JP4108566B2 - Ironing aid composition - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an iron auxiliary composition used as a steam source for a steam iron and a method for treating a textile product using the same.

  The purpose of ironing is to remove wrinkles from the garment, which can be treated neatly and without wrinkles immediately after ironing. However, so-called return wrinkles occur when wrinkles are formed again after a few hours. Such a return wrinkle is remarkably seen when a clothing mainly composed of cellulosic fibers such as cotton is treated with a steam iron.

  Various studies have been conducted on iron auxiliary compositions that have been given a function to water used as a steam source for a steam iron. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an iron auxiliary composition for a steam iron containing propylene glycol. Patent Document 2 discloses an iron assistant composition for a steam iron containing a specific solvent, and Patent Document 3 discloses a concentrated iron assistant composition for a steam iron. However, no solution has been obtained to solve the problem of wrinkles as described above.

On the other hand, a technique using polypropylene glycol is already known as a treatment agent for clothing sprayed onto clothing during ironing. Patent Document 4 discloses a composition that imparts an antifouling effect to clothing containing polypropylene glycol. Patent Document 5 discloses a technique using polypropylene glycol as an iron slip improver. However, these patent documents do not raise the problem of wrinkles when using a steam iron, and do not suggest any effect of specific polypropylene glycol.
US Pat. No. 5,409,619 International Publication No. 02/10503 pamphlet International Publication No. 02/40760 Pamphlet JP 2002-105861 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-110386

  The subject of this invention is providing the iron adjuvant composition used as a steam source of a steam iron which can solve the problem of a return wrinkle at the time of ironing using a steam iron.

  The present invention relates to an iron auxiliary composition used as a steam source for a steam iron, comprising polypropylene glycol having a number average repeating unit number of oxypropylene groups of 3 to 8 (hereinafter referred to as polypropylene glycol of the present invention) and water, and Provided is a method for treating a textile product, in which a steam iron is used to apply pressure and heat treatment while bringing the steam of the iron assistant composition into contact with the textile product.

  By using the ironing aid composition of the present invention as a steam source for a steam iron, the occurrence of wrinkles can be suppressed, and the textile can be made into a preferable finish.

  The polypropylene glycol of the present invention has 3 to 8 number average repeating units of oxypropylene groups. In general, polypropylene glycol can be obtained by addition polymerization of propylene oxide using an alkali catalyst or the like. The polypropylene glycol thus obtained is a mixture of compounds having different numbers of repeating units. As the polypropylene glycol of the present invention, such a mixture having different numbers of repeated units may be used, or a polypropylene glycol having a single number of repeated units purified by a purification method such as distillation may be used. In addition, when a mixture of polypropylene glycol having different number of repeating units is used, those having a number of repeating units outside the range of 3 to 8 are included. It is suitable to use a mixture in which (active ingredient) is preferably 50 mol% or more, more preferably 70 mol% or more, particularly preferably 80 mol% or more. The proportion of polypropylene glycol having a number of repeating units of less than 3 contained in polypropylene glycol is preferably 30 mol% or less, particularly 25 mol% or less, from the viewpoint of the effect of suppressing wrinkle, while the number of repeating units is The ratio of the polypropylene glycol exceeding 8 is preferably suppressed to 30 mol% or less, particularly 25 mol% or less from the viewpoint of suppressing the return wrinkle, and further suppressing the scorching generated by remaining on the iron surface.

  In the present invention, the number of repeating units of the oxypropylene group of polypropylene glycol can be analyzed using gas chromatography.

  The blending amount of the polypropylene glycol of the present invention in the ironing aid composition of the present invention is preferably 0.01% by mass or more, more preferably 0.1% by mass or more, particularly from the viewpoint of the wrinkle suppression effect. Preferably, it is 0.5% by mass or more. On the other hand, it is preferably 10% by mass or less, more preferably 5% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 2% by mass or less from the viewpoint of suppressing scorching that occurs on the iron surface. It is.

  For spray type fiber treatment agents usually used for ironing, silicone compounds, surfactants, and / or water-soluble polymer compounds are generally used for the purpose of improving iron slipperiness and stability, or imparting tension to the fibers. However, in the present invention, the inclusion of such a compound causes the effect of the present invention to be adversely affected, and also causes burning of the iron surface and clogging of the steam discharge port, so that the formulation is withheld. It is preferable. Moreover, when mix | blending, it is preferable to keep a silicone compound 1 mass% or less, a surfactant 0.1 mass% or less, and a water-soluble polymer compound 0.1 mass% or less.

  The silicone compound as used in the present invention refers to JP-A-5-239774, JP-A-2001-164464, JP-A-5-239774, JP-A-5-59672, and WO 02/40760. The compounds described in pamphlets and the like, and surfactants are disclosed in JP 2002-327199 A, JP 10-25661 A, JP 8-246350 A, JP 5-239774 A, The compounds described in, for example, Kaihei 7-42078 and the like, and water-soluble polymer compounds are disclosed in JP-A-10-72778, JP-A-10-110386, JP-A-8-246350, 7-42078, JP-A-5-239774, and the like.

