question: How do fabric softener sheets remove static from clothing?
comment: "One of the most common ingredients used was dihydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride (DHTDMAC), which belongs to a class of materials known as quaternary ammonium compounds, or quats. This kind of ingredient is useful because part of the molecule has a positive charge that attracts and binds it to negatively charged fabric fibers. This charge interaction also helps disperse the electrical forces that are responsible for static cling." Read more: URL_0 Another great article: URL_1
passages: Antistatic garments are used in many industries such as electronics, communications, telecommunications and defense applications. As computers and electronics become ever more pervasive in consumer products an increasing number of manufacturers will need to apply anti-static control measures. One such measure is antistatic apparel because people are the greatest source of static charge in the workplace.
   In clothing, static cling occurs from static electricity. An electrostatic charge builds up on clothes due to the triboelectric effect when pieces of fabric rub against each other, as happens particularly in a clothes dryer. The separate positive and negatively charged surfaces attract each other. It is especially noticeable when humidity is low, allowing static electricity to build up. Certain substances can reduce static cling and are often included in fabric softener and dryer sheets. Antistatic agents, which make the surfaces slightly conductive, can be used on fabrics.
  
  Section::::Cause and prevention.:Electronic devices.
   Items that are particularly sensitive to static discharge may be treated with the application of an antistatic agent, which adds a conducting surface layer that ensures any excess charge is evenly distributed. Fabric softeners and dryer sheets used in washing machines and clothes dryers are an example of an antistatic agent used to prevent and remove static cling.
  
  Many semiconductor devices used in electronics are particularly sensitive to static discharge. Conductive antistatic bags are commonly used to protect such components. People who work on circuits that contain these devices often ground themselves with a conductive antistatic strap.
   Section::::Risks and counter-measures.:In the workplace.
  
  Means have to be provided to discharge static from carts which may carry volatile liquids, flammable gasses, or oxygen in hospitals. Even where only a small charge is produced, it can result in dust particles being attracted to the rubbed surface. In the case of textile manufacture this can lead to a permanent grimy mark where the cloth comes in contact with dust accumulations held by a static charge. Dust attraction may be reduced by treating insulating surfaces with an antistatic cleaning agent.
  
  Section::::Risks and counter-measures.:Damage to electronics.
   In addition to fabric softening chemicals, fabric softeners may include acids or bases to maintain optimal pH for absorption, silicone-based anti-foaming agents, emulsion stabilizers, fragrances, and colors.
  
  Section::::Fabric softeners.:Cationic fabric softeners.
   BULLET::::- "The History of the Science and Technology of Electrospinning from 1600 to 1995", N Tucker, J. Stanger, M P Staiger, H Razzaq, and K Hofman, Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics, Volume 7, Issue 2 – 2012, pp63–73 
  
  BULLET::::- "Electrospinning: Materials, Processing, and Applications", J.-H. Wendorff, S. Agarwal, A. Greiner, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2012, .
  
  BULLET::::- "Science and Technology of Polymer Nanofibers", A. L. Andrady, A. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, USA, 2008, .
  
  BULLET::::- "Electrospinning", J. Stanger, N. Tucker, and M. Staiger, I-Smithers Rapra publishing (UK), 2009, .
   Formerly, the active material of most softeners in Europe, the USA, and Japan, were ditallowdimethylammonium chloride (DTDMAC) and distearyldimethylammonium chloride (DSDMAC). Due to their poor biodegradability, they were replaced by the readily biodegradable ester-quats in the 1980s and 1990s.
  
  Conventional softeners, which contain 4–6% active material, have been partially replaced in many countries by softener concentrates having some 12–30 % active material.
  
  Section::::Fabric softeners.:Anionic fabric softeners.
   Neoprene rubber and resin-coated fabric surrounds are longer-lasting. 
   Static cling
  
  Static cling is the tendency for light objects to stick (cling) to other objects owing to static electricity. It is common in clothing, but occurs with other items, such as the tendency of dust to be attracted to, and stick to, plastic items.
  
  Section::::Cause and prevention.
   Although all dielectrics exhibit some electrostriction, certain engineered ceramics, known as relaxor ferroelectrics, have extraordinarily high electrostrictive constants. The most commonly used are
  
  BULLET::::- lead magnesium niobate (PMN)
  
  BULLET::::- lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT)
  
  BULLET::::- lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT)
  
  Section::::Magnitude of effect.
   As with soaps and detergents, fabric softeners may cause irritant dermatitis. Manufacturers produce some fabric softeners without dyes and perfumes to reduce the risk of skin irritation. Fabric softener overuse may make clothes more flammable, due to the fat-based nature of most softeners. Some deaths have been attributed to this phenomenon, and fabric softener makers recommend not using them on clothes labeled as flame-resistant.
   A number of inkjet, copier and laser printer toners have been developed to utilize this process. 
  
  Section::::Iron-on fabric.
  
