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Date：2026-09-29How do you keep kids garment mould off pieces that are small and stack deep? Cotton and knit face fabrics take up moisture readily, and spotting starts at the pressed folds, so a rejected batch costs the order and the delivery date with it. Pad iHeir-BJ at 2-3% o.w.f. for mould and run iHeir-333 for antibacterial at the finishing stage, then hold the bag with iHeir-D gas-phase paper at 0.1-0.2 g per sheet. This article covers the finishing dosage and the store humidity figures.
1. Why kids garment mould starts in the stack
Children’s wear is mostly cotton and knit, which takes up moisture readily and gives it up slowly, and the pieces are small and stacked many layers deep, so the least conspicuous stack in the finished-goods store is usually the first to go. Spotting starts at the pressed folds, along the binding tape and at the seam roots; it looks like small dark patches at first, and by the time the stock is opened out it has often joined into a sheet.
Three causes carry most of it. First, the finishing stage ran only softening or setting with no mould finish, so the fibre carries no protection. Second, goods were stacked and packed while the moisture content was still above target, sealing water between the pieces. Third, the finished-goods store or the container consolidation point sat at high humidity with the stacks packed tight, so the local micro-climate stayed damp for weeks. The first is a process to agree with the garment maker when the order is placed; the other two are store and packing discipline.
2. The three control points at a glance
The table lists the stage, what is treated, the product, the figures and the points to watch, so quality and development can work down an existing process and supply chain against it.
| Stage | Treated part | Product | Figures | Points to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finishing (the mould line) | Cotton, knit fabric, binding tape | iHeir-BJ textile mildew inhibitor | Padding at 2-3% o.w.f. | Bath 21-50 degrees, pH 4.5-8.5; cationic, never with an anionic auxiliary |
| Finishing (antibacterial) | Next-to-skin fabric and lining | iHeir-333 textile antimicrobial agent | 2-3% o.w.f. | Run in a separate bath from the mould finish, ahead of softening |
| Finished-goods store | Stacked finished pieces | Humidity control and FIFO | Store below 60% relative humidity | Racking off the wall and the floor; keep dispatch stock off the wall side |
| Packing | Finished units and the space inside | iHeir-D gas-phase paper | 0.1-0.2 g per sheet | In the bag with the goods, bag closed |
| Pack reinforcement | Bulky orders | Power Pak tablets | Working in 72 hours, replaced every 15 days | Placed by pack volume and piece count |
| Testing and acceptance | Finished goods and batch file | Testing as agreed in the contract | Retained sample per batch | Safety class to GB 31701, growth rating to GB/T 24346 |
Six rows, one conclusion: children’s wear protection is a relay. Build it into the fibre at finishing, keep moisture down in the store, and control the bag at packing — if one stage slackens, the other two have to carry it.
3. Finishing: the order of mould and antibacterial
Finishing is the only point in the chain where protection can be built into the fibre. Treat with iHeir-BJ at 2-3% o.w.f. by padding, with the bath at 21-50 degrees Celsius, the working liquor at pH 4.5-8.5 (ideally near 6), soft water throughout, and pre-mixing with 9-13 parts water before the bath. Hold pickup at 70% and dry as usual. Where next-to-skin fabric and lining need antibacterial protection, run iHeir-333 at 2-3% o.w.f. as a separate pass.
Four things to agree. First, the mould and antibacterial finishes run in separate baths with a clear rinse in between, rather than being dosed together for convenience. Second, both go ahead of softening: BJ is cationic and must not run in the same bath as an anionic softener or fixing agent. Third, the tier, the bath temperature and the sequence go into the process card, with the finishing record supplied per batch. Fourth, the sample check reads the growth rating to GB/T 24346, not the hand feel and the weight alone. The padding and wet pickup side is covered in wet pickup on the padding line.
4. Store and packing: humidity plus vapour phase
No agent goes on in the finished-goods store; discipline protects it, and it is also where growth is most easily reintroduced. Three rules. First, hold the store below 60% relative humidity, run dehumidifiers through the wet season and log the curve. Second, keep racking off the wall and the floor and work stock first in, first out, leaving no dispatch stock on the wall-side rack. Third, let goods reach the moisture target before they are stacked, because stacking warm or stacking damp is the most common accident.
Packing then adds a vapour-phase line. Put iHeir-D gas-phase paper in the bag by piece count, at 0.1-0.2 g per sheet, in the bag with the goods rather than outside it, because vapour-phase protection depends on distribution in a closed space. For bulky orders, add Power Pak tablets: they work within 72 hours and are replaced every 15 days, placed by pack volume and piece count.
5. Compliance: GB 31701 and the growth rating
Children’s wear carries one more gate than general apparel. GB 31701 sorts children’s textile products into safety classes A, B and C, with next-to-skin and younger-age goods held to the strictest class; the auxiliaries used in the mould and antibacterial finishes have to be supported by safety files that carry that class, and the usual route is to supply the safety data and migration notes for the auxiliary alongside the routine test report for the finished piece. Keep the two questions apart: GB 31701 governs the safety class of the finished product, while mould performance is read from a growth rating, and they are not the same thing.
Mould performance is accepted on a growth rating to GB/T 24346, read on a retained sample per batch and tested as the contract requires; where an export customer names a method, a further round is run to that method. Both the auxiliary safety files and the growth rating report are batch documents, so line them up at sampling rather than at the buyer’s inspection. How the rating is read is covered in the anti-mould growth rating explained, and the buying side in choosing a textile anti-mould agent.
6. Common questions
Q: Can an antibacterial finish solve mould at the same time? No. Antibacterial protection targets bacteria and mould protection targets fungi, and the two are judged on different methods, so the mould finish is run separately with iHeir-BJ and any antibacterial need is added as a second pass with iHeir-333.
Q: What should be checked in the auxiliary safety files? The safety data and the migration notes for the auxiliary itself, then the routine test report for the finished piece, with the two sets matching up to the GB 31701 safety class. Where an export customer names a method, run it to that method rather than using one report for every market.
Q: How long can a stack sit in the store before it spots? There is no fixed number of days; it depends on the moisture content and the store humidity. At target moisture and below 60% relative humidity a normal turnover period is stable, while goods above target in the wet season can show spotting within days. Holding moisture content and store humidity is a better use of effort than counting days.
Kids garment mould control comes down to three points: run iHeir-BJ for mould and iHeir-333 for antibacterial at finishing, hold moisture content and humidity in the store, and control the bag with iHeir-D and Power Pak, with the compliance and growth rating paperwork ready per batch. Samples and minimum order details are available on request.
