TECHNICAL FEATURES
TECHNOLOGY FOR IMAGINATION
MADALINE® – INHERENT ATTRIBUTES
Madaline® is a breakthrough fabric with unique and desirable properties such as being light weight and compact, breathable with good moisture management, non-linting, good thermal insulation and quick drying. Visually speaking; printed or dyed Madaline® creates outstanding color and sharpness for a beautiful and vivid appearance.
Microfilament technology provides outstanding features, including thermal insulation, quick drying, breathability, wind proofing and multi directional tensile strength.
Madaline® comprises polyester and polyamide, components which serve as a flexible base for attribute adding treatments. Its uniform strength and microfilament structure allows Madaline® to be cut without fraying and stitched securely.
The Madaline® process involves a minimal footprint and significantly reduces environmental impact, especially compared to traditional textiles, microfibers and felt based fabrics. The long-lasting microfilament fabric helps to reduce environmental impact and is manufactured without binders, solvents or PVC.
Micro-channels are created inside Madaline® during the hydro-entanglement of very fine microfilaments. These micro-channels make Madaline® permeable, allowing air and vapor to flow through these micro-channels. While the surface area presented by the very thin microfilaments acts as a barrier to trap particles and liquids, the micro-channel paths allow the fabric to breath.
In apparel applications perspiration vapor is transferred away from the body however, the fabric’s dense structure prevents bacteria and microorganisms from entering and lodging in the fabric. With the moisture evacuated quickly and bacteria blocked from entering the unpleasant odours caused by thriving bacteria are eliminated for a dry and fresh feeling.
For home textile applications and wall coverings moisture evaporates quickly and no dew accumulates. Mold and mildew arise from moisture and bring with them poor indoor air quality. Madaline® remains dry to maintain a fresh smelling atmosphere.
For technical packaging, breathability is beneficial as moisture and chemical residues can be distanced from the packaged part.
Untreated Madaline® absorbs 200% of its own weight in water and, with hydrophilic treatment, absorbency can increase to 500%. This is much greater than the 70% absorbency of traditional textiles. Once absorbed however, Madaline® quickly evaporates the water moisture through the micro-channels within the fabric. Thereby, Madaline® has excellent moisture management characteristics, providing significant absorption while subsequently drying very quickly.
Madaline® does not contain volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as PVC, binders or solvents which can pollute and degrade air quality and pose health hazards. Being void of VOC also allows Madaline® to readily pass odor regulation testing and the fabric will not release toxic gases when exposed to flames.
Madaline®, as a light weight fabric, has strong multidirectional tensile and tear strength. Additionally, Madaline® poses multidimensional stability due to its endless microfilaments which when entangled consolidate to form a uniformly stable fabric. These attributes make Madaline® an excellent material for the production of home furnishings, uniforms, outdoor active wear, vehicle interiors, etc.
Madaline® has been tested for bursting strength in accordance with ISO 13938-1:1999 and achieved a Class A performance level rating.
Untreated Madaline® absorbs 200% of its own weight in water and, with hydrophilic treatment, absorbency increases up to 500%. Oil absorbency is even higher.
Madaline®, when used alone or laminated with other fabrics provides for a good sound insulating barrier fabric.
Madaline® is a high efficiency barrier material against bacteria, micro-organisms and microscopic insects therefore, it offers protection against exposure to allergic substances. Madaline® has ECARF certification for ‘Allergy-Friendly Products and Services.
Madaline® is inherently a barrier to the passage of dust mite particles with its intricate entanglement of very fine microfilaments. This web formation blocks mite particles to offer protection to those with mite allergies. Madaline® is also a very efficient filter of microorganisms and bacteria.
Even though Madaline® is a very effective barrier material it is permeable and breaths through its micro-channels.
Comfortably soft, Madaline® is ‘skin friendly’ and an anti-allergenic and non-toxic fabric. These safeguards are inherent and long-lasting. No chemical treatments are required to achieve these properties. Madaline® has been certified by Hohenstein Laboratories to be impermeable to mites and mite droppings.
Madaline® inherently is a barrier against mosquitos with its intricate and finely entangled microfilaments. The fabric’s structure blocks the insect from accessing the skin.
The pore size of Madaline® fabric prevents goose or duck feathers and down from passing through the fabric thereby making it an great encasing material.
Due to multi-directional strength and endless microfilaments Madaline® is cut without fraying and stitching is secure and long-lasting. Traditional textile converting processes are used to efficiently convert Madaline® into finished products. Products converted from Madaline® have been washed up with no degradation of the stitching nor fraying of the ends or surfaces.
Madaline® has been tested to achieve a Class A performance rating for seam slippage per ISO 13936-2:2004.
Madaline® is lint-free and low pilling due to its microfilaments which have no ends protruding from the fabric. Madaline® does not release fluff from friction during cleaning, when washing and rubbing experienced as packaging material. Being lint-free also mitigates the build-up of electrostatic charge which can damage electronic equipment and parts.
Madaline as been tested to achieve Class A performance for pilling per ISO 12945-2:2000
Madaline® is suitable for washing at temperatures up to 95oC with no degradation to the fabric’s shape, stitching and texture.
