The Smoldering Potential of Used Upholstery Fabrics: Unsoiled vs. Soiled

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the effect of soil ing, through wear, on the smoldering potential of upholstery fabrics. This research was done to test the supposition that smolder resistant fabrics on new furniture will become more susceptible to smoldering with soiling and age. This is shown not to be the case. Sixty used upholstery fabrics were collected from eight upholstery shops, and areas of each fabric were determined to be either "soiled" or "unsoiled." A soiled area is an exposed surface of the upholstery fabric, whereas an unsoiled area is not exposed. Each fabric's compo sition, e.g., cellulose or synthetic, was determined, and soiled and unsoiled samples from each fabric were analyzed for pertinent chemical and physical characteristics. For the majority of fabrics, the smoldering potential of the soiled areas did not increase with respect to the unsoiled areas. In fact, more fabrics exhibited a reduced (versus increased) tendency to smolder upon soiling. Of the 27 cellulosic fabrics, only 2 fabrics changed from non-smoldering in the unsoiled area to smoldering in the soiled area. But, 6 fabrics that smoldered in the unsoiled area did not smolder in the soiled area. Two ions that play a major catalytic role in smoldering ignitions, sodium and potassium, showed increased levels in soiled areas by approximately 800 ppm and 480 ppm, respectively. These increases did not account for the observed changes in smolder potential. The increase in sodium and potassium ion levels for the synthetic fabrics was equivalent to those of the cellulosic fabrics. Calcium and magnesium did not in crease between soiled and unsoiled fabric areas. Of the six anions analyzed for unsoiled and soiled areas of the 60 fabrics, levels of chloride and sulfate anions increased in the soiled samples compared to the unsoiled.

Ignition Responses of Fifty Upholstery Fabrics to Commercial Cigarettes

“…Thirty-three of the fabrics, 66%, were lesss than 12 oz/yd2. A recent study of used upholstered furniture fabrics suggests that areal density distributions similar to that of the fifty fabrics also may be found on older furniture [11]. CONCLUSIONS Differences in the propensity of cigarettes to ignite upholstered furniture mock-ups, reported on the basis of tests using cotton duck fabrics, were not reproduced using the commercial upholstery fabrics.…”

Fire Characteristics of Upholstery Materials in Seats

“…Putted cigarette (Figure 3cII) started initiation quicker than Sample 1 (Figure 3aI,II) and Sample 2 (Figure 3bI,II). Wanna [38] points out the flammability of cotton and emphasizes the need for its retarding treatment, e.g., using appropriate salts. The given quantity of cotton influenced the behavior of the material in the experiment (Figure 3c).…”

Do open flame ignition resistance treatments for cellulosic and cellulosic blend fabrics also reduce cigarette ignitions?

“…Laundering, or even water soaking, of cotton fabrics often reduces the metal ion content to such a level that the fabrics are not ignited by cigarettes. Soiling of cotton or rayon fabrics can affect smouldering potential [27,28].…”

“…Whether the upholstery fabric is soiled or used also can affect smouldering potential and is most likely dependent on the type of soiling. Wanna and co-workers reported that used or soiled fabrics became more resistant to smouldering ignition compared with the unsoiled fabrics [27,28].…”