flame resistant clothing

[WaturMama]

A friend gave ds some clothing with our local baseball team's logo on it. Ds is very excited about it. The clothing is 100 % polyester with a flame resistant coating. We don't usually do polyester and certainly not coatings, but ds is so excited about this I want to find a way for this to work. Is there a way to get the flame resistant coating off? If I wash it with our other clothes will it get on them? What is this coating anyway?

[alegna]

Are you sure it's coated? Sometimes the wording is confusing and USUALLY 100% polyester says it's a flame retardant MATERIAL.... (as opposed to being coated)

-Angela

[WaturMama]

The label says "100% Polyester; Flame Resistant; U.S. Standard FF3-71/5-74". I thought I remembered the tag saying it was a coating, but I'm not sure. I just searched for it through our recycling but was unsuccessful. I searched on that number and got almost nothing and it wasn't useful.

The washing instructions say "Wash before wearing. Machine wash warm. To retain flame resistance, use detergent, do not use soap..." So I was thinking, well, use soap, but I don't know if once will remove it. I have mild chemical sensitivity and I can feel my face stinging just sitting here inspecting that tags. Maybe I'll wash it and see if the face stinging goes away.

Thanks Angela for showing up so much with your good questions and info.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

I'm pretty sure polyester is "naturally" flame retardant, so it wouldn't make much since for them to also coat it with a flame retardant. I was just reading about this the other day, and I'm trying to remember where. I believe the article said washing polyester in soap instead of detergent will reduce the flame retardant properties, but I don't believe that's what you're after. If I can find a link to that info again I'll send it your way!

[ameliasward]

The flame retardant does wash off after a number of washings (not sure how many). Charlie's soap has a study on their website that shows how much different detergents reduce the flame retardant ability of clothes. Their soap does not wash it out (a fact I think they probably shouldn't be touting), but other detergents do.

[WaturMama]

Thanks so much. I washed it in a lot of soap today in the sink, and then put it through the wash. I'll keep washing it generously. I really hate polyester. Life would be so much easier if everyone had my same opinions.

[beanma]

Originally Posted by EyesOfTheWorld

I'm pretty sure polyester is "naturally" flame retardant...

I think it's the other way around, actually. Polyester and any of the synthetics melt when exposed to high heat and can melt into your skin when burning causing much greater injury than a cotton or wool garment. I think wool is natually flame resistant. Cotton is not, but does not have the melting issue. I would assume other natural fibers would react similarly to cotton and burn off rather than melt and other synthetics would melt like polyester.

Hmm...well I just went a googled. Here are a few links to check out. There seems to be some difference of opinion on which is safer. Some folks say polyester because it melts and can move away from the flame source, however the Marines have banned polyester fibers in Iraq because of the danger of burns and the material melting into it causing disfigurement.

http://missourifamilies.org/features...s/feature7.htm
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,93820,00.html
http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/HEALTH.htm
http://www.fabrics.net/fabricsr.asp
http://www.salta-intl.com/FAQs.asp

I'm not sure you can wash out the flame retardants in synthetic fabrics if they have been added during the manufacturing process. Check out that last link.

[DaughterOfKali]

Do a google search for Teflon and clothing. A lot of clothes have teflon as a flame retardant.

[CtaylorS_3]

Charlie's and Flame retardant clothing

Howdy,

It's not the other detergents wash out the flame retardant material, they coat fabrics in oils which burn. Charlie's removes the oils and other buildups and allows the fabric to do what the manufacturer intended it to do (Consumer Product Safety Commission's Test 16 CFR 1615/1616 and ASTM Test D4723 ). I hope this relieves some of the confusion.

Taylor from Charlie's.

[DaughterOfKali]

Charlie's is the only thing I'll use on our laundry! I've searched for years to find a super gentle, non scented detergent. When I found Charlie's, I was thrilled!