How a Proper Humidification System Do Wonders for the Textile Industry

We never really think of humidity in our lives unless we are in a country on the equator, or maybe we are in a sauna. However, no industry finds humidity more important than the textile industry. Air humidity can be measured on a scale of 0 to 100%. If the humidity is not right for the certain material, you could be facing broken machinery, stopped production, hurt staff and reduce profits. On the other hand, if you get the humidity right, you will have the perfect product, therefore, higher profits.

Humidity is the amount of water in an amount of air compared to the amount of water that is possible for that amount of air to hold. Colder air, for example, can hold less water than warmer water, even when there is the same amount of water in a sample of air. This means even though the warmer air can potentially hold more water, it may not.

The reason humidity is important to textile materials is because all textiles are hygroscopic, meaning they release moisture to the atmosphere when the humidity of the air is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity of the material, but absorb moisture when the atmosphere is too damp. Relative humidity levels will affect the material at all levels, whether it is manufacturing, use by the customer and all other levels of production.

The humidity levels can be controlled using industrial humidification systems and there are many humidification systems for the textile industry. However, there will always be moisture loss in the stage of processing, because the temperature of the material will increase. Straight after this process, the atmospheric humidity can be increased, so the textile will go through a regain.

Cotton

Cotton is a very brittle material, so the humidity has to be the correct amount. Cotton starts out as a plant and the steps are started by making very thin threads of cotton. If the humidity level is below the recommended amount (65%) the threads will more than likely break and definitely become very weak. If the humidity is too high the threads will clump, resulting in unusual threads and this will happen right from the start.

Product Weight

Drops in humidity will also lead to drops in the weight of a textile product. This influences a company because the textile yarns are sold in terms of weight and less weight means more textile will have to be produced and added to the yarn, creating fewer profits.

Yarn Quality

Unfortunately, when the textile’s moisture levels increase or decrease, the same happens with the quality. When the moisture is lost to the surrounding air, the quality and performance of the yarn will decrease. The same result will occur when too much water is absorbed into the textile. However, the second scenario should be easily avoided.

Static Control

Static control is directly linked to relative humidity levels. When fibers’ moisture levels increase, the electrical resistance decreases. The dangers occur when the moisture levels are decreased and the electrical resistance increases, making it very dangerous for workers. Discharges of electricity can jump over 4 inches, which can cause electrification to staff and cause them to jump and potentially fall. Workers with weaker hearts than a normal person can also be affected by electrical shocks. The electrical charges will also make the fibers less easy to manage because they will start sticking to other materials. If the level of relative humidity is left at 50% there will be no possibility of static build-up.

Weaving Efficiency

When the humidity levels are too low for the textile material, the material will be brittle as we explained before. When weaving the material, it will most likely break and certainly will not be stable. Humidifying the room will make the cotton or other textile material a reasonable strength so it is quite simple to weave and move around. If the humidity level is too high the cotton can clump up and this will make it pretty much impossible to weave.

Ideal Humidity Level

Of course, the humidity levels will vary from different materials; the main materials are cotton, wool, and man-made fibers, silk, and artificial silk. Cotton should be produced with a humidity level of 70-80% because of the brittleness of the material. Cotton can have ensured flexibility if the humidity is kept at this level, throughout all stages of production, whether it is in plant form or at the threading stage. Wool, on the other hand, should be produced at a 65% level of humidity, while it is similar to cotton in the aspect of how susceptible it is to dry air, wool is a little bit more resistant than cotton, therefore, a lower relative humidity level is needed.

Although man-made fibers are, well man-made, they also require a certain level of humidity, which is 45%. Silk’s most effective levels of relative humidity are between 65 and 70%, but artificial silk needs an increased amount of humidity, at 85%.

Humidification System for Textile Industry

The humidification system for textile industry can be used in industrial and commercial buildings. Arguably the best humidification system for textile industry is the water spray system, which can be bought from many producers in the textile industry, such as, Conair’s JetSpray. This jet spray releases very small drops of water, which evaporate into the air extremely quickly and help raise the humidity level to the level needed for that textile.

The system is set up on the roof so it is above and out of the way, which is why they are one of the best in the textile industry. This can be controlled very easily once set up. This is also a very healthy way to humidify the air because it is simply just water, raising the importance of the health to workers, also increasing productivity.

The humidification system for textile industry can be used in some of the largest factories and the structure is capable of covering an area of 100,000m cubed. However, if you are wanting to only monitor the humidity of a few textile machines, no problem, they are also available on the market and can be mounted on your machinery.

Benefits

A humidification system is beneficial not only for the health of the textile workers but for the whole environment as well.

• One obvious benefit of industrial humidification systems is the increase in production or less production downtime. This is due to the fact that workers will make fewer mistakes than if the level of relative humidity is higher or lower than the required amount.
• The yarn quality will increase for commercial stores because with humidification control, less steam will be produced and the yarn will be more elastic and maintain strength. Wastage will also be taken away.
• The dangerous electrostatic discharge, known as static, is completely eliminated, when there is the presence of it there is a danger to both the material, materials around it and workers. When under full control, the electrostatic discharge cannot electrically shock people, cause heart pains or allow the material such as cotton to stick to other materials.
• The environment is safe and healthy to work in, allowing workers to work pleasantly. Less steam will be produced in the processing stages and the factory will be less stuffy. The benefit of this is workers will work far more productively because the atmosphere around them is actually enjoyable. This will increase outputs sold and profit for the company. This benefit also increases productivity among the workers.
• The weight loss of the product can decrease from 4% without a textile humidification system to 0.5% with one. Weight loss can cause a commercial or industrial textile company to lose out majorly on profits, even from the plant or the weaving part of the textile process. The importance of this to industrial companies could prove vital to their chances of surviving in the market, especially after starting up.

Textiles are hygroscopic, so they are affected much more than other materials by humidity. Humidity can cause all sorts of problems in the materials, bringing down elasticity and strength. However, there are plenty of ways to reduce this a lot by using humidification systems such as JetSpray. These systems keep the commercial or industrial factories at the correct humidity. These have benefits such as significant decreases in weight loss, more static control and etcetera. The importance of humidity on a textile processing company is large and the quality of the products made will be affected whether there is a humidification system or not.

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