CA2024600A1

CA2024600A1 - High molecular weight acrylic anti-stain treatment for nylon carpet

Info

Publication number: CA2024600A1
Application number: CA002024600A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Robert M. Blankenship; Hal C. Morris
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-09-15
Filing date: 1990-09-04
Publication date: 1991-03-16
Also published as: CN1050417A; KR910006564A; NZ235216A; JPH03119186A; AU6234890A; EP0417960A2; EP0417960A3; BR9004610A

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Described is a method for treating fiber with a durable anti-stain agent containing a copolymer of 1-20 weight % acrylic acid and about 80-99 weight % methacrylic acid, that has a weight average molecular weight greater than 80,000, preferably above 1000,000, more preferably above 130,000, and a fiber impregnated with such an anti-stain agent. The anti-stain agent can be used in treating carpets made of nylon 6 and nylon 66 fiber and effectively withstand carper shampooing.

Description

~2~

. HI~ MOLECULAR ~E~R~
ACRYLIC ANT~-ST~ REATMENT
FOR NYLON CARPE~
__ ... ..... _ The ~r~sent invention relates ta an improve~ s~ain-re~ stant composition for treatlng carpet. Specifically, thQ invention . relates to high m~l~cul~r wet~ht ~eirylio materialx ~hleh are relatively durable and resist~nt ~ ~hampooill~. In particular, th~
. 5 in~ention relat~ to A ~tain^re.si.stant carpet treatm~nt for carpets made o~' nylon or amide fibers.
~ylon carpetln~ m~ke~ up a lar~e per¢ent~e of the carpet . lndustry. Nylon 6h fib~r and nylon ~ iber are u.sed in carpet~.
. Nylon 66 .is more crystalllne than nylon 6, thus limiting th~ depth of ~hade developed durin~ dy~ln~ of nylon 66 a~ ~ell ~s beneflcially llmitlng its staining. Conver~ely, with nylon 6 an Advanta~eous depth of shadc 1~ possible; h~wever, nylon 6 suf~erg from the drawba~k that known stain-ro~i~tant tr4atmont~ ar~
ef~ctlvc on the fl~er~.
Known 3tain-re~ nt tre~tm~t~ for oarpet~ ~on~alning nylon flber inolude sulfonated naphthol/phenol ormaldehyde condensates and dihydroxy diphenyl sulfones. However, in treating fibar~ Inade . of nylon 6, relatively hi~h level~ of ~n~wn stain-resi.stance material ar~ req~ired. ~hi~ impart~ a stiffer han~ to the flber and, despite the increased level, the material~ ar~ mor~e easily removed durlng shampoolng of the carpet.
Furthermore, the known naphth~l~p~enol conden~ate~ and sulfone compounds, which a~t ag clqa~ dyes, have sig~flcant disadvantages.

202~0a 80th material~ alter the color of the treat~ carpo~ ya~n, espeoially ~n nylon 6 where higher levels are reguired.
Addltlonally, the kno~n materials yellow signifiGantly ~hen ex~o~d to ultraviolet ( W ) light, an~ are of questionable e~oloyical s~fety.
A ~tain-resi~tant treatment u~ing a ~lend o~ a methacrylic acld oligomer with a g~aft copolymer of me~ha~rylic aoid flnd . sulfonated castor oil has been found to have an adv~ntage over the . phenolias and ~ulfones in color stabili~y.
An ob~ect of the present invention is to develop an effecti~e, durable stain resistant treatment for fiber, part1cula~ly nylon fib~r.
A fur~her ob~ect of thl~ lnvention is to pro~ide ~n improved stain-resist~nt material for nylon ~arpet whlch conforms with . 15 current carpet m~nufacturin~ processe~.
. According to th~ p~esent ~nvention th~r~ provlded an ~nti-~tain ~gent for nylon c~r~et, and ~n improved method or tr~in~
nylon flber wlth an anti-st8~n a~ent, wh~r~in -the ay~n~ comprises water-solu~le copolymer ~ from ~b~lt l to about 20 wei~ht . 20 percent ac~ylic a~i~ and about 80 to abou~ 9~ ~eight p~rcent meth~rylic a~id, and pre~erably from ~bout 5-15 wei~ht ~ a~rylic acid and about 8S-9S weight ~ rne~hacrylic a~id, th~t has ~ wei~ht average mole~ular weight ~MW) between about ~0,004 and 350,000, prefeI~ably be~ween about lûO, 000 and 750r 000~ more ~eferably bstw~en ~bout 130, 000 and Z00, 000, as determlned by aqueous gel permeatlon chromatography ~PC~. The upper limitation on ~he wel~h~ average molecular weight o~ the copolymer wh~ch ~unction~

.

