THE LEADING SILVER ION TECHNOLOGY

For obtaining hygiene, protection and freshness – in everyday life and
under extreme conditions

+ EPA-registration + OEKO-TEX®-Standard 100 and bluesign® approval depending on the SILVERPLUS® product used

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SILVERPLUS® transfers the element silver into a silver compound which has been applied to microstructured substrates by means of highly innovative coating procedures. One gram of microstructured SILVERPLUS® active ingredient has a superficial area of ca. 600,000 cm². The advantage of the enlargement of the superficial area is that the consumption of resources can be minimised by the factor 100 compared with metallic silver. At the same time, the effects are maximised, similar to the mode of action of platinum in automotive exhaust catalysts.

Due to this highly innovative procedure a virtually infinite deposit is created from which highly effective positive silver ions are set free in small (some ppm) exactly dosed quantities whenever needed, i.e. in the presence of moisture.

Due to the triple effect mechanism of SILVERPLUS® many odour-causing bacteria cannot adapt to the effect of silver ions. The antimicrobial effect of the natural element silver is exclusively based on free silver ions. Due to a triple effect mechanism, silver ions with a positive charge have bacteriostatic effects.

SILVERPLUS® is, therefore, capable of contributing to stopping odour-causing bacteria to thus prevent infections in clinics and hospitals, which are e. g. caused by the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus strain (MRSA), from being transmitted*. (*This is not approved by the EPA and hence not valid for the USA.)

COMFORT FINISH AGAINST PERSPIRATION ODOUR

HYGIENE, PROTECTION AND FRESHNESS FOR TOMORROW‘S TEXTILES - LONGER USE, LESS WATER CONSUMPTION

THE PROBLEM

After only a short period of use T-shirts made of synthetic fibres develop odours. One feels uncomfortable and no longer ready for the rest of the day. This unpleasant, but unfortunately common problem is well known, especially with regard to the use of sneakers, towels, shirts and workwear. The clean and often washed T-shirt starts developing odours after only a short period of use. Although not dirty, it will be washed again.

Further 30° - 40 °C wash cycles will not improve this; quite the contrary, constant wash cycles affect the T-shirt and, finally, it will be thrown away.

THE REASONS

Microorganisms, such as odour-causing bacteria, require certain pre-conditions, such as food, temperature, surfaces that are as large as possible and, above all, moisture. This is why textiles worn next to the skin are especially ideal biospheres for microorganisms. Due to low washing temperatures odour-causing bacteria in the textile cannot be controlled; therefore, they continue to cause increasingly unpleasant odours in the textile.

THE REMEDIES

SILVERPLUS® is the most intelligent and innovative manner for your textiles to economically and ecologically enter new fresh dimensions. The SILVERPLUS® finish protects your textiles from unpleasant body odours, even at low washing temperatures. The need to wash a textile due to unpleasant body odours, will disappear. This also prolongs its life span. This is why SILVERPLUS® is not only economical, but has indirect ecological effects during washing/textile care, wearing/using, drying and storing textiles.


FRESHNESS AND MOISTURE MANAGEMENT

PERFECT SYNERGISM OF FRESHNESS AND OPTIMISED MOISTURE TRANSPORT

Good moisture management is indispensible for comfortable freshness. The HYDROCOOL® technology by RUDOLF GROUP will improve moisture transportation:

  • ®FERAN ICE
  • ®FERAN ICP
  • ®FERAN ICS
  • ®FERAN ASR
  • ®RUCO-PUR SEC
  • ®RUCO-PUR SLY
  • ®RUCO-PUR SPH

The hydrophilic finishing agents transport body moisture and the odour-causing bacteria away from the body into the textile where it is dispersed; SILVERPLUS® then suppresses the formation of odours.

 

<small>1 ...Perspiration-absorbing textile with SILVERPLUS® protective system, optimum moisture evaporation on the textile‘s face
2 ...Moisture evaporation between skin/textile
3 ...Perspiration-producing skin</small>

FROM THE NATURAL ELEMENT SILVER TO THE LEADING HYGIENE, PROTECTION AND FRESHNESS TECHNOLOGY

Man has counted on silver for centuries - not only as a material for jewellery or articles of daily use, but, above all, because of the bacteriostatic effect of the element silver. In the early modern age for example milk was preserved by using silver coins.

