2019) “1A4_0165_ THE ROLE OF FIBER MOISTURE MANAGEMENT AND SURFACE PROPERTIES IN BACTERIAL GROWTH AND ODOR DEVELOPMENT ON TEXTILES”, Proceedings of the 19th World Textile Conference - Autex 2019 , 6.