2~2~6~

in the practlce of the present inves~ti~n is det~rmlned by ~h~ wate~
~olubility, ~i~cosity and practic~l process-of-manuf~cture req~irement~.
The pre~ent inventLon al~o provide~ a f~ber impre~nate~ with the ~nti-stain agen~. Op~ion~lly, the antl-~tain Age~t of t~q present inventlon can be combined with an adJ~Ivant~, such as a surfactan~, novola~ re~in, ultravi~let-light absor~er, or~anic or ino~ganiC a~id, antioxldant, eth~xylated or ~ul.~onated fatty acid, . polymer coating, Gr a mixtur~ thereo~.
. 10 The antl-stain agent of the present lnven~ion is u~eful ln treatin~ fiber materials, e.~ ibers made from nylon and/or amide flber, particularly carpet~, to make the~ staln re~istant.
Preferably, the flber used in accordanc0 with th~ pr~n~ invention is made from nylon 6, wh~ch is a polymer of oaprolactam, or nylon . 15 ~6, which is a condensation prod~ct of adlpic aci~ and . hexamethylenedi~min~, which ~re well known in the m~n~factur~ of carpe~s such a~ dis~lo~ed in U~S. I'~s~t No~ ~,501,5~1 and . 4,780,4g9, the di~closure~ ef whieh àre incorporated her~in by reference. Other usef~l nylon ~lbor~ lnclud0 tho~ made from, e.~., nylon 11, ~hich is a polymer of ll-amlno undec~nolc acid, nylon 610, which is a polycond~nsation product of ~ebaoic acld and . hex~methylenediamine, and a copolym~r Gf nylon ~nylon 66, all of whlch are well known as disclosed in th~ aforesaid U.S. Patent No.
4,501,5~1~
Pref~rably, flber ls treAted ln accordance w$th the pr~sent invantion by lmmor~ion in an acidio aquaouR bath having a pH

. . 3 202~

between about 1.5 and 5.5, preferably between aho~t ~.1 and 4 . O, more prefarably between about 2. 5 and 3. 5, oontalnin~ th~ ~nti-staln agent, which i~ ~aintalned at a preferable temper~tl.lre between a~out 38 and 110~, more preferably between about 80 and 100C. ~o obtain the best anti-~tain effect, imm~r~lon time v~ies between abo~t 1 and 20 ~inute~, more preferably between about 5 and 15 mlnutes, most preferably between about 7 and 12 mln~tes. The amount of anti-st~in agent u~ed in th~ hath veries be~ween about . 0~ and 10 weight % of the nylon fi~e~ t~ he treated, pref~rably between about 1.0 and 4~0 weight ~, more preferahly between abou~
1.2 and 3.0 weight ~. Acidit~ of the aqu~ s bath in combination with eleva~ed temperature i~ mal~tatned to ~ss~re optimum abso~ption by the nylon fl~er. ~eidQ us~ful t.n maintainin~ the proper pH include both or~anic and lnorganiG acids, e.g., ac~tic a~id, sulfamlc a~id, citrlc acid, nitrlç ac~d, formic acld ~nd phosphori4 ~cid, which are add~d i.n sufficient amount to maintain . the pH in th0 preferr~d r~n~e. A su~factant i~ ~r~ferAbly ~dd~d to the bath to as~i~t ln w~ttin~ the nyl~n fiber at an amount between about 0.~ ~nd 1.5 wei~ht ~ of the nylon fiber to be t~eated. Useful ~urfa~tants in~.lude non-lonlc ~nd anionlc surfa~tan~s, e.~., so~l.um sulfosucclnate, dlootyl and dlnonyl sulfosuccinates, nonyl phenol ethoxalates, linear-alkyl sulfonates and ~odecylbenzene sulfoni~ aGids. O~her preferable additives, which ~ay be lntroduced into th~ bath a~ betw~en ~bo~t ~ and 3 weight ~ o~ the nylon f~ber to be treated, include anionic-acid dye levelers, novol~ res~ns, such as sulPonated naphthol~ph~nol ~ ' 2~2~

