Cleaning / Washing

Machine Wash Cold. Do Not Bleach. Use Only Non-Ionic Detergents and Fabric Softeners. Cool Tumble Dry or Hang. Remove Promptly.

Bleach and surfactants in laundry detergent and fabric softeners can chemically break down the black carbon static shielding fabric woven into ESD smocks and lab coats. Use only liquid non-ionic detergents and fabric softeners that would be appropriate for washing sensitive fabrics like wool.

The surfactants in ionic detergents and fabric softeners usually include anionic (negatively charged) chemicals: alkyl sulfates, alkyl ethoxylate sulfates, and soaps in the ingredient list of your detergent. These can strip the conductive carbon threading of its positive ions leaving it predisposed to carrying negative charges.

Click to Enlarge

You should never use chlorine bleach to wash with these garments. It attacks the carbon bonds (which is useful in removing dyes from white clothes) because bleach will destroy the carbon threading of the garment.

Non-chlorine bleaches are those used in “color-safe” commercial bleaches that are activated by contact with oxygen in the water. These are known as oxidizing bleaches: hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate, and sodium perborate. While not as destructive to the carbon threading as chlorine bleach they are alkalines that can remove carbon with repeated use.