EP3004453B1 - Cleaning cloth - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a cleaning cloth with a textile carrier material and a coating or impregnation thereon. The cleaning cloth combines in a novel way good cleaning properties and sliding properties with a cost-effective production and good wash stability.

In the household and in the professional cleaning various types of cleaning cloths are known, which serve for the cleaning of the floor or other surfaces. The cleaning cloths may have a simple structure, for example by being formed from a monolayer textile base body. It is important for the cleaning cloth that it absorbs the dirt from the surface to be cleaned well and returns as completely as possible during the wringing process. In addition, the water absorption and delivery of the cloth is important. Water is needed on the one hand to dissolve adhering dirt, on the other hand so that the loosened dirt or loose dirt particles such as dust etc. are bound and removed with the cloth from the surface to be cleaned. Furthermore, the sliding properties of the cloth are important to the user. Here it has been shown that when cleaning large areas (eg windows, blackboards, large tables, walls, car bodies), the cleaning cloth should slide rather easily to achieve good ergonomics and low effort when wiping. For smaller or more polluted areas, on the other hand, users prefer often wipes with a higher friction, so that adhering dirt can be better removed, or the cleaning process is also haptically detectable.

To increase the cleaning performance, it is known to provide textile carrier materials with a coating or impregnation. For example, textile materials can be provided with a polyurethane (PU) coating or impregnation. The application of the PU coating or impregnating mass is carried out according to common practice of the type that the substrate is immersed in a solution of PU and dimethylformamide (DMF). Another known method is the coating or impregnation of a textile carrier material consisting of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) fibers with a PVF microfoam. This results in a good adhesion between the fibers and the coating / impregnation material, since during the coating / impregnation process, the surface of the fibers is dissolved in the aqueous medium and achieves a durable and washable chemical-physical surface connection between the carrier and coating material becomes. JPH02200232 and JPH02125725 describe a PVF foam coated nonwoven fabric.

The object underlying the invention is to provide a cleaning cloth of the type mentioned, which combines good cleaning properties with good water absorption and sliding properties while having a good wash stability. With the cleaning cloth also a very good cleaning effect should be achieved. Next is the cleaning cloth the dirt, especially loose dirt particles, when flushing again can easily and easily. This can be prevented, for example, that recorded sand (eg with quartz components) when cleaning chrome-plated / polished surfaces these are scratched or damaged. In addition, the cleaning cloth should allow a gentle cleaning of objects or surfaces. Finally, the coating or impregnation should show sufficient adhesion to the textile support material in order to have a corresponding mechanical stability during cleaning and in particular in machine washing. By high stability in machine washing should be understood according to the invention that in an Eltra washing process, defined in the Federal Health Gazette - Health Research - Health Protection 10, 2007, page 1345 when using 7 g of Eltra as a detergent and disinfectant, a disinfection temperature of 60 ° C, a contact time of 20 min, a liquor ratio of 1: 5 and a range AB a weight loss of the cleaning cloth of less than 5 wt.% Is present.

This object is achieved by a cleaning cloth comprising a textile carrier material which is at least partially provided with a PVF microfoam in such an amount that the proportion of PVF microfoam on the total weight of the cleaning cloth less than 60 wt.%, Preferably less than 50 % By weight and which does not comprise PVA fibers or PVA fibers in an amount of less than 50% by weight, the coating and / or impregnation of PVF microfoam having a weight per unit area of 50 to 100 g / m ² .

The cleaning cloth according to the invention is characterized in that it has a non-PVA fibers textile substrate, which is provided with a PVF microfoam. In this case, the PVF microfoam may be present as a coating and / or impregnation and have pore sizes below 100 microns. Preferably, the microfoam is present both as a coating and as an impregnation, which means that both the fiber interstices are filled with PVF microfoam present as well as a top layer of PVF microfoam is present.

Surprisingly, the cleaning cloth according to the invention has an excellent washing resistance. This is surprising insofar as it has always been assumed that it is necessary for a high resistance that a PVA fiber has to be coated or impregnated with a PVA solution. The chemical similarity of the two materials as well as the partial dissolution of the PVA fiber results in a good chemical and mechanical connection between the fiber and the microfoam. For this reason, the cleaning cloth according to the invention is distinguished by a good mechanical stability during cleaning and in particular in machine washing.