formaldehydc condensate~ an~ dihy~rox~1r~iphenyl ~,lfone~;
ultraviolet~ h~ a~sorb~r~, e~, ben~phen.on~, sllch a.s 2-. hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenono-5-sulfonic a~d, disodlum-~,2'-dihydroxy-4,4'-~i~et~oxy-5,5'-dis~lfobenzophenone, 2,2',4,~'-tetrahydroxy4anzophenone, ~,4-dlh~droxyber;z~ph~none, ~-hydro~y-4-methoxybenzophenone, and 2,2'-~ih~droxy-4,4' dim~thoxy~enzoph~none~
~ntioxidants, such as sodiu~ ~hiocyanate, ethoxylat~d or ~ulfonat~d fatty a~id3, e.g., coconut Dil, tall o1l, casto~ oil, so~ean oi and peanut oil; and polymerio coatin~ compounds, polyvinylchlorlde,, polyviny~3cetate, pol~vinylalc~hol, acryllc.~, styrenes, and flusrochemic~l compound~ s~ch as ~rlfluo~oethan~.
A typical ca~pet proces~ preferably ~nvolves first dyein~ the carpet ~o a de~ired color, then saturating the carpe~ in the bath ~ontainin~ the antl-stain a~ent. ~ein~, howev~r, çan be perfor~ed after, or s.imultaneousl~ with, the stain~re~i~tant treat~ent. In tr~tin~ c.arpets in accordanc~ wlth the ~r~sent inv~ntlQr commerclally a~ilable d~eln~ uni.~, ~J~1a,h ~ vF~ hl~ t'~o111 thb Oting Company er Ku~te.r ~or~o~ ti.on, is advant~eo1l~ly used. ~uch unlts and their op~rati~n are we~l k1lown as dlsclos~d ln the .0 afor~id U~5. Pa~ent No~ 4,50l,59l, A pre~erred proces~ln~ sy~tem for treatin~ carpet is de~cribed. Th~ c~rpet i~ f~rst wetted, f~r ex~ple with a soiutlo~
containîn~ ~y weiyh-~ 0.~ Triton~ GR-5M ~Rehm ~ Haas) and O.l ~ ~EA
. ~Triethanolamlne~. Aft~r nax~ pas~1A~ thr~ugh nip rollæ, th~
. ~5 carpet then i~ spray-dy~d, ste~med ~nd rinsed. ~he ~tain-resist trea-tment is ~pplied in the n~xt stage, a~ ccnditlo~s o~ ~bout 160 180~F/4 sec. using a ~uster unit. The carpet i s there~fter ste~me~
a~ , e , ~ ., 2~5F~'12û sec . ~nd linsed Final ly , ths carp~ is passed throu~h a ~;pray f luorocarbo~l ~re~ment .
In tre~ting flber in ~ccurdanee with th~ pr~3~;Qn~ ;nvention -~he 5 fiber is ~mpragn~tes~ with a ~iufflcient alrlount ~f the ar~ti-~3tain a~ent to imp~t stain res~tan~e -to the fiber~ Preferah~y, the amoun~ of anti-~ain ~gent impregnatl d in~ he flber varl~s between ~bout O . ~ and ~0 . O weight ~ of the nylon f ib~r, m~r~
pr~erabl~ between abou~ O.Z and ~..O wel~ht ~i, mos~ pref~r~
between AboUt O . 3 ~Ind 0. 7S wei~ht. % .
Fiber treated in aceo~dan~3 wttl- -,he present inv~r~tion exhibits stain l~esistanc:e to a variety of ~ ri el 5, .~:u~.h as foods and beverages. M~ny such materi~l~ cont~in dye~, ~aleh ;3~ Foo~, ~ru~a and Cosmetic (FD&C) ~ed ~ye 40, th.~t coml~onl~ conle into contact with carpet~3 when such p~oduct~ ar~ .~eei dentally ~pilled on the carpet. Howeve~, such dyes are eE~sily ren)o~JP.~ f~om flt~er carpets treated in ~ccordarlce with th~ ~resent ' ;~ t i.c)~l by l,;.Lmp.1.~n rinsin~ with w~ter or usln~ ~n ~ eOu~ solut~ of a r~ fl, anion:iG, carp~t shampoo. Rinse-wat~r temper~tures ar.e preferabl.y rnainl~ained at about 15-fi54C, mor~ prefer~b:Ly at ,~bout ?.~5-38C.
To more clearly c~escrib0 the presen~ ir~vent.ion, the ~oll.-~winy non~ itlng e~c~mplss ~re provi~ed. In th~ eic~mple~, all part.~ an~l percentass~ are by wei~ht ~nl.~s~ lnd~ted oth~3rwi.se. Ir~ the examples, MW denete~ weight a-~ray~ molecu~ar w~ht determined by ~5 aqueous ~:PC, Mn denote~3 number av~ra~3 r~lolecular weLght, ~nd ~W/Mn d~3not~ the molecular w~ 3ht d~tribu~lon~

