ISO 105 E Series Wet Colour Fastness Testing
Welcome to 3 Minute Methods, where we teach you a fundamental method in textiles testing, in just 3 minutes
Introduction
Wet colour fastness tests on textile materials are viewed as a standard requirement for almost all textile garments and products, due to the frequency of their exposure to a range of wet conditions during use. A beach towel for instance is exposed regularly to seawater, a sportswear garment to perspiration, and swimwear to chlorinated pool water.
How ‘fast’ or ‘secure’ the colour is in these textile products is what we are gauging, and it is the 105 E Series that we are focusing on in this 3 Minute Methods.
What does the test consist of?
All four methods are testing with the aim of assessment, which includes:
• Colour change of the specimen
• Staining onto adjacent fabrics
Whilst we are testing to assess very much the same end points, the processes differ slightly between the tests, with the main outlier being the E03 method for testing chlorinated water.
All of these tests need a specimen to test, a Multifibre or other adjacent fabric, a solution to test in, a Perspirometer, an incubation/agitation period, and Grey Scales and D65 lighting for assessment.
ISO 105-E01
Colour Fastness to Water (Deionised water)
ISO 105-E02
Colour Fastness to Seawater (Saline/ Saltwater)
ISO 105-E03
Colour Fastness to Pool Water (Chlorinated water)
ISO 105-E04
Colour Fastness to Perspiration (Simulated sweat solution)
How are the E01, E02, and E03 tests performed?
The process of performing these three tests is best explained in a series of steps:
Step 1. Prepare the specimens
The specimens for each of the three tests is a rectangle of 40mm wide x 100mm in height, with a strip of Multifibre adjacent fabric prepared in the same dimensions, and sewn along the shorter edge. The E03 is typically tested on it’s own.
Step 2. Make/ prepare the solution
For E01, this is simply deionised water. For E02, this is an aqueous solution with a ratio of 30g/l of sodium chloride (salt) to dionised water. The E04 perspiration solution is split into two liquors, one acid, and the other alkaline. These acid and alkaline solutions must be made fresh in the lab that is performing the testing, as this test is sensetive to the exact pH of each liquor.
Step 3. Soak the specimens
The specimens must each be in their own soaking bath, and ‘thoroughly wetted’ in the required solution. E01 and E02 require no extended soaking time as per the standard, but the E04 requires half an hour of soaking in the perspiration. NOTE: air bubbles must be removed straight away, using a small glass plate, tapping out the bubbles to ensure the specimen is totally wetted through.
Step 4. Drain and apply pressure
When the soaking is complete, remove the specimens and remove excess water, and load into the perspirometer between two glass or acrylic plates. When the Perspirometer is loaded the top weight must be applied, and the rig is then secured to maintain an even pressure for the next part of the test.
Step 5. Oven/ incubate the specimens
The Perspirometer containing the specimens is now placed in an incubator oven, which is set at a constant 37° to replicate the temperature of the human body, and this is for a total of 4 hours.
Step 6. Remove and dry the specimens
The specimens can now be removed, and must be opened out from the adjacent fabric by the sewn edge, and hung to line dry with the only parts touching here being the line itself and the stitched seam of the specimen.
Step 7. Assess
After the specimens have had time to dry fully (in ambient heat not exceeding 50°) we can move onto assessment. Using a lightbox with standard D65 lighting, and using Grey Scales, we assess for both the staining and shade change of the specimens, in accordance to the standard.
The difference in testing procedure between these three and the E03 method is that the chlorinated water specimens are to be tested using a stainless steel vessel such as those used for Washtec, where the solution and specimen are enclosed in darkness and set through the rotating wash bath for 1 hour.
When the test has completed, the specimen is hung to dry and assessed for shade change (as no adjacent fabric is present here).
Assessing the staining and shade change
The two-stage assessment is performed under standard daylight conditions, known as D65 lighting, with a pair of Grey Scales, one used for the staining of adjacent fabrics, and one or shade change of the specimen itself.
The staining part of the assessment is assessing for the transfer of dyes to the Multifibre or adjacent fabric, and its respective fibre types. Each of the 6 fibre types on the tested Multifibre must be graded against an untested strip, and in reference to how strong the staining is on the 1-5 scale, with half grades being acceptable.
The shade change assessment is also a 1-5 scale, however it is noted as 1 = severe change, and 5 = no change, and the specimen must lie somewhere on this scale, when compared to an untested strip of the same specimen.
Quick takeaway
The 105 E Series provides a simple and highly effective way of performing wet textile colour fastness testing, performed in almost every lab around the world. This testing makes up a fundamental starting point for testing and assessing the colour quality of textile garments and products, helping manufacturers and retailers deliver products that perform as expected with everyday use.
For more information on the Perspirometer and the available ranges of Test Materials, visit the website
