A study of new washing machine for the care of delicate garments by testing on wool and silk fabrics

There is an increasing demand for gentle laundry and care of the delicate and high-end garments for maintaining their performance and appearance during the use. A tapping washing system was designed for the care of delicate garments. Adjustable and steady up-down tapping force was applied on fabrics or garments during laundry through the centric slider-crank mechanism with control parameters, such as the magnitude and frequency of the tapping force, washing temperature and duration, etc. By comparing with traditional drum rotation washing on wool and silk fabrics, the tapping washing method could prevent felting shrinkage of wool fabrics and crease of silk fabrics, and maintain their good appearance, although the washing efficiency for the removal of soils from garments needs to be further explored. The newly designed prototype of the tapping washing device could be the foundation for future research on gentle washing without the movement of fabrics but circulation of detergent washing solution during tapping action on the fabrics.