Washing

One of the most important operations following that of dyeing is the

washing with water to free the goods, whether cotton or woollen, from

all traces of loose dye, acids, mordanting materials, etc., which it

is not desirable should be left in, as they might interfere with the

subsequent finishing operations. For this purpose a plentiful supply

of good clean water is required, this should be as soft as possible,

free fr m any suspended matter which might settle upon the dyed goods

and stain or speck them.



Washing may be done by hand, as it frequently was in olden days, by

simply immersing the dyed fabrics in a tub of water, shaking, then

wringing out, again placing in fresh water to finish off. Or if the

dye-works were on the banks of a running stream of clean water the

dyed goods were simply hung in the stream to be washed in a very

effectual manner.



In these days it is best to resort to washing machines adapted to deal

with the various kinds of fibrous materials and fabrics, in which they

can be subjected to a current of water.



#Loose Wool.#--If this has been dyed by hand then the washing may also

be done in the same way by hand in a plain vat. If the dyeing has been

done on a machine then the washing can be done on the same machine.



#Yarn in Hanks.#--A very common form of washing machine is shown (p. 202)

in figure 25. As will be seen it consists of a wooden vat, over which

are arranged a series of revolving reels on which the hanks are hung,

the hanks are kept in motion through the water and so every part of

the yarn is thoroughly washed. Guides keep the hanks of yarn separate

and prevent any entanglement one with another. A pipe delivers

constantly a current of clean water, while another pipe carries away

the used water. Motion is given to the reels in this case by a donkey

engine attached to the machine, but it may also be driven by a belt

from the main driving shaft of the works. This machine is very

effective.



#Piece Goods.#--Piece goods are mostly washed in machines, of which two

broad types may be recognised. First those where the pieces are dealt

with in the form of ropes or in a twisted form, and second those where

the pieces are washed while opened out full width. There are some

machines in which the cloths may be treated either in the open or rope

form as may be thought most desirable.



Figure 26 represents a fairly well-known machine in which the (p. 203)

pieces are treated in a rope-like form. It consists of a trough

in which a constant current of water is maintained; at one end of this

trough is a square beating roller, at the other a wood lattice roller,

above the square beater and out of the trough are a pair of rollers

whose purpose is to draw the cloth through the machine and also partly

to act as squeezing rollers. As will be seen the cloth is threaded in

rope form spirally round the rollers, passing in at one end and out at

the other, pegs in a guide rail serving to keep the various portions

separate. The square beater in its revolutions has a beating (p. 204)

action on the cloth, tending to more effectual washing. The lattice

roller is simply a guide roller.



Figure 27 shows a washing machine very largely used in the wool-dyeing

trade. The principal portion of this machine is of wood.



The internal parts consist of a large wooden bowl, or oftener, as in

the machine under notice, of a pair of wooden bowls which are pressed

together by springs with some small degree of force. Between these

bowls the cloth is placed, more or less loosely twisted up in a rope

form, and the machines are made to take four, six or eight pieces or

lengths at one time, the ends of the pieces being stitched together so

as to make a continuous band. A pipe running along the front of the

machine conveys a constant current of clean water, which is caused to

impinge in the form of jets on the pieces of cloth as they run through

the machine, while an overflow carries away the used water. The goods

are run in this machine as long as is considered necessary for a

sufficient wash, which may take half to one and a half hours.



In figure 30 is shown a machine designed to wash pieces in the broad

or open state. The machine contains a large number of guide rollers

built more or less open, round which the pieces are guided, the ends

of the pieces being stitched together, pipes carrying water are so

arranged that jets of clean water impinge on and thoroughly wash cloth

as it passes through, the construction of the guide rollers

facilitating the efficient washing of the goods.