After washing, Madaline® has been tested to achieve Class A performance for the following:
- Dimensional stability to washing per ISO 6330:2000
- Color fastness to washing per BS EN ISO 105 C06:2010
- Rubbing per BS EN ISO 105 X12:2016
- Pilling per ISO 12945-2:2000
Also, Madaline® has a ‘shape memory’, even after multiple washes, and wrinkling does not increase over time, no unattractive lint is created and pilling is very low.
For laundry managers, fabrics generate important cost savings during textile care. As they are lighter and dry much faster than conventional textiles, the fabrics help to save significant volumes of water, energy and detergent.
Of special environmental note is that Madaline®, as lint-free fabric, releases no fiber to discharge with the wash water. Other ‘linty’ microfiber fabrics can discharge ‘grams’ of microfiber during each wash cycle. And for older fabrics the microfiber discharge is even higher. These microfibers travel in the wastewater to treatment plants and up to 40% enter rivers, lakes and oceans where they enter the aquatic life’s food chain. Madaline® can reduce the entry of fiber plastics into the food chain to support and improve our wellbeing.
Compared to traditional woven and knit textiles, Madaline® is durable to abrasion and therefore low-pilling. The high strength nylon component of Madaline® mitigates filaments from snapping under abrasive friction and breaking free onto the surface.
Madaline® has been tested to achieve Class A performance for abrasion per ISO 12947-2:1998
Madaline® has a dense web of intricately entangled very fine microfilaments therefore wind cannot penetrate through the fabric.
Heat energy does not migrate efficiently through Madaline® therefore the fabric, although breathable, it has good thermal insulation capability.
Madaline® is a performance oriented fabric that protects the skin by blocking bacteria while breathing well to transport away moisture. It is uniformly smooth surfaced, lint-fee and low pilling therefore, there is no abrasive rubbing and discomfort from loose fibers sticking out of the fabric.
Hohenstein Laboratories have tested and confirmed Madaline® to be (1) non-toxic to cells and also that (2) the fabric does not have a potential sensitizing effect. Additionally, Madaline® meets the human-ecological requirements of STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® for baby articles.
Since Madaline® is constructed from very fine microfilaments therefore has no ends sticking out of the fabric. This feature makes for a smooth and strong surface and Madaline® offers contact without abrasion or scratching. Madaline® also does not leave any residue on the contacted surface.
Madaline® inherently possesses ‘shape memory’ with its multidirectional and uniform tensile strength. Multidirectional entanglement of microfilaments containing polyamide yields a fabric which retains its shape and surface structure, without wrinkling, even after numerous wash cycles.
Madaline® is manufactured as a very uniform fabric, with a very smooth and regular surface, in a matte-white color. Therefore, it is an excellent base media for printing and its micro-channels and polymers allow for very efficient use of dyes. Printed and dyed Madaline® yields outstandingly high quality optical effects.
Madaline is multi-washable but retains its construction, performance and shape over a long lifetime. Treatments such as easy soil release during washing lowers detergent cost and especially, its inherent characteristic to dry quickly reduces energy consumption and saves time.
Since Madaline® is a strong fabric which is lint-free and low pilling, its appearance over time and washing does not deteriorate. It enjoys a longer life time.
Reusable, without changes to appearance or performance, makes Madaline® a very a cost-effective product for the end user. Compared to the cost of medical disposable fabrics, the break-even cost of Madaline® is quickly realized and subsequent further use makes Madaline® economically preferable.
The Madaline® production process is environmentally friendly, using recycled water, has negligible C02 emissions, and uses less energy than traditional textiles. Madaline® is performance oriented therefore less fabric is needed to achieve similar performance compared to traditional textiles.
Madaline® is reusable and, most importantly, does not shed lint or release fibers during washing. Being light weight and quick drying, it needs less detergent to clean and less heat to dry. These factors reduce the discharge of pollutants into water sheds and less energy is consumed during manufacturing and product use.
Probably among the most important feature of Madaline® is that it is lint-free and does not release small particles of synthetic material into the wash water. Water treatment plants cannot fully remove such particles therefore they are subsequently released into bodies of water and eventually enter the food chain. It is noted that more than half of the manmade material found on shorelines is microfibers and is a cause of growing concern.
Madaline® is a high-performance wiping fabric for residential, institutional and industrial environments. The very low denier microfilaments allow it to trap and gather, between the microfilaments, even the smallest of particles. Microfiber, large denier fabrics, only push aside such small particles during wiping. Additionally, thanks to microfilaments, there are no loose fiber ends sticking out making Madaline® a scratch free wipe.
Madaline® wipes ensure the particle pick-up is highly efficient and the cleaned surface is not marked or scratched. Since Madaline® does not release fibers, there is no smearing nor lint residue left behind to contaminate the surface or the environment. This makes Madaline® an excellent wipe for industrial surfaces sensitive to scratching or residue, moping or wiping in clean rooms and cleaning food containers which cannot tolerate any lint residue contamination.
The PET/PA blend gives Madaline® a soft textile-like touch with a smooth surface and its ability to be dyed to sharp and attractive colors allows color coding. Madaline® is the next step up in performance when compared to microfiber cloths.