However, practical experiments have now shown according to the invention that a non-PVA-like carrier such as PP / PES / PA with PVF can enter into a good and especially wash stable compound, if the foam is present as microfoam. Thus, in the cleaning cloth according to the invention, the proportion of PVA, in particular of PVA fibers, may be less than 50% by weight or even less than 30% by weight, or even less than 10% by weight and in particular less than 5% by weight. The cleaning cloth can also have no PVA, in particular no PVA fibers.

Without wishing to be bound by any particular mechanism, it is believed that the formation of tensioning sails within the microfoam structure has a significant contribution to the good bonding of the non-PVA type carrier to the PVF coating.

According to the invention, the textile carrier material is at least partially provided with a PVF microfoam in such an amount that the proportion of PVF microfoam on the total weight of the cleaning cloth is less than 50% by weight, preferably less than 30%. The adjustment of such a rather low proportion of PVF microfoam is advantageous because it has been shown that As a result, the textile and soft handle of the final cleaning cloth can be largely preserved, although the PVF microfoam has the property of losing softness in the dry state and thus leads to a largely flexible cleaning cloth.

Practical experiments have shown that it is expedient for the adhesion of the PVF microfoam to the textile carrier material, for example the nonwoven fabric, when the carrier material is open-pored. This is advantageous since the PVA solution used to produce the PVF microfoam penetrates the carrier material well and, for example, can enclose the nonwoven fibers or filaments on all sides.

If a rather dense carrier material is used, a good penetration of the carrier material by the PVF microfoam can also be achieved by using a PVA solution which has a rather low viscosity. The PVF (polyvinylformal) microsphere, as known to those skilled in the art, can be formed by reacting PVA with formaldehyde. This reduces the water solubility of the PVA. According to the invention, the PVF microfoam preferably has a solubility in water at 100 ° C. of less than 5% by weight.

Practical tests have shown that the cleaning cloth according to the invention, in addition to its high washing stability, combines good cleaning properties with good water absorption and sliding properties. At the same time a good flushability of the collected dirt is achieved from the cloth.

It is conceivable that the textile carrier material consists at least proportionally of a microfiber material. This embodiment may be useful for some applications, as well as in the use of fibers Because of the capillary action of the knitted microfiber yarns, a hydrophobic material may have a high water absorption capacity (eg, in% relative to the dry weight of the fabric).

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cleaning cloth has hydrophobic materials in combination with hydrophilic materials (PVF microfoam) and is thus overall amphiphilic. Such a cleaning cloth has a high cleaning effect for both oleophilic and hydrophilic dirt, which makes it suitable for a variety of applications.

Another advantage of the use of PVF is that it is particularly absorbent due to the free OH groups per se. The hydrophilicity of the PVF material is further enhanced by being used in the form of a microfoam. Due to the fine porosity of the microfoam structure, this material has an even higher hydrophilicity. In addition, the PVF microfoam can largely or even completely envelop the fibers and optionally yarns of the textile carrier material, whereby a stable mechanical connection between carrier material and coating / impregnation can be achieved. This is particularly advantageous if hydrophobic materials are used as carrier material, since the PVF microfoam actually does not have good adhesion to such materials.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a nonwoven backing material is combined with a PVF microfoam. It is advantageous that nonwovens are simple and inexpensive to produce and the cleaning cloth is still characterized by excellent cleaning performance and wash stability.

When using a carrier material in the form of a knitted or knitted fabric, a high washing stability is further promoted by the fact that the knitted or knitted base material already has a high washing stability in itself, due to the spatial concatenation of the yarns. Practical tests have shown that the coating and / or impregnation of PVF has a basis weight of 50 to 100 g / m ² . In this case, the textile carrier material advantageously has a basis weight of 80 to 200 g / m ² , preferably from 90 to 180 g / m ² , in particular from 100 to 140 g / m ² , on. As the base material for the textile carrier material fibers of a hydrophobic material can be used according to the invention. The term "hydrophobic" is understood according to the invention in the conventional sense. In particular, for the purposes of the invention, materials are considered to be hydrophobic, in which water has a contact angle of greater than or equal to 90 ° on the surface of a compact body formed from them. As is known, the contact angle can be determined, for example, with a contact angle sensor from Krüss. However, fibers made of a hydrophilic material have also proven to be suitable.