202~a Anti-stain agent3 a~c~rdin~ to tha pr~sent 1~vention w~r~
prepared as foll~ws:
~ w~ tho~sand grams o~ DI (deloni2ed) w~ter and 9~ of Q.2% .iro~
sul~ate were ~dded to 3 5-liter 4-necke~ flAsk fitt~d ~ith a $~ir~er, condense~ and nltro~en inle~. ~hls solution wa~ hea~d ~nde~ a nitrogen a~mosphere to ~0 degree~ C.
A solution of 1~.3g o SMBS ~odium ~etabisulfit~) in 22.a8g of DI water was prepared. 17.5~g (50 weisht ~) of thi.~ solution . lO waS th~n added to the flask (l~ SM~ ased on tot~l monomer). To the flask were yradually and ~3eparate.y add~.d the ~ollowi;~ d~

oJer 1.5 hours: 70g of AA ~acr~rllc ~ci~) ~nd $30g of MA.A

~methacryl1~ ~cid); O.~g ~odium pers1llfate 1~ 7~ DI w~ter, and th~
remainder o~ the SMBS/DI water solutio~ SMBS on total m~nomer~, 15 whilet malnt~ininsJ the ~emperature o~ the flask contel~t~ a~ 70 . degree~ C. The polymoriz~d raaction was continu~d for lS minut~.~
after all the above feed~ were compl.et~ At ~h~ ime w~.~ adc~d 18g of 30~ ~12~ Flftoen min~te.S l~tQr, 1.379g of Dl water w~
added. The ~lask was then allowefl to cool to room temperatura~
~he copolymer so ~orm~d (S~mp.l~ l) had a MW o~ 197,000, Mn of 29,700 a~d MW/Mn of 6.~l~
The ~W o~ the ~opolymer sample~ wa~ varie~ by repeating the ~bove process and va~ying the amo~l~t ~f $MBS ~nd ~he ratio betwe~r the initial chargo ~t~ the fla~k/kettle~ an~ the amou~t lrem~ind~r) 2S used as co-feed. A copolymer (Sample ~) with MW-~01,000, ~n=~7,300 and ~W/Mn=7.33 wa~ obtsined usln~ OL5~ SMBS ~n to~al monomQr ln the kettle (in fl~sk initially) with 1~5~ SMBS on t~tal ~o~omer a~ co-2 ~ 6 ~ ~3 f~ed. At 0. 6~ kettle SMBS an~ 1. 22% ca-f~3d .~MF~S or~ t~.~t~l mollomer, a copolymer (Sa~ e 3) with MW=~17,000, Mn=29, 000 and MWj~n-~9,000 resu1ted; at U.75~s kf~ttl~ S~S r~nd ~. ~5 co-fed SM~3~ on tot~l monomer, a copo1ymer ( Sample 4 ) with MW-94, ~300, Mn-~.4, ~00 and 5 MWf!Mn-3 . ~5 wa3 ob~ined: an~ at 0 . 33% kettle S~I~$ and 0 . 33g6 kett~.e SMBS on total monomer, ~ copo'ylner lSamp1e 5~ wi-tn MW-~.31,000, Mn-47, 100 and MW/Mn-4. 9 ~.~ produc~

