Moisture management

Moisture-wicking clothes adsorb the liquid sweat on the skin and spread it along the surface of the fibres by capillary attraction to the external surface of the clothing, which is exposed to drier air, and where it evaporates more quickly, in comparison with a clothing item which absorbs and retains the water in the fibres. Hence it avoids mass retention of the moisture and the associated feeling of dampness.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-HxAAAAMAAJ&q=moisture+wicking |magazine=The Textile Magazine |date=2002 |publisher=Gopali & Company |pages=57, 58 |title=Fibres for active sportswear fabrics |hdl=2027/inu.30000092807803 }}

The transport of liquid water through an unsaturated textile is a combination of wetting and wicking, and diffusion of absorbed water through the fibre. Without wetting, there can be no wicking as the contact angle between water and fibre will have no tendency to pull he water along the contact surface. Capillary flow in the plane of the fabric is called in-plane wicking, transverse wicking, or horizontal wicking. Capillary flow orthogonal to the plane of the fabric may be called transplanar wicking, transplanar uptake, or transplanar flow. Several factors are known to influence wicking in a fabric. These include the arrangement of the fibres, the material of the fibres, the composition of the liquid, the shape and alignment of the wetted surface, the geometry of the channels through which wicking occurs, and absorption of the liquid into the material of the fibres. Ambient temperature and humidity also influence the rate of fluid transfer by wicking.{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-08-101273-4.00009-3 |chapter=Moisture absorption and transport through textiles |title=Engineering of High-Performance Textiles |date=2018 |last1=Wang |first1=F. |pages=247–275 |isbn=978-0-08-101273-4 }}

The migration of moisture through multiple layers of clothing or through plated fabric is more complicated and is affected by the order of layers with different wicking and absorptive characteristics.

Mixtures of fibre types may be defined in terms of mass or volume ratio. This blending ratio is a strong predictor of moisture transport characteristics. Fibre arrangement is also important to moisture transport, and there are three basic classes, woven, knitted and non-woven fabrics. Wicking effects are governed by surface effects, so a large surface area of the fibres is more effective, and this is determined by fibre diameter and cross sectional form for a given mass of a given material.

Moisture comfort in clothing is the preservation from the sensation of dampness. A study about the human body's response and sweating Hollies{{clarify|Whoe or what is Hollies?|date=September 2023}} suggests, When more than 50–65% of the body surface is wet, it feels uncomfortable.{{Cite book|last=Song|first=Guowen|title=Improving Comfort in Clothing|publisher=Woodhead Publishing|year=2011|isbn=9780857090645|pages=167, 192, 208}}{{Cite book|last=Au|first=K.F.|title=Advances in Knitting Technology|publisher=Woodhead Publishing|year=2011|isbn=9781845693725}}

Though cotton is a comfortable and skin-friendly natural fibre, its high absorbency ratio makes it very uncomfortable to wear once saturated.{{Cite book |last=Kadolph |first=Sara J. |url=http://archive.org/details/textiles0000kado |title=Textiles |date=1998 |publisher=Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Merrill |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-13-494592-7 |pages=39}}

Cellulose and protein based natural fibres have a considerably higher water absorption capacity then most synthetic fibres.{{rp|Ch.1}}

An article of clothing with moisture-wicking properties helps in enhancing the performance of the wearer.{{clarify|How does it enhance performance?|date=September 2023}} Hence it is helpful in sportswear and athleisure.{{cite journal |last1=De Sousa |first1=Justin |last2=Cheatham |first2=Christopher |last3=Wittbrodt |first3=Matthew |title=The effects of a moisture-wicking fabric shirt on the physiological and perceptual responses during acute exercise in the heat |journal=Applied Ergonomics |date=November 2014 |volume=45 |issue=6 |pages=1447–1453 |doi=10.1016/j.apergo.2014.04.006 |pmid=24768089 }}{{cite journal |last1=Dong |first1=Yuliang |last2=Kong |first2=Junhua |last3=Mu |first3=Chenzhong |last4=Zhao |first4=Chenyang |last5=Thomas |first5=Noreen L. |last6=Lu |first6=Xuehong |title=Materials design towards sport textiles with low-friction and moisture-wicking dual functions |journal=Materials & Design |date=December 2015 |volume=88 |pages=82–87 |doi=10.1016/j.matdes.2015.08.107 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/9234599 }}{{cite thesis |last1=Wigboldy |first1=Kimberly |title=The Effects of a Moisture-Wicking Fabric Shirt on the Physiological Responses During Acute Exercise in the Heat |date=August 2013 |url=https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/180/ }}

The property is quantifiable through various test procedures. Example tests are ISO 13029:2012,{{Cite web|title=ISO Standard|url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:13029:ed-1:v1:en|access-date=2021-05-26|website=www.iso.org}} and AATCC TM195.{{Cite web|title=AATCC - AATCC|url=https://members.aatcc.org/store/tm195/591/|access-date=2021-05-26|website=members.aatcc.org}}

Objective test methods for water absorption and transport in fabrics include:

• Siphon test, vertical wicking and transverse wicking tests.
• Optical measurement of contact angle.
• Spectroscopic methods.
• Electrical methods.
• Magnetic resonance, and temperature based methods for detecting wetness by evaporative cooling.

{{expand section|Describe or link to the tests|date=September 2023}}

• Plated fabric is a suitable fabric construction for moisture-wicking fabrics.
• {{annotated link|Fabric softener}}

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Category:Textiles

Category:Properties of textiles