  The ironing aid composition of the present invention may contain a polycarboxylic acid having a molecular weight of 3000 to 200,000 or a salt thereof capable of supplementing calcium for the purpose of suppressing scale formation such as a steam outlet. On the contrary, a large amount of blending not only causes clogging of the steam outlet, but also causes a deterioration in texture such as stiff processing clothing. Examples of the polycarboxylic acid or salt thereof that can be used include citric acid, malic acid, benzoic acid, tartaric acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, and salts thereof. As the salt, a sodium salt or a potassium salt can be used. The blending amount of the polycarboxylic acid or its salt in the ironing aid composition of the present invention is preferably 0.1% by mass or less, more preferably 0.05% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 0.01% by mass or less. is there.

  The ironing aid composition of the present invention can contain a water-soluble organic solvent other than polypropylene glycol from the viewpoint of storage stability and the like, but since it is sprayed as a vapor, there is a risk of inhalation into the human body. Care must be taken in the formulation from this point. Examples of water-soluble organic solvents that can be used include ethanol, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol. The content of the water-soluble organic solvent in the ironing aid composition of the present invention is preferably 10% by mass or less, more preferably 5% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 2% by mass or less.

  The composition of the present invention is in the form of an aqueous solution in which the above components are dissolved in water, and the water used is preferably ion-exchanged water or distilled water excluding metal salts such as calcium which are present in trace amounts. The content of water in the composition of the present invention is preferably 90 to 99.9% by mass, more preferably 95 to 99.9% by mass, and particularly preferably 98 to 99.5% by mass. Moreover, 3-8 are preferable and, as for pH at 20 degreeC of the composition of this invention, 4-7 are still more preferable. For the purpose of adjusting the pH, inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid, and alkalis such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate can be used.

  It is preferable that the composition of this invention contains a fragrance | flavor from the point of palatability, For example, the water-soluble fragrance | flavor described in GB2333332 specification or international publication 02/10503 pamphlet can be used. The content of the water-soluble fragrance in the composition of the present invention is preferably 0.001 to 5% by mass, more preferably 0.05 to 3% by mass, and particularly preferably 0.05 to 2% by mass.

  The most preferred embodiment of the composition of the present invention is 0.01 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 5% by weight, particularly preferably 0, of polypropylene glycol having 3 to 8 number average repeating units of oxypropylene groups. 0.5 to 2% by mass, 90 to 99.9% by mass of water, preferably 95 to 99.9% by mass, particularly preferably 98 to 99.5% by mass, and the content of organic compounds other than polypropylene glycol is The aqueous composition is 2% by mass or less, preferably 0.5% by mass or less, particularly preferably 0.1% by mass or less, and a pH at 20 ° C. of 3 to 8, preferably 4 to 7.

In the method for treating a textile product of the present invention, the iron aid composition of the present invention as described above is placed in a water tank of a steam iron, and pressure and heat treatment are performed while bringing the vapor of the composition into contact with the textile product. Is the method. The temperature of the iron is preferably 100 to 220 ° C, particularly preferably 120 to 210 ° C. Further, the iron treatment time is preferably 1 to 90 seconds, particularly 5 to 60 seconds per 100 cm ² of the textile product. By using the treatment method of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles and finish the textile product to a preferable finish.

  Although the fiber product processed by the method of this invention is not specifically limited, The effect of this invention is notably exhibited when the fiber product which has cellulose-type fibers, such as cotton, as a main component is processed.

Example 1
Wash cotton fabric cloth (manufactured by Tanigami Shoten) five times with a commercially available detergent using a two-tank washing machine (Toshiba model: VH-360S1) (washing condition: attack made by Kao Corporation, detergent concentration 0) 0667% by mass, using tap water, water temperature 20 ° C., washing for 10 minutes, rinsing with running water for 15 minutes, dehydration for 5 minutes), and air drying. Cut this cloth into 15cm x 25cm, select only AATCC Wrinkle Replica (AATCC Test Method No.124, Three-dimensional Smoothness Appearance Replicas) grade 1 from the test cloth, and make 6 sheets as a test cloth. did. A set of 6 sheets per composition was used for the test.

  The iron assistant composition having the composition shown in Table 1 was placed in a water tank of a steam iron and subjected to a steam iron test using the test cloth. As the iron, a cordless steam iron manufactured by Toshiba (model: TA-F54) was used at a high steam temperature. The ironing time per test cloth was 15 seconds, and the steam was moved frequently so that the steam uniformly hits the test cloth. The amount of steam discharged was 5.0 g per minute.