E AMPLE
Arlti~stain ~ nt~ according to the pr~3~ent :iLnvention were ~sl.so proAIl¢ed by the f~ owing proce~s:
TO a S-1iter 4-neCked 1EISk was added 3000~ nI w~ter, which was heate~ to 85 degree~ ~ unAer N2. Nine ~r~qm~ of sodi~lm per~ulfcite ( 1. 5 weiclht % based on to~al manomer ~ in :~0~ DI water was then added. After two r~linutes, a mi~ture of 6(~g i~A anc~ 5~0q MAA Wci~ fed ove~ a pe~io~i of or~e hour to the fIac;k, main~ainin~ e t~r~or~ture ~t 85 de~reer; C, ~ter whi~h :lO35-~ ofi DI wEit~3r was added. l`he Ela~k wa~ al:lowed t:o c r.~o~ n room t~3mper.ltur~ r~ MW
o the resu~tinS~ copolyn~ ampl~ ~) w~.r.~ 84,000, the Mr~ was 26,300 an~l MW~Mn was 3.1.
Ad~litlon21 c~po1ymer~ WeI'e'. al;sv pre~a:rr d by this rnf3tho~ y varying the amount of sodi~nl pe~rsulfate~ ~t lr~ ~odillln p~rsul ~te based on tot~l mon~m~r, a ~o~olyrn~r (Samp1a 7) resulted havin~
MW-124, 00(~, Mn-3~, 400 and MW/Mn 3 .

2~2~

EXAMPLE ~
. As in Exar~ple 1, A co-f~ed of monomer and cat~lys~ wa used, . The catalyst solution a~ded initlally to the heated reacto~
flask wa~ l~Sg sodium per~ulfate ~n 30~ DI water (0.~5 we~gh~ ~ on total monomor).
The co-feed wa~ 4. 5g NaaS~08 ln lOOg DI water plus 60~ AA and 154û~ MhA. The co-eeds were ~dde~ separ~tely o~r~ar ene hour. Th3 temperature was ~eld at 9~ de~ree~ C for thirty minute~, and then gg o~ 0.1~% iron sul~ate solution and 0.8g of t-butylh~droperexid~
10 in 5g of D~ w~ter were add~d . Then, 1. 2g o i~o--ascorbic acid ( IA ) : in 25g ~I w~ter w~ addsd. T~n minut~ later, a second identis~l amount of IA~DI water was adde~. ~lext, 1035~ DI water was ad~ed and the reaetion flask was then allowed to ccol to room temp~rature . The resultin~ copolylner ( Sample 3 ) had a MW-~6, 400.
lSThe above process wa~ repeated under the s~me çondition.~, except for the oo-feedin~ tim~ and the lnltial an~ co-~
per~entages of sodlum per~.3ulfate ~)n~ed on tot~l monoltler:
Sample 9: 0 .167~ ~odium per~lfa~o ( basecl on total monomor ) wa~ added initi,311y to ~he fla~k, with 0.503% co-fed. The ~0molecular welght of the resultin~ copo1ymer wa~ MW~127,000.
Sampl~ 10~ Utlllzin~ ~odium p~r~ulfate as in S~mple 10, w1th the ~o-f~ed time lncreased from 1 to 1.25 hours, ylel~ed a ~opo1y~er with MW-12~ 0.
Sampls 11: Utilizing ~odium per~ulf~te ln amo~lnts a~ t ~5 ~orth ln Sample 10, but with the co-feed tlme d~creased from 1 to . 0.75 hour~, a copolymer W~-Q obtained wlth ~W-135,000.

~2~

Sample 12: 0.125% sodium persulfat~ w~.~ In~ti~lly in the ~lask, and 0.375% sc?diutn persulfat~ was co-~d. ~ha copolymer produc~ h~d ~ ~w-157,000.

