Sequential Bleaching and Shrink-resist Treatment of Wool

Hydrogen peroxide bleaching in the presence of a silicate-based stabiliser improved the effectiveness of most of the chemical and polymer shrink-resist aftertreatments evaluated, when compared with unbleached or wool bleached in the presence of a phosphate-based stabiliser. Bleaching before shrink-resist treatment was found to cause less cumulative damage to the fibre than the reverse sequence, particularly in the case of chemical shrink-resist treatments