Today, silver is used as an effective bacteriostatic agent in the most diverse fields, such as cosmetics or medicine.Ranging from silver-containing gauze to overalls metallised with silver, which are used in neurodermatitis treatments - today, modern medical technologies are unthinkable without silver. For many years the RUDOLF GROUP too has intensively engaged in the modern fields of application of silver and has found innovative solutions.

SILVERPLUS®‘ unique technology provides hygienic and fresh effects of the element silver to water-repellent finishes, coatings or as an aftertreating agent to many substrates or application processes.

ADVANTAGE ECOLOGY

FRESH TEXTILES EVEN AT LOW WASHING TEMPERATURES

ECOLOGICAL TEXTILE CARE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Over their entire life span, significant amounts of energy for washing, tumble drying, ironing or mangling textiles are necessary in the professional or household textile care. The consumption of water and detergent is considerable and exceeds many times the quantities necessary for the textiles‘ production. With an increasing world population we will have reached our limits soon. Integral system optimisation is thus imperative.

SILVERPLUS® ecology: fresh textiles even at low washing temperatures – less energy consumption and better CO2 balance

EFFICIENCY: EXTRAORDINARY RESISTANCE TO WASHING AND DRY CLEANING

Due to its micropigmentation SILVERPLUS® anchors to textiles by itself in a resistant to washing and dry cleaning manner without the addition of chemical binder or adhesive systems.

SILVERPLUS® for example deposits in the yarn interstices and is permanently bonded to the substrate due to strong attractive forces. This procedure is comparable with the deposit of soot particles, which, even after repeated wash cycles, cannot be removed by standard detergents.

BE ON GOOD TERMS WITH NATURE

The use of SILVERPLUS® has been shown to have no negative effects on the environment. The quantities of silver which SILVERPLUS® returns to nature (ppb range) correspond to the average natural silver content of natural soil or rocks.

SILVERPLUS® SAFEGUARDS RESOURCES

SILVERPLUS® does not waste important resources, i.e. the antimicrobial active free silver ions; but only uses them if necessary. Free silver ions dispose of extensive antimicrobial effects. Thus even small SILVERPLUS® quantities are sufficient to permanently control odour-causing bacteria in textiles.

ADVANTAGE PRODUCT SAFETY

YOUR RELIABLE SAFETY PACK FOR FUNCTIONAL FINAL TEXTILE FINISHES

OEKO-TEX® LISTING

With the OEKO-TEX®-listed SILVERPLUS® products ®RUCO-BAC AGP and ®RUCO-BAC AGL the RUDOLF GROUP ensures that antimicrobially finished textiles will be OEKO-TEX-labelled if they fulfill all other OEKO-TEX® criteria.

BLUESIGN® APPROVAL

With ®RUCO-BAC AGP the SILVERPLUS® technology fulfills the stringent ecological and toxicological bluesign®criteria and is, thus, bluesign® approved.

RUDOLF GmbH has been a bluesign®system partner since 2015.

EPA-REGISTRATION

The US-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting the environment and human health. EPA-registered antibacterial ingredients must be used on textiles or other substrates as well as on those textiles or substrates that are intended for the US importation. Any violations will be rigorously punished worldwide by EPA. The SILVERPLUS® products ®RUCO-BAC AGP and ®RUCO-BAC AGL assure you to use the right freshness technology for the importation of these textiles into the US market

HOHENSTEIN FIELD STUDY SHOWS: SILVER DOES NOT HURT THE SKIN!

In a field study carried out by Hohenstein researchers, who have been assisted by an external dermatologist, it has been found that the natural skin flora is not affected even if the silver-containing antibacterial clothing is permanently worn.

The clothing only showed the desired fresh effect, thus controlling bacteria that got into the textile and avoiding unpleasant degradation products caused by perspiration. In other words: Safe fresh effects without negative accessory symptoms!

In the meantime, the fresh effect of silver is widely offered to end-users, e.g. in the form of deodorants, to avoid unpleasant odours and to secure freshness.

LAUS STUDY CLARIFIES: SILVERPLUS® DOES NOT INFLUENCE BIOLOGICAL PURGING DURING SEWAGE TREATMENT!

The antibacterial active ingredient (AgCl) of SILVERPLUS® products reacts with the constantly present sulphide (hydrogen sulphide = odour of rotten eggs) to absolutely insoluble silver sulphide (Ag2S) and is thus no longer bio- available. The activity of the important bacteria of biological purging during sewage treatment is not inhibited. This has been confirmed by studies conducted by the independent test institute LAUS-GmbH, Kirrweiler/Germany.