Carp~t samples treate~ in accordan~e with the presellt inven~ion were tested ~or dur~ility ~nd sta1n resist~nc~ in compari~on with an untreated, un~tained ~ntrol and a ~taine~, untreatsd cor,trol. ~he carpet S~mplt?S tested were mad~ o~ undy~d, heat-set nylon ~ fi.ber.
A treatment bath was prepared cont~ining 12~1 part~ deionl~e~
water, 1.25 parts so~ium ~ fosuccinate a~ a 6ur~act~nt ~a~ail~ble . fro~ Rohm and ~as Company under the name TritonTM ~R-5M), '~.5 parts acetl~ acid, and ~5 parts of a 1% solid~ aqu~ou~ solution oÇ an 1~ anti-stain agent of the present inv~n~i.on. ~o tr~at a carp~t sample, t~e bath wa~ brou~.~ht to a b~lil anrt therl t:he .~amp.l.~ a~
ad~ed to the bat.h an~ ~olled ~ b~ elllni~ t.e~-;. Att~r t?oilin~J, the samp.l~ was centrlEuge~ ~n~t therl t.lrie~ ~t çlbo~t 1l6bC for about 8-10 minutes.
The treated ~ample was sh~po~A to demon~3trat~ th~ d~r~billty of the anti-staln tr~atm~nt. 'rhis wa~ per~crm~d by dipping tne s~mple into a 2.11~ aqueous s~luti~n of a ca~pat shampeo oontainin~
e~hylenediaminate~r~-aoetic acld t~rasodlum s~ av~ ble from Blue Luster Home Care Products, Inc., Irld~anap~lis, under the name ~5 Rinse 'n V~ at about ~C for about 15 ~erond~, fvllowed by rinslng the s~mpl~ in co~d water, centrifugin~ t~e sample, and ~hen 2 ~ ,6~

dryin~ the sample at ahout lOD~ for ahout 30 minutes.
The treated and control ~amples wer~ then stained ~y imlnersion . in a 10~ aqueous solutLon of a food pr3duct c~ntal~in~ ~itrlc a~id . ~nd about 0.1~ Food, Dru~ and C~smetio Basic Red ~40 ~ye ~herry Kool-AldlM) fo~ abo~t five minutes ~t a te~.peratur~ of a~out 41~, followed by rinslng in co~d water. The sa~ples ~.~ere then Gontrifuged followed by dryl~g ~t ~2~C.
. The s~mples w~re e~al~ated f~r staining, by te~-tln3 for brightnes~ ~on a scale of 1-50~ using a ~rlghtlme~br Model 54-M
Bri~htness Te~ter (~chnidyne ~orp.)~ ~urin~ the brightness measuremen~s, the nap of the carpet was laid in th~ same ~irection for each carpet sample. F~ ve bri~ht~ess me~surements were tak~
f~r ~ach sample (2" x ~
The result ~f the te~t~n~ o tho samples treated with anti-~ain ag~nts prepared according tc Ex~mple 1 are gi~en in Table l~ w.

..

~2 f~

TABLE~ 1 . , ~
S ~rightnes~; ( S~n~ard d~viation ~
Sample Unstat ned Staine~ Sh~mpoo ~ Stained _ 1 36.1 (2.13 1~ 3 . 10 2 44.7 (S.3) l4.5S0-7) 3 41.4 (4.~ lfi.~a (1.23 ~ . 42.8 ~1~2) 1~.~(2.6) ~0.4 ~3.5~ 17~3(2.7) Control A 48.~ (~,9) Control B 1.6 (0~) .0 Both Cor~trol A ~nd ~ontrol B w~re untxeat~ed~

EXAMPI.E_5 The procedures o~ Example 4 wsre repeated us~.n~ the antl-stain agent~ prepared in accordance with ~xamples 2. and ~ . The resul t~
~re ~hown in T~ble 2 below.

