Are you lost with these strange new names: ISOVALERIC GAS, NONENAL GAS, and two familiar gases: AMMONIA GAS and ACETIC ACID GAS?
What do they have to do with me, what do they have to do with textile treatments, and what do they have to do with ISO testing requirements?
They are suddenly the most important names you will need to remember and an ISO test you will learn by heart if you wish to keep your goods fresh and smelling good.
ISO 17299-2-2014, never heard of it? This is the test which decides if your anti-odour treatment is on the “nose” (pardon the pun!). The ISO 17299-2-2014 test method determines if your anti-odour treatment is efficacious enough to reduce these gases by sufficient percentage levels to pass the test. These gases must be absorbed, neutralised, or diminished by large percentages to pass the test. You can pass the test by biological means, by using natural substances as the active ingredient in the formulation, or by a mixture of both. The current trend is to use natural means to defeat the gases.
HealthGuard Corporation’s innovative R&D team has developed a 100% natural active agent to do just that. HealthGuard Corporation has not only developed the Odour Master product which defeats these gases to pass ISO 17299-2-2014, but they have also developed their own fixing agent to give x50 wash resistance to Odour Master treated garments. This is fantastic news for sportswear manufacturers, uniform manufacturers, and underwear manufacturers—a stay-fresh treatment which is natural and has a lasting effect.
Odour Master is a botanical-based textile treatment designed to enhance your customer satisfaction. Odour Master has been tested at an internationally acclaimed independent laboratory with 50 wash tests carried out at 40°C by the laboratory, then proceeding to the ISO 17299-2-2014 testing regime. The performance of the 50 laundry cycle Odour Master treated fabric was practically the same as freshly treated!
Let us become familiar with the gases used in ISO 17299-2-2014.
- ISOVALERIC GAS: Strange name, strange gas. What has this gas to do with my fabrics? The odour of isovaleric gas is an unpleasant ripe cheese smell, “smell those socks, phew” … Yes, that’s the one. You knew the gas all the time, just not the name! The bacteria on human skin break down into compounds such as isovaleric acid, leading to armpit and foot odour. Odour Master will be an essential fitment into socks, shoe linings, inner soles, and sports and athletic wear to keep these odours to a minimum and reduce that locker room “waft”. Odour Master’s active ingredient is 100% natural.
- NONENAL GAS: Associated with age, sadly. As we age, we produce more nonenal due to the breakdown of Omega-7 unsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, at any stage, we are producing skin lipids, which are absorbed into our clothing and give that horrible greasy smell. It’s not a lack of hygiene (even though that is a contributing factor); we all produce Omega-7, and the excretion absorbs into our clothing, giving even freshly laundered clothing an odour after a short time of wearing. Factors for producing nonenal gas include diet, age, stress (common in the textile and garment industry!), and sun exposure. We are all party to these factors in our everyday life. Odour Master can keep your treated garments fresher for longer and through multiple 40°C wash cycles.
- AMMONIA GAS: Something familiar to discuss now. We can easily identify ammonia gas by its sharp pungent odour. How does my body make ammonia gas? Protein metabolism. Our bodies break down proteins into amino acids, which are further broken down into nitrogenous compounds such as ammonia. Excessive protein intake will lead to increased ammonia production. All the athletes out there with a daily high protein intake should be aware of this occurrence and how they make their clothing smell. Odour Master can reduce the smelly clothing syndrome by fitting into underwear, sports and athletic wear, uniforms, and whatever clothing you wear every day, be it your suit for work or your uniform for work. Odour Master is a 100% natural way to control the odours, keep the garments fresher longer, reduce laundry and dry cleaning cycles, and make a garment more appealing, extending the life of the article by reducing abrasive wash cycles and preventing the bio-accumulation of micro particles in the environment.
- ACETIC ACID GAS: Another familiar one for the textile bods! Used daily in the textile industry, but did you know the sharp vinegary smell contributes to our own body odour? No? Well, this is how we produce our own acetic gas: our daily diet consists of protein (we discussed this earlier) and carbohydrates, the yummy stuff we all love, like chips and bread. However, a less understood byproduct of our favourite tummy fillers is the bacterial metabolism, such as those bacteria found in our mouth and on our skin. Both of which cause us to exude unpleasant odours, be it halitosis or body odour from sweat.
Odour Master treated garments will remain fresher longer and at an acceptable level of “body odour” according to ISO standard 17299-2-2014, which means fewer laundry cycles, saving resources, and longer garment life—all good for the environment.
Odour Master is available from HealthGuard Corporation, Australia. The active agent which remains on the garment is 100% natural!