Why Test?
Any items that see sunlight, moisture, and heat are subject to the damaging forces of nature. Textile materials can be susceptible to loss of color and tensile strength when exposed to sunlight outdoors and behind window glass, as well as in high-humidity environments.
Will your apparel and fashion fabrics retain their color? Will your industrial and commercial fabrics and textiles last outdoors? For how long? Does your new raw material supplier have the same quality as your previous one? Has something changed in your process that might affect its long term durability? Don't guess when you can test.
Q-Lab serves hundreds of customers who manufacture or buy textiles for a variety of applications, including:
- Apparel Fabrics
- Carpet
- Floor Coverings
- Military & Industrial
Tents & Covers - Pool Covers
- Window Treatments
- Parachutes
- Automotive Interiors
- Awnings
- Woven Polypropylene
Bags (FIBC) - Outdoor Furniture
- Geotextiles
Common lightfastness tests for apparel and design fabrics are performed in Q-SUN xenon test chambers, recognized by all major international standards organizations, including ISO and AATCC. For textiles and fabrics designed for long-duration outdoor use, both the Q-SUN xenon test chamber and QUV accelerated weathering tester are good choices for simulating outdoor conditions in the laboratory.
Our Exposure Testing Services for Fabrics and Textiles
Florida & Arizona Natural Outdoor
While accelerated lightstability and weathering chambers are a key weapon in the fight against the forces of sunlight, heat, and moisture, nothing beats the real thing: outdoor testing in one of Q-Lab benchmark outdoor testing facilities. Q-Lab's South Florida and Arizona desert sites provide the ultimate test of your textile product's outdoor durability using natural conditions.
Accelerated Laboratory Weathering
Accelerated laboratory weathering testing is an efficient and effective way to evaluate the durability of textile materials, designed to accelerate your weathering testing process to provide you with accurate and reliable answers.
Q-Lab's accelerated weathering testers simulate the primary light and weathering conditions that degrade all types of fabrics and textiles, causing:
- Fading
- Color Change
- Yellowing
- Loss of Tensile Strength
- Decrease in Flame Resistance
- Loss of IR Absorption or Reflection
A variety of international test standards are used to evaluate fabrics and textiles' weathering resistance and light stability. Visit Q-Lab’s Standards Search page to browse standards and find the right test for your product.
Additional Testing for Fabrics & Textiles
Under Glass Exposure
Glass generally filters out the most damaging short-wavelength UV light, but interior-use materials still can degrade due to UVA and shortwave visible passing through window glass. Under glass exposures are available at Q-Lab’s benchmark sites in Florida & Arizona.
Automotive Interior Materials (AIM) Box
AIM Boxes are under-glass enclosures that simulate the sunlight and heat found inside an automobile. These important environmental stressors result in color change, cracking, peeling, oxidation, or loss of strength of materials in car and truck interior fabrics. AIM boxes can accelerate these stressors by tracking the sun throughout the day. Three-dimensional fabrics like seat cushions as well as flat specimens like interior trim can be tested.