'~02~t~

TABLE ~

Brightn~s;
5 Sample Uns~a n d__ _St~ined Sham~St in~d 6 36. 4 la . 1 7 ~ 17.1 ~ ~3.~2 7~72 ~ 23.24 12.01 ~2 . ~. . 63 11 3~ 7 13. ~0 12 31~47 13,3 Contxc: 1 C 48 . 8 20~ontrol D~ 1. 6 , ~ .... ~
Both Gontrol C and ~ontrol D w~re ur~treated~

~5 The tabulated re~3ult$ given in E~amples 4 and 5 show the excellent stain re~istan~e and durability o~ stain reslstan~e of carpets tre~ted in accordar~ce w.ith the pre.~ent invent ;lon.

3o r,xAMPr.E 6 The procedure o~ Examplo 4 wa5 r~3Fl~tecl using an ~n~i-stain a~ent prepa~ed ac,co~ding to Example 3 having ~ wei~ht ~vera~e molecular welght of 135, 000, 6~xcept a commercial acid shampoo was . utillzed in place of "Rinss IN Vac" ~ alkallne shampoo) in the last samplQ. The aci~ ~hampoo ~ormulation wa~ ~59~ butyl acrylate/15 styrene~50P~ methacrylic ac~à~ neutralized ~ h ~mmonia an~
cataly~ed with zirc. The rasults are se~ for~l~ in ~able 3 below:

~3 2~2~

Si~mple B~ight ~;.s Traated Control (no ~hamE~ooJst~ined~ ~6 . 4 ~lkaline Shampoo ( stained ) 16 . ~
Acid Shampoc~ ~ stained ) ~3 . 5 The results of thi~ oxample demonstr~te the dur~bility of ~:he c~rpet after treatment aGcording to the inven~ion, comparin~ a cont~ol s~mple with no shampoo $ t;ep wlth sample~ that have been 10 shampooed using st~rldar~ alkaline and a~id sham~oos.

Claims

1. In a method for treating fiber with anti-stain agent, the improvement wherein the anti-stain agent comprises a copolymer of about l to 20 weight percent acrylic acid and about 80 to 99 weight percent mothacrylic acid, said copolymer having a weight average molecular weight greater between about 80,000 and 350,000.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the weight average molecular weight is between about 100,000 and 250,000.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the weight average molecular weight between about 130,000 and 200,000.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the fiber is nylon 6 fiber or nylon 66 fiber.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the fiber is in the form of a carpet.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the copolymer is of about 5 to 15 weight percent acrylic acid and about 85 to 95 weight percent methacrylic acid.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said anti-stain agent is applied in an about between about 0.8 and 10.0 weight percent of the fiber.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the fiber is nylon or amide fiber.

9. A fiber material comprising fiber impregnated with an anti-stain agent comprising a copolymer of about 1 to 20 weight percent acrylic acid and about 80 to 99 weight percent methacrylic acid, said copolymer having a weight average molecular weight between about 80,000 and 350,000.

10. A fiber material according to claim 9, wherein the weight average molecular weight is between about 100,000 and 250, 000.

11. A fiber material according to claim 9, wherein the weight average molecular weight is between about 130,000 and 200,000,

12. A fiber material according to claim 9, wherein the fiber is nylon or amide fiber.

13. A fiber material according to claim 9, wherein the fiber is nylon 6 or nylon 66 fiber.

14. A fiber material according to claim 13, wherein the fiber is in the form of a carpet.

15. A fiber material according to claim 9, wherein the fiber is in the form of a carpet.

16. A fiber material according to claim g, wherein the copolymer is of about 5 to 15 weight percent acrylic acid and about 85 to 95 weight percent methaorylic acid.

17. An anti-stain agent for fibers, comprising a copolymer of about l to 20 weight percent acrylic acid and about 80 to 99 weight percent methacrylic acid, aid copolymer having a weight average molecular weight between about 80,000 and 350,000.

18. An anti-stain agent as recited in claim 17, wherein the weight average molecular weight is between about 100,000 and 250,000.

19. An anti-stain agent as recited in claim 17, wherein the weight average molecular weight is between about 130,000 and 200,000.

20. An anti-stain agent as recited in claim 17, wherein the copolymer is of about 5 to 15 weight percent acrylic acid and about 85 to 95 weight percent methacrylic acid.