Cure time at higher batch temps?

[Kathy]

So I have been wondering about this for awhile(like a year!) and decided on what was a sunny day today to ask everyone else...

If you are batching your tie and dyed items at a higher temp than the recommended 24 hours at rm. temp.  is your time to cure less or would you still leave it for the full 24?  I'll explain further, living where I do it is  sunny and relatively warm(to blazing hot!). So, when I do my dyeing I leave my items in the sun and they can get fairly warm to the touch, sometimes hot (though not microwave hot).

Should I leave them for the full 24 or assume that my reactions have been sped up by the increased heat?

Kathy

[steve]

When I pressed for time, I have been known to use heat to cure more quickly. I try to get things around 95-105 degrees F.

If memory serves me right, I think I let things go around 5-6 hours. Colors were brilliant--no problems at all with less than vivid results--even turquoise.

Steve

[Kathy]

Well, in my mini, non-scientific, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants experiement yesterday my silks came out very nice after 8-9hours curing and 2 hot water rinses.

I have done this before, but what makes this time an experiment is that I paid more attention to the time and to the rinse water.

Kathy

[pburch]

Years ago I read in a scientific article (in the book Reactive Dyes in Biology) that an increase in temperature of 10°C (which is 18°F) will triple the speed at which the reaction of the MX dye occurs.

So, I divide the expected time by three, if I increase the temperature that much, and then add on a lot of extra time if I am serious about wanting no backstaining at all, or cut down on the time if I am in a great hurry and don't care about backstaining. This usually works out to overnight for tie-dyeing, but only a couple of hours for LWI.

Paula

[Kathy]

Years ago I read in a scientific article (in the book Reactive Dyes in Biology) that an increase in temperature of 10°C (which is 18°F) will triple the speed at which the reaction of the MX dye occurs.
Paula

Thanks Paula for this piece of info(and the book name).
This is something that I had suspected for a long time, for 2 reasons..
1-it only makes sense that if heating in the microwave or stovetop steaming decreases the time needed to cure, then increasing the cure temp. otherwise should also decrease cure time.
2-My summertime 105'F outside batch dyed silks have always seemed to rinse well after a day of curing in the sun, with no backstaining issues.

Kathy