  Iron-on fabric has a glue backing that melts into another fabric it is applied to with heat. It is used in patching torn clothes or to apply extra fabric in places subject to extreme wear. An alternative to iron on adhesive is dryer heat activated adhesive.
  
  Section::::Iron-on labels.
   Some companies use Thorlan IW (Kaliumfluorotitanat), which repels moths. It is a titanium based treatment which remains with the fiber during its entire period of use. Thorlan IW is in the European Union chemical law register of certified products. A rubber solution is applied hot and allows a coating of Thorlan to stay with the product for its lifetime.
   Fabric softeners impart antistatic properties to fabrics, and thus prevent the build-up of electrostatic charges on synthetic fibers, which in turn eliminates fabric cling during handling and wearing, crackling noises, and dust attraction. Also, fabric softeners make fabrics easier to iron and help reduce wrinkles in garments. In addition, they reduce drying times so that energy is saved when softened laundry is tumble-dried. Last but not least, they can also impart a pleasant fragrance to the laundry.
  
  Section::::Fabric softeners.
   Section::::Future of the field.
   Section::::Applications.:Usage of the generated plasma.:Surface modification of materials.
  
  An application where DBDs can be successfully used is to modify the characteristics of a material surface. The modification can target a change in its hydrophilicity, the surface activation, the introduction of functional groups, and so on. Polymeric surfaces are easy to be processed using DBDs which, in some cases, offer a high processing area.
  
  Section::::Applications.:Usage of the generated plasma.:Medicine.
   Aircraft flying in weather will develop a static charge from air friction on the airframe. The static can be discharged with static dischargers or static wicks.
   Section::::Uses.:Textile manufacturing.
  
  The majority of early patents for electrospinning were for textile applications, however little woven fabric was actually produced, perhaps due to difficulties in handling the barely visible fibers. However, electrospinning has the potential to produce seamless non-woven garments by integrating advanced manufacturing with fiber electrospinning. This would introduce multi-functionality (flame, chemical, environmental protection) by blending fibers into electrospinlaced (using electrospinning to combine different fibers and coatings to form three-dimensional shapes, such as clothing) layers in combination with polymer coatings.
  
  Section::::Uses.:Medical.
   The process of manufacturing blackout was invented by Baltimore-based Rockland Industries, and involves coating a fabric with layers of foam, or ‘passes’. A ‘2-pass’ blackout is produced by applying two passes of foam to a fabric – first, a black layer is applied to the fabric, then a white or light-colored layer is applied on top of the black. A ‘3-pass’ blackout is produced by applying a layer of white foam to the fabric first, then a layer of black foam followed by the third and final layer of white or light-colored foam.
  
  Section::::Uses.
   Section::::Heating mechanism.
  
  Four types of polarization can occur in materials subjected to high-frequency alternating electric fields:
  
  BULLET::::- Electronic or electric polarization is the redistribution of electrons
  
  BULLET::::- Ionic polarization is the redistribution of charged particles--cations and anions
  
  BULLET::::- Maxwell-Wagner polarization is a charge buildup at the interfaces of non-homogeneous materials
  
  BULLET::::- Dipole polarization is the realignment of permanent dipoles
   Anti-static materials are generally referred to as any material which inhibits triboelectric charging. This kind of charging is the buildup of an electric charge by the rubbing or contact with another material.
  
  Section::::Materials.:Insulative.
  
  Insulative materials prevent or limit the flow of electrons across their surface or through their volume. Insulative materials have a high electrical resistance and are difficult to ground, thus are not ESD materials. Static charges remain in place on these materials for a very long time.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Antistatic device
  
  BULLET::::- Electrostatic discharge
  
  BULLET::::- Electrical resistivity and conductivity
  
  BULLET::::- Velostat
  
  Section::::Further reading.
   Section::::Current market.
   Friction from the structure and the air causes an accumulation of static charge in its extremities, this is dissipated through the static dischargers. 
  
  Static dischargers are not lightning arrestors and do not affect the likelihood of an aircraft being struck by lightning.
   Electrospun fibers may have potential as a surface for enzymes to be immobilized on. These enzymes could be used to break down toxic chemicals in the environment, among other things.
  
  Section::::Mass production.
  
  Thus far, at least seven countries in the world have companies which provide industrial-level and laboratory-scale electrospinning machines: three companies each in Italy and Czech Republic, two each in Iran, Japan, and Spain, and one each in the Netherlands and Turkey.
  
  Section::::Further reading.
   One major use is by Micro Coax's ARACON™ fiber  built on a KEVLAR® base, and used for shielding cabling in air- and spacecraft and other specialty purposes where light weight, high strength, and high-frequency shielding is imperative. Another more recent use is in the production of 'stun gun' or Taser-proof clothing, where the conductive textile forms a flexible Faraday cage in a layer of the garment. Conductive fabric can also be used to make electrodes for EEG and other medical applications; such electrodes were used in a commercially available sleep-monitoring device made by former company Zeo, Inc.
  