  After the ironing in the steam iron test, the wrinkle state of the test cloth after 3 hours was visually evaluated using a AATCC wrinkle replica to evaluate the return wrinkle suppressing effect. Table 1 shows the average value of the wrinkle series of the six test cloths as the wrinkle series of each composition. A larger wrinkle series means fewer wrinkles.

note)
* 1 PPG-400: Polypropylene glycol having an average molecular weight of 400, the distribution of the number of repeating units n (the number of repeating units of the oxypropylene group, the same shall apply hereinafter) is n = 3; 0.7 mol%, n = 4; 4.4 Mol%, n = 5; 9.6 mol%, n = 6; 16.7 mol%, n = 7; 26.6 mol%, n = 8; 21.9 mol%, n <3; 0.3 Mol%, n>8; 19.8 mol%. Number average repeat unit number = 7.2
* 2 PPG-3: Tripropylene glycol (product number T0651) manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
* 3 PPG-4: Distilled PPG-400, the distribution of the number of repeated units n is n = 3; 16.4 mol%, n = 4; 37.5 mol%, n = 5; 24.0 mol %, N = 6; 13.2 mol%, n = 7; 6.8 mol%, n = 8; 1.8 mol%, n <3; 0.7 mol%, n>8; 0.3 mol %. Number average repeat unit number = 4.6
* 4 PPG-5: Distilled from PPG-400, distribution of repeated unit number n is n = 3; 1.1 mol%, n = 4; 23.6 mol%, n = 5; 37.2 mol %, N = 6; 22.6 mol%, n = 7; 11.5 mol%, n = 8; 3.0 mol%, n <3; 0.0 mol%, n>8; 1.0 mol %. Number average repeat unit number = 5.3
* 5 PPG-8: PPG-400 distilled, the distribution of the number of repeated units n is n = 3; 0.0 mol%, n = 4; 0.0 mol%, n = 5; 0.0 mol %, N = 6; 1.6 mol%, n = 7; 38.3 mol%, n = 8; 42.1 mol%, n <3; 0.0 mol%, n>8; 18.0 mol %. Number average repeat unit number = 7.8
* 6 PPG-> 8: A compound in which the number of repeating units exceeds 8 by distillation of PPG-400. 98.4 mol% of compound of n> 8, number average repeating unit number = 10.2
* 7 DPG: Dipropylene glycol
* 8 PG: Propylene glycol
* 9 The pH was adjusted using a 0.1 N hydrochloric acid aqueous solution and a 0.1 N potassium hydroxide aqueous solution.

Example 2
Using a cotton broad test cloth prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, an iron aid composition having the composition shown in Table 2 was placed in a water tank of a steam iron, and a steam iron test was conducted in the same manner as in Example 1. In the same manner as in Example 1, the wrinkle state of the test cloth 3 hours after ironing in the steam iron test was evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

Note) * 1, * 2, * 8 and * 9 have the same meaning as in Table 1.

Example 3
Using the cotton broad test cloth prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, the iron assistant composition having the composition shown in Table 3 was placed in a water tank of a steam iron, and a steam iron test was conducted in the same manner as in Example 1. About the test cloth after a steam iron test, the base adsorption amount to the cotton-broad cloth was measured by the following method. The results are shown in Table 3.

<Measurement method of base adsorption amount>
The test cloth was extracted with a methanol solvent using a high-speed solvent extraction apparatus ASE-200 manufactured by DIONEX, and after extraction, gas chromatography (Model 6890 manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company, column: Ultra Alloy-1 ( The adsorbed amount (mg) of the base adsorbed on the cloth was determined at a high temperature) and a column temperature of 60 ° C. to 350 ° C. (10 ° C./min. Temperature rise, 31 min. Hold), FID detection). Also, from the ironing time per sheet (15 seconds) and the steam discharge amount (5.0 g per minute), the amount of base discharged from the iron (mg) was measured, and the amount of adsorption (% )

Note) * 1, * 3 to * 5 and * 8 to * 9 have the same meaning as in Table 1.

  From the results in Table 3, the amount of the residual base on the fabric after the steam iron test is such that the polypropylene glycol base having a number average repeating unit number of oxypropylene groups of 3 to 8 is compared with the comparative propylene glycol base. In many cases, it was verified that wrinkle removal performance was improved.

Claims (4)

  An iron auxiliary composition used as a steam source for a steam iron, comprising polypropylene glycol having 3 to 8 number average repeating units of oxypropylene groups and water.   A polypropylene glycol having a content of polypropylene glycol having a number of repeating units of oxypropylene groups of less than 3 and 30 mol% or less and a content of polypropylene glycol having a number of repeating units of oxypropylene groups exceeding 8 is used. 1 Iron assistant composition.   The ironing aid composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the content of polypropylene glycol having 3 to 8 number average repeating units of oxypropylene groups in the composition is 0.01 to 10% by mass. The processing method of the textile product which pressurizes and heat-processes using the steam iron, making the vapor | steam of the iron adjuvant composition in any one of Claims 1-3 contact textiles.