ADVANTAGE APPLICATION

ECONOMY: SIMPLE APPLICATION REDUCES COSTS

COST REDUCTION BY UNIVERSAL APPLICATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE EXHAUST METHOD

Usually, the costs of textile finishing are not caused by the finishing product, but rather by additional processing costs due to its application. Even though SILVERPLUS® is a high-priced finishing agent, costs will not sky-rocket.

SILVERPLUS® products are extremely suitable for the exhaust method, because they do not require a costly binder system. Thus, SILVERPLUS® products can be easily applied by the exhaust method in initial textile finishing or in post-finishing, such as laundries. This approach makes the textile finishing market extremely flexible and leaves the decision on hygienic and fresh finishing open until making up the final article.

SILVERPLUS® can be incorporated in any step of intial textile finishing. An energy-intensive separate run, as with many conventional antimicrobial systems, is not necessary. Thus, a sales-promotional, functional additional value is created. SILVERPLUS® is profitable - also from an economic point of view, especially with ®RUCO-BAC AGL.

QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE: NO ADDITIONAL, QUALITY DIMINISHING BINDER SYSTEM NECESSARY

The use of a binder/adhesive system for heat-setting SILVERPLUS® in a resistance to washing and dry cleaning manner is not necessary. Binder/adhesive systems, as offered for other silver-based product systems, have the following disadvantages:

  • Most binder systems can only be applied by padding. The silver finish remains inapplicable to textiles that can only be finished by the exhaust method.
  • Binder systems have to be additionally cured at higher temperatures. A change of the white shade or colour has to be taken into account.
  • Binder systems require a separate run under curing conditions, which increases the production costs.

For obtaining fresh effects ordinary drying is sufficient to embed SILVERPLUS® in the fibre interstices. Depending on the combination with other finishing variants or process steps in dyeing or finishing, curing/setting temperatures can be used without effect losses.

FUNCTION THROUGH INNOVATIVE RUDOLF CLUSTER TECHNOLOGY

An increasing finishing trend is functionalising surfaces by controlling bacteria through silver ions. In the last few years, the RUDOLF GROUP has developed an extensive innovative finishing technology in combination with SILVERPLUS®

  • A combination of the HYDROCOOL® technology with SILVERPLUS® optimises the textiles‘ functions by anti-static effects, by cooling effects due to perfect moisture management, by surface smoothness and fast drying effects especially with synthetic substrates, in addition to hygiene and freshness. A Total Wear Comfort is created.
  • HYBRIDTEX® – the best of both worlds. Water and soil-repellent finish on the outside as well as moisture management with hygiene and freshness through SILVERPLUS® on the textiles‘ inside.

Due to the incorportion of the EPA-registered and Oeko-Tex-Standard-100-listed SILVERPLUS® technology a hygiene and freshness membrane is created that is especially used in the fields outdoor, shoes, medicine and workwear. Textiles which are laminated with it stay waterproof, breathable and ensure antibacterial effects against odour-causing bacteria.

RAW MATERIALS FOR PROFESSIONAL TEXILE CARE AND END-USER APPLICATIONS

The bow of functional hygienic and fresh finishing draws from initial industrial finishing to leasing launderies and to the after-care area. The SILVERPLUS® technology is conceived in a manner that it is extremely suitable to provide raw materials for end-user formulations in the form of 

  1. Wash-In formulations for the hygienic and fresh  finishing in domestic washing machines or even in between in the washbasin during a vacation
  2. Pump sprays confer effective and permanent freshness to shoes

A BRAND YOU MAY HAVE CONFIDENCE IN

SILVERPLUS® is the family brand for functional freshness with silver products by the RUDOLF GROUP. The brand comprises industrial initial finishes with highly concentrated products as well as professional care products including product formulations for home use.

SILVERPLUS®, the headliner of the brands ®RUCO-BAC AGP and ®RUCO-BAC AGL, is used in many textile articles.

In cooperation with leading manufacturers of sports articles, socks, bed linen, shirts and underwear, SILVERPLUS® has been successfully introduced into the market. After completing a licence agreement, the SILVERPLUS® brand will be available free of charge to our industry partners.

SWING TICKET

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THE BOW OF FUNCTIONAL HYGIENIC AND FRESH FINISHING DRAWS FROM INITIAL INDUSTRIAL FINISHING TO LEASING LAUNDERIES AND TO THE AFTER-CARE AREA.

We are happy to assist you in implementing the process on your articles.

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