Fibers made of the following materials have proven to be particularly suitable: polyamide or polyester, viscose, hydrophobized viscose, hydrophilized viscose, modified polyester, polyacrylonitrile, triacetate, acetate, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and / or mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred according to the invention is the use of polyamide, in particular polyamide 6 or 66, polyethylene and / or polyester, in particular PET and / or mixtures thereof.

Fibers made of polyester, viscose, polyethylene and in particular mixtures thereof have proved to be particularly suitable according to the invention.

Preference is given to staple fibers and / or continuous filaments. According to a preferred embodiment, such a textile carrier material contains polyester, in particular PET and / or modified polyester. This can be used either as an exclusive raw material or blended with other fibers (e.g., viscose).

The used fiber titer can range between 0.05 and 3 dtex. For some applications, it is useful if it is in the range of a microfiber, that is between 0.1 and 1 dtex. The advantage of using the microfibers is that they show good cleaning results, are very soft and thus provide a pleasant feel. For example, microfibers with a titre of 0.05 to 1.0 dtex, in particular from 0.1 to 0.7 dtex can be used.

In the distribution of the proportions of the textile support material and the coating / impregnation with PVF has been found that by appropriate selection of the proportions of textile support material and PVF microfoam cleaning wipes can be obtained in which the textile and soft feel of the support material is retained although the PVF microfoam basically loses its softness in the dry state and thus leads to a largely hard-wearing cleaning cloth.

Preferably, the cleaning cloth has a total basis weight of from 90 to 350 g / m ² , more preferably from 200 to 300 g / m ² . Here, the cleaning cloth may preferably contain fibers in an amount of 60 to 200 g / m ² , more preferably 100 to 120 g / m ² . The fibers used for the production of the textile fabric can be inexpensively in a wide variety of Finishes and colors are provided and the PVA coating, or impregnation can be applied with conventional methods in a simple manner.

According to the invention, the fabric is preferably provided with a full-surface coating or impregnation. An advantage of this embodiment is that the full-surface coating, or impregnation solidifies the sheet and thus increases its stability. In addition, because of the high proportion of hydrophilic PVF on the one hand, the removal of a larger amount of liquid from a surface to be cleaned can be accomplished particularly well. On the other hand, this makes it possible that only a thin, uniform liquid film remains on the surface to be cleaned during the wiping process. This allows streak-free cleaning especially on glossy surfaces.

In principle, both consolidated and unconsolidated textile base materials can be used as the textile fabric. In order to obtain a mechanically stable cleaning cloth, however, it is advantageous if the textile carrier material is at least partially mechanically, thermally and / or chemically solidified. Particularly in the case of nonwovens, the consolidation of the randomly arranged or partially aligned fibers can be effected mechanically by needling and / or thermally and / or chemically.

To produce the fabric fibers and / or yarns can be used. The sheet is preferably in the form of a nonwoven fabric, a knitted fabric, a knitted fabric, a fabric, a woven fabric, a braid, a knitted fabric, a felt, a nonwoven fabric, a tufted fabric, a fabric, combinations of the like and other planar structures. Particularly preferred according to the invention is the use of nonwovens. Nonwovens offer the advantage that they can be produced easily and inexpensively.

Likewise, the basis weight of the cleaning cloth can vary depending on the desired application. As suitable for most purposes have basis weights of 90 to 350 g / m ² , preferably 180 to 230 g / m ² proved.

Depending on the application, the textile substrate can be easy to clean and / or flameproof. Thus, the fibers may be composed of polymers which contain additives such as color pigments, permanently acting antistatics, fungicides, bactericides, acaricides and / or additives which influence the hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties in amounts of up to 10% by weight.

The textile substrate may further comprise fibers (staple fibers or continuous filaments), which fibers may be used in the manufacture of e.g. be dyed by spin dyeing. Subsequent dyeing processes on the loose fibers (bale dyeing) or on the finished carrier material (piece dyeing) have also proven to be suitable.

