Viscose and rayon
A cellulose fibre that the professional body describes as very sensitive to water — and the shape can be lost to a dissolving finish rather than to the fibre.
What not to do
Water is unsafe on Viscose and rayon
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Three separate mechanisms: poor wet strength, dyes that bleed on contact with moisture, and water-soluble sizing whose loss distorts the garment.
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
- Consider professional help
Why we say this
Strongly supported
Stated directly by the professional garment-care body, with three named failure modes. Lyocell is excluded by the source and therefore by this edge.
Sources
Drycleaning & Laundry Institute International (DLI) · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That with the exception of lyocell rayon is very sensitive to water, that many of its dyes bleed or migrate on contact with moisture, and that water-soluble sizing means washing will distort the shape of the garment. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The whole page: water sensitivity, dye behaviour, sizing, lyocell and stain pretesting. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
- Consider professional help
In detail
Viscose is regenerated cellulose, so it reads as a natural fibre and behaves nothing like cotton in the wash. The garment-care body's statement is unqualified: with the exception of lyocell, rayon is VERY SENSITIVE TO WATER. Three distinct failure modes sit behind that. Its dyes are frequently not colourfast and will bleed or migrate on contact with moisture. Its wet strength is poor. And the third catches people out because it has nothing to do with the fibre at all — manufacturers often add SIZING to give a garment body or drape, some sizings are water-soluble, and washing therefore distorts the shape of the garment by removing a finish nobody knew was there. The body's conclusion is that drycleaning is recommended for most rayon garments. LYOCELL IS THE EXCEPTION AND THE DISTINCTION MATTERS: substantially similar in chemical composition, it can be either drycleaned or washed, and a lyocell garment washed when it should have been drycleaned may show excessive shrinkage and a wrinkled appearance. Stains carry their own instruction — never attempt removal without pretesting the agent first, because of the fabric's extreme sensitivity.
Properties
Sensitivity
- Acids
- Not known
- Alkalis
- Not known
- Chlorine bleach
- Not known
- Heat
- Not known
- Abrasion
- Not known
- Porous
- Recorded
“Not known” means CleaningHQ has not established this, not that the material is unaffected.
Why
- Viscose and rayon is explained by Dye migration and colour bleeding
Hacks and claims involving this
- A stain method that works on cotton works on anything Does not work
Sources for this page
Sources
Drycleaning & Laundry Institute International (DLI) · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That with the exception of lyocell rayon is very sensitive to water, that many rayon dyes are not colourfast and bleed or migrate on contact with moisture, that water-soluble sizing means washing will distort the garment's shape, that drycleaning is recommended for most rayon garments, that lyocell may be drycleaned or washed, and that stain agents must be pretested. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The whole page: water sensitivity, dye behaviour, sizing, lyocell and stain pretesting. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .