No Shrink- No Spot (Apr, 1947)
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1947
| Buy on Ebay
No Shrink- No Spot
A DISTANT cousin of the sulfa drugs, melamine, is being used to “cure” some of the serious “ailments” of textiles.
Its most striking use is in a resin which, applied to woolens, solves the age-old problem of shrinking and matting in water.
In another form, melamine resins can be used to impregnate acetate rayons and cottons to make them spot resistant. Ink, coffee or other staining liquids, spilled on clothes made from treated fabrics, can be washed off with a damp cloth or a glassful of water.Melamine was first developed in 1834 but was forgotten until a few years ago. It went to war in a resin applied to blankets, sleeping bag linings, socks, and insect netting. But it is in its peacetime application to textiles that melamine promises its widest use.
Melamine: when rayon just isn’t flammable enough. Solves that age-old problem of surviving plane crashes without fourth-degree burns.
Comment by Charlene — October 30, 2009 @ 2:42 pm
In barracks, we used to have an extra blanket (that had to be folded just so for inspections) that was referred to as a “fire blanket” as you were supposed to grab it and run in case of fire. Rumors abounded about them being so treated as to be flammable, but I don’t recall anyone testing one.
Comment by Toronto — October 30, 2009 @ 3:01 pm
Melamine survives to the present day as the adulterant in Chinese animal feed that resulted in so many pet deaths recently.
Comment by a.nonymous — October 31, 2009 @ 2:09 am
Er, “A Nonymous”- Melamine is actually a fairly common ‘hard’ plastic these days. Most non-disposable plastic plates etc are melamine. Vintage 1950s melamine dinnerware is actually COLLECTIBLE.
Comment by katey — November 2, 2009 @ 1:34 am
It’s true. I used to have a cool set of melamine plates. One thing I learned quick is that melamine is NOT microwavable. I have never found anything that smells worse than burnt microwaved melamine.
Comment by Charlie — November 2, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
We had a square melamine set for camping. Do NOT drink coffee out of a square mug without turning it so the corner lines up with your mouth. Burning camper smells pretty bad too.
Comment by Toronto — November 2, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
Has anyone seen the movie “The Man in the White Suit” starring Alec Guiness. He invents a fabric that never gets dirty and throws the English textile industry into a panic.
Comment by JMyint — November 13, 2009 @ 12:17 am
JMyint: Haven’t seen it in quite a while (and it seemed dated then) but yeah, I remember it.
Comment by Toronto — November 13, 2009 @ 12:43 am
A classic movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGu_aNbYvi4
Comment by Firebrand38 — November 13, 2009 @ 1:56 am