Due to the advantageous properties of the textile fabric, its use as a cleaning textile is recommended. So it can be made of it, for example, wiping or cleaning cloths.

According to one embodiment of the invention, for example, on the PVF microfoam coated or impregnated side of the textile fabric, a printing pattern of abrasives, for example polishing particles, is applied. The polishing particles could be formed for example by silica. These particles result in a cleaning cloth with a slightly abrasive effect. The abrasive can be applied in a simple printing process in a variety of variants on the textile substrate. Thus, an additional cleaning effect as well as a decorative effect for the textile structure can be achieved.

For some applications, it may be useful if the cleaning cloth is roughened, sanded, brushed or calendered.

It is also conceivable to pretreat the textile substrate. In this case, e.g. a printing, calendering or partial embossing in question. When using a colorless PVF microfoam, in particular, the printing can remain visible even after the coating or impregnation even durably and wash stable.

For professional cleaning, it is advantageous to design the cleaning cloth in different colors in order to mark the use of a cloth in only one cleaning area (eg sanitary area). In the present invention, the dyeing of the cloth can be done, for example, in the following ways:
The textile substrate is already used partially or fully colored. In combination with a colorless PVF coating, the base color of the substrate remains visible.

Alternatively, the PVA solution used to make the PVF microfoam may also be mixed with a colored pigment. In this case, a colorless, and thus cheaper carrier material can be selected and the color of the cleaning cloth can be omitted entirely or only be selected and adjusted in the later step of the PVF coating or impregnation. This has particular logistic advantages. Again, the dye can be chosen so that it can be permanently wash stable and in particular without bleeding introduced into the PVF material.

A further subject of the present invention comprises a process for producing the cleaning cloth according to the invention, comprising the following steps:
First, a fabric having no PVA or PVA in an amount of less than 50% by weight is prepared or provided as a base fabric. This is then provided with a PVA-containing aqueous solution by conventional application methods, for example the padding method, a doctor blade method, a spray application, a trowel, with a slot or a slot die on the textile base material.

It has proven particularly suitable to impregnate the textile base material with an aqueous PVA solution. Excess PVA can be squeezed, doctored off, sucked off or otherwise removed depending on the desired coating thickness or impregnation thickness. The base material thus treated can be introduced into an aqueous salt solution and / or suspension, for example a sodium sulfate solution, and subsequently into an acidic formaldehyde solution. In the aqueous salt solution, the PVA solution is deprived of water and the PVA is coagulated. In the acidic formaldehyde solution, the PVA is cross-linked to PVF.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the aqueous PVA solution and / or suspension contains further addition substances, such as e.g. Color pigments or other additives or particles, such as the o.g. Abrasives. The PVA solution preferably contains a solids content of PVA between 1 and 10% by weight, preferably between 3 and 7% by weight.

With the method according to the invention, a textile structure can be produced in a simple and highly productive manner, which has a PVF-containing coating or impregnation. The PVF-containing coating or impregnation can penetrate into the textile base material, whereby it is firmly anchored in the textile base material.

Claims (5)

1. Cleaning cloth comprising a textile base material whereto a polyvinyl formal (PVF) microfoam is provided at least partly in an amount such that the PVF microfoam comprises less than 60 wt%, preferably less than 40 wt%, of the overall weight of the cleaning cloth, wherein the textile base material includes no polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or PVA in an amount of less than 50 wt%, characterized in that the coating and/or impregnation of PVF microfoam has a basis weight in the range from 50 to 100 g/m².
2. Cleaning cloth according to Claim 1, characterized in that the textile base material comprises polyamide or polyester, viscose, modified polyester, polyester blend fabric, polyamide blend fabric, polyacrylonitrile, triacetate, acetate, polycarbonate, polyolefins such as, for example, polyethylene and polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, glass fibers, mixtures thereof, or a mixture of at least one of these materials with at least one other material.
3. Cleaning cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the textile base material is a nonwoven.
4. Cleaning cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the textile base material has a basis weight in the range from 90 to 180 g/m².
5. Process for producing a cleaning cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-containing aqueous solution is prepared or made available and provided to a textile sheet material which includes no PVA or PVA in an amount of less than 50 wt%.