Wash Fastness Test: ISO 105-C06 vs AATCC 61 Grading & Specs
Wash fastness measures a dyed or printed fabric's resistance to shade fading (color change) and dye bleed onto adjacent fibers (staining) during accelerated laundering, rated from Grade 1 to Grade 5.
Weaverine achieves Grade 4–5 wash fastness (ISO 105-C06 / AATCC 61) on high-temperature disperse-dyed and disperse digital-printed polyester, and Grade 2–3 on economical pigment-printed bedding programs across 150–315 cm finished widths.
By Wren Thunderborn, Head of Content
Wash fastness (formally color fastness to domestic and commercial laundering) measures how well a dyed or printed textile resists losing its own shade (color change) and bleeding dye onto neighboring fabrics (color staining) during laundering. While color fastness covers the broader family of light, rubbing, and perspiration tests, wash fastness under ISO 105-C06 and AATCC TM61 is the primary lab gate for bedding, drapery, and apparel shipments.
How ISO 105-C06 and AATCC 61 testing works
A composite specimen—consisting of the test fabric stitched to a standardized DW multifiber adjacent strip (containing six woven bands: diacetate, bleached cotton, polyamide/nylon, polyester, acrylic, and wool)—is sealed inside a rotating stainless-steel canister (Launder-Ometer or Gyrowash) containing standard detergent solution, sodium perborate (if specified), and stainless-steel balls that simulate multi-wash mechanical friction in a single 30- to 45-minute cycle:
| Test Protocol | Temperature | Duration | Steel Balls | Commercial Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 105-C06 A1S / A2S | 40 °C | 30 min | 10 balls | Standard domestic machine wash (retail bedding & curtains) |
| ISO 105-C06 B2S | 50 °C | 30 min | 25 balls | Warm commercial/retail laundering |
| ISO 105-C06 C2S | 60 °C | 30 min | 25 balls | Hospitality & institutional laundry benchmark |
| AATCC TM61 Test 1A | 40 °C | 45 min | 10 balls | 5 gentle home hand/machine washes |
| AATCC TM61 Test 2A | 49 °C | 45 min | 50 balls | 5 accelerated commercial/home machine washes (US retail standard) |
Two separate ratings: Color Change vs Multi-Fiber Staining
A laboratory report never gives a single wash fastness number. Technicians evaluate two distinct failure modes using standardized ISO Grey Scales from Grade 1 (poor) to Grade 5 (excellent):
- Color Change (ISO 105-A02 / AATCC EP1): Measures whether the washed fabric itself looks lighter, duller, or shifted in hue compared to the unwashed control swatch.
- Color Staining (ISO 105-A03 / AATCC EP2): Measures how much dye transferred from the specimen onto each of the six fibers on the multifiber strip. On dark navy, burgundy, or black polyester, acetate and nylon are the most sensitive indicator bands—if residual surface dye was not removed via reduction clearing after dyeing, the nylon band will drop to Grade 2.5–3.0 even while the polyester band reads Grade 4.5.
Wash fastness by dyeing and printing route at Weaverine
Because dye-fiber bonding physics govern wash durability, choosing the colouration route on Weaverine's 150–315 cm finished polyester programs directly determines your achievable wash fastness grade:
| Colouration Route | Dye-Fiber Bonding Mechanism | Typical Wash Fastness (ISO 105-C06 A2S) | Typical MOQ & Commercial Positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid-Dyed (HT Disperse) | Molecular diffusion inside polyester polymer at ~130 °C + reduction clearing | Grade 4–5 (Change ≥ 4, Staining ≥ 4) | 3,000 m per color; hotel bedding, contract curtains, workwear |
| Disperse Printing | Rotary screen disperse paste + high-temperature steam fixation + wash-off | Grade 4–5 | 5,000 m; mass-retail printed bedding requiring full wash durability |
| Digital Printing / Sublimation | Disperse dye sublimated into the polyester fiber at 195–210 °C | Grade 4–5 | No MOQ (from 1 m); custom hospitality & high-end home textiles |
| Pigment Printing | Surface pigment particles bound by heat-cured polymer resin (no wash-off) | Grade 2–3 | 5,000 m; promotional bedding, decorative curtains, budget retail |
Writing wash fastness onto a B2B purchase order
To eliminate ambiguity between your QA lab and the dyehouse, specify:
- Standard and sub-test code: e.g.,
ISO 105-C06 A2S (40 °C)orAATCC 61-2A (49 °C). - Separate minimums for Change and Staining: e.g.,
Color Change ≥ Grade 4.0; Multifiber Staining ≥ Grade 4.0 (≥ Grade 3.5 on Acetate/Nylon for dark shades >3% o.w.f.). - Colouration route alignment: Do not specify
ISO 105-C06 Grade 4on a PO priced for pigment printing; select disperse printing or digital printing whenever contract wash durability is required.
Read next: color fastness for light (ISO 105-B02) and crocking/rubbing (ISO 105-X12) benchmarks, disperse printing vs pigment printing for print paste chemistry, and dimensional stability for laundry shrinkage testing.
Common questions
What are the two scores reported on an ISO 105-C06 or AATCC 61 wash fastness test?
- Every wash fastness report outputs two separate Grey Scale grades from 1 (severe) to 5 (no change): 1) Color Change (ISO 105-A02), which compares the washed specimen against the unwashed original to measure shade loss; and 2) Color Staining (ISO 105-A03), which evaluates dye bleed onto a sewed-on 6-fiber multifiber test strip (acetate, cotton, nylon, polyester, acrylic, and wool).
Why does disperse dyeing score Grade 4–5 while pigment printing scores Grade 2–3?
- In high-temperature (130 °C) disperse dyeing and disperse/sublimation printing, dye molecules diffuse inside the amorphous regions of the polyester polymer when heated above its glass transition temperature (~80 °C), becoming trapped inside the fiber upon cooling. In pigment printing, insoluble color particles are glued onto the fabric surface by a polymeric binder resin that gradually erodes under alkaline detergent and mechanical steel-ball abrasion.
What do test codes like ISO 105-C06 A2S, B2S, and C2S or AATCC 61 2A mean?
- They define water temperature, liquor volume, detergent chemistry, and the number of 6 mm stainless-steel balls added to simulate mechanical agitation: ISO 105-C06 A2S runs at 40 °C with 10 steel balls (delicate/domestic wash), B2S runs at 50 °C with 25 steel balls, C2S runs at 60 °C with 25 steel balls (commercial hospitality wash), and AATCC 61 Test 2A runs at 49 °C for 45 minutes with 50 steel balls (simulating 5 home machine washes).
Which fiber on the multifiber strip stains first when testing dark polyester?
- Acetate and nylon (polyamide) strips stain first when testing dark red, navy, or black disperse-dyed polyester. Unfixed residual disperse dye oligomers on the fiber surface have a high affinity for acetate and nylon during warm alkaline washing unless the mill performs a thorough reductive after-clearing bath (reduction clearing) after dyeing.
Related Terms
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