Enough said about what was and what is. The main question for chemical technicians today is “How does this affect the wash process?” In the case of some lower end imports that are packed in the hull of a ship for transport to the US, the packaging is definitely compressed regardless of the specific product. On ships, the size of the bundles is very important for storage reasons. For example a bath towel might look like a dish towel when first opened from the packaged bundle. There is also the potential for product contamination during shipment, such as becoming wet or stained from outside contact. Remember that even under the most optimum conditions, no textile linens should ever be distributed or used before being exposed to a quality wash process. This might mean that the first washing of some imported textiles be different than what was normal for domestic products used in the past.

High quality imports are on par with domestic high quality textiles, and can be treated with a new linen formula that meets requirements for producing hygienically clean linen textiles. In the case of specific healthcare regulation, the new imported textile linen products should be washed accordingly, as one would do with domestic textile linens.

What about those goods that may have yellowing or odor problems if washed using normal new textile linen processing procedures? These products need something more, regardless of the industry application. Washing these products on a formula that is more aggressive in heat, chemistry, and time has been found to be successful in most cases. So when your chemical supplier informs you that the new textiles need to have a harder first wash, they know what they are talking about.

I have also seen imported textile products of such poor quality that nothing could be done to correct the appearance, feel or look. There are “qualities” of products that are simply so poor that no bargain price warrants their purchase. In most cases a buyer is wise to research the textile linen products they are purchasing. Know the grades of quality and the associated price and make an informed decision on the overall value –using initial product cost as the deciding factor is a short sighted decision that will lead to disappointing results. Then the chemical technician’s responsibility is to know how to wash the product supplied and deliver the highest results possible for that specific imported textile quality.