Sticky Plastic ?

[dave62]

I think I am catching on to something. Like most of you, I have bought a lot of plastic raingear and clothing via the Internet. I notice from time to time that the item arrives, and the plastic has a horrible sticky feel to it. A good example is that have bought the "mens PJ-1" from pvc-u-like, and my wife and split it. She wears the top, and I take the long pants, cut them to "shorts" length and we wear them to bed many times. She really like this item as the plastic is as soft as can be. So just ordered a replacement/spare two weeks ago. And just today I recieved a UL121TN from FunPlastic, an item which I am hoping will be my favorite, a one piece plastic clothng with "acces" to all the critical areas.
Except the PJ-1 and UL121TN have arrived with that sticky plastic feeling. I know the PJ-1's should be better. But it dawned on me that it has been very very hot, many days over 100 degrees F. I'm beginning to think that the high temperature oozes out some unwanted chemicals from the plastic. I tried to wash the PJ-1 in warm water, with heavy detergent, by hand, and it helped a lot. But yet, a side by side feeling comparison shows the new one with a not so smooth feeling.
Has any one else ever seen this? Do I wait till winter to order? Who knows how hot the item gets when coming over the Atlantic. Has anyone ever successfully treated such sticky clothing to a point that you get the stickiness gone? A better way to wash or the proper soap/chemical?
Just curious if anyone else has had this.

[merv]

I did have this with the mans plastic raincoat from pvc-u-like. It wasnt really a problem. It just seemed that was how the material was meant to be

[pete]

I believe that this condition is caused by excess plasticizer migrating to the surface of the material. I've seen this a couple of times on items I've ordered that apparently sat for a long time without being used, and I've had it happen to things I already had that weren't used for a long time. Both of the Target PU raincoats I sold a couple of months ago had to be washed for this reason before I listed them on ebay. The remedy is to wash the item all over using soap and water. Or, if the item is something you wear to bed, wearing it for a night will take care of the problem.

[pete]

Oh, I forget to mention another way to deal with it, which is the same way I wash a shower curtain. Wash it in the machine with half a dozen towels using normal washing detergent, being sure that you use warm water to wash and rinse (neither cold nor hot), and also be aware that any existing tears in the item will probably get worse. You can remove the plastic item(s) at the end of the rinse cycle before the spin cycle, and sometimes you'll need to finish rinsing the item by hand.

[Jjai]

I have a heavy cotton backed PVC trenchcoat made in the 1960's, it really smells strongly of plastic/ damp old cotton at times, do you think that washing with the towels may work for my mack ? or is it the amount of plasticizer and decaying cotton fabric that will make it have such a strong odour from time to time ?

[plastic-london]

Hmmmm ... I think Pete's right. Plastic/pvc has plasticizer in it to make it flexible and soft. Surprisingly, despite plastic being waterproof, the plasticizer slowly washes out and the plastic changes texture and is less flexible. With time it sometimes cracks.

[pete]

Yes, that's what happens. It's surprising to find out that the plasticizer is simply mixed with the unpolymerized plastic, and doesn't chemically bond with it after polymerization. Some formulations can have up to 50% plasticizer. I suppose it's no wonder that the plasticizer can migrate to the surface after a period of time, and I'd suspect that it doesn't take much of it on the surface to make the plastic feel sticky.

[pete]

I have a heavy cotton backed PVC trenchcoat made in the 1960's, it really smells strongly of plastic/ damp old cotton at times, do you think that washing with the towels may work for my mack ? or is it the amount of plasticizer and decaying cotton fabric that will make it have such a strong odour from time to time ?

jjai, I have never had anything cotton-backed, so I can't offer any suggestions. Your coat is really ancient as vinyl plastic clothing items go...I don't think I have anything much over fifteen years old or so.

[Juppe]

Hi Pete,
you're absolutely right about plasticisers migrating to the surface and causing the stickyness. I think every plastic lover has encountered that sometimes. As we also know the plasticisers especially certain phtalates are considered risky to healt. Therefore I recommend that sticky garments are washed as Pete told especially before exposing them to bare skin.
I tried once to enquire one Chinese major plastic pant supplier about which phtalates they use in the fabrics. You can imagine if I got any relevant answer...
There are also safe plasticisers available, e.g the German BASF is manufacturing such chemicals. They are as far as I know the only accepted softeners for instance for pvc mittens used for kids under 3 y, as they probably put the mittens in their mouth sometimes. This acceptance is granted by the Öko-Tex. Still Chinese kids' pvc mittens are sold everywhere...
PVC also needs stabilasors which can be cadmium, tin or lead in the low cost products.
Polyurethane is not risky, as it is made soft without extra plasticisers. A combination of PVC and PU is also a relatively soft material and it is used to rainwear.
I have personally used plastic next to skin for ages without any problems (touch the wood..) but I think it's good to be aware of the potential risks.

[Bandilo]

Hello Juppe and the other specialists here,
Some weeks ago I got 2 new Pvc-u-like coats, made in China PA3C (I think I read that they produce…weld.. all garments in China now). They had a very intensive specific smell, and I have the feeling that this smell is not so healthy. It was in June and very warm outside. We hang them in the bathroom with wide open window for 3 weeks. Even after this time the smell was very intensive. The material is the softest and stickiest PVC I know and there must be a huge amount of plasticisers in.
Does anyone here know how healthy or unhealthy the pvc or better the plasticisers from pvs-u-like material is? Has the color any influence?
I whish all a nice rainy week