Challenges of developing wet wipes

We use them when changing our babies, removing our make-up, moisturising our skin, cleaning our hands and even for household cleaning, wiping down our pets and polishing up the dashboards of our cars.

The technology behind the production of a wipe is extremely complex, starting from the nonwoven substrate itself, manufactured by extremely sophisticated machines that can produce many different types of substrate in terms of the material used and the texture they offer. One such machine of recent development is the Arvell from the Italian based company Teknoweb, which is unique for several reasons – it uses a water-free production process, eliminating the need for drying as a consequence, it is also capable of handling different polymers in combination with dry laid pulp in the production of spun lace or similar products. The non-woven material needs to be designed with its final application in mind – a delicate balance between strength, softness, flushability, ease of use in the subsequent production processes, dust content (a potentially huge problem when working with huge roles of dry substrate rotating at high speed) and, last but not least, microbial contamination. The so called ‘converting’ machines that turn the non-woven material into a wipe are also extremely complex machines. Their size, speed and capabilities can differ, but the most sophisticated and productive are the baby wipe machines that need to pump out incredible quantities to keep up with the demand for what is by far the most common use of a wipe.

Then there is the packaging which is not just an attractive pack designed to attract a customer. The packaging also needs to respond to significant technical aspects which include the maintenance of the humidity within the package, the maintenance of equal distribution of the liquid within the pack (a function that also needs to be considered in the production of the liquid) and also the compatibility with the material used with the product inside. But have you ever asked yourself what is behind the ‘wet’ in a wet wipe? Simple water? No, there is considerable technology behind the moisture our wipes offer us.