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Frequently Asked Questions
How
long do BodyTeq products work?
I
lose that cooling sensation after a short period wearing my
BodyTeq product. What's going on?
Can
BodyTeq products be refrigerated prior to use?
I
seem to get wet when I wear my BodyTeq garment, what's going
on?
After
wringing I still seem to get wet?
What's
the best way to activate my BodyTeq product?
How
do I care for my BodyTeq product?
Heat
loss ocurrs thru either convection, conduction, or radiative
heat exchange in combination with evaporation and sweat. What
is the difference between each of them?
How
does evaporative cooling work?
What
Is Relative Humidity?
Does
Cool Water Absorb More Heat Than Hot Water?
Can
products made of Hydroweave® be frozen?
What
about custom designed products?
How long do BodyTeq products work?
The amount of time BodyTeq apparel will provide
comfort depends on your particular working environment. Heat,
humidity and air circulation will influence active cooling
times. The cooling effect can range from 30 minutes in fully
enclosed applications (such as an encapsulation suit) to as
much as eight hours in applications where the garment can
breathe.
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I lose
that cooling sensation after a short period wearing my BodyTeq
product.
What's going on?
Think of this condition as the "swimming pool effect,"
where your body reacts to a sudden change in temperature (like
when jumping into a pool). After a few minutes your body gets
used to the water temperature. That's what happens when you
wear your BodyTeq garment. Your body becomes acclimated to
the cool feeling, but the garment is still working to keep
your core body temperature low for a long period of time.
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Can BodyTeq products be refrigerated prior to use?
No. BodyTeq
products should never be refrigerated or frozen, as freezing
temperatures can cause vascular constriction, can restrict
the body's ability to shed heat, and could pose a health hazard
to the wearer.
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I seem to get wet when I wear my BodyTeq garment, what's
going on?
It is important
that excess water be fully wrung from the garment before wear
and the lining wiped dry before use. Do not be concerned with
removing too much water, as BodyTeq's special absorbent fibers
will maintain an appropriate amount regardless of how much
water has been wrung from the garment.
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After wringing I still seem to get wet?
Hang problem
garments for 15 minutes, enabling excess water to collect
to the bottom of the garment. Then wring a second time, removing
any surplus.
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What's the best way to activate my BodyTeq product?
It's real
easy. Simply soak your garment in water for 3 - 5 minutes,
then wring all excess water from the piece (it's impossible
to wring TOO MUCH...BodyTeq products only soak up a finite
amount of water in the special polymer batting). After wringing
out the garment just wipe the inner nylon lining and outer
shell dry and wear! To reactivate, simply repeat these easy
steps!
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How do I care for my BodyTeq product?
Just remember
that you need to prevent the polymer batting from becoming
soap saturated. To do that, simply presoak your garment in
the wash for 5 minutes then add a mild detergent. Wash as
normal on gentle cycle, rinsing twice. Surface stains can
be pre-treated with stain remover, but chlorine bleach should
NEVER be used. You can line- or machine-dry on low heat. To
inhibit the growth of mildew, store your garments only when
thoroughly dried.
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Heat loss ocurrs thru either convection, conduction, or radiative
heat exchange in combination with evaporation and sweat. What
is the difference between each of them?
Protective clothing affects body core temperature by restricting
the normal modes of body cooling. The body gains heat by exposure
to the environment and through the metobolic generation of
heat. Heat loss occurs through convective, conductive, and
radiative heat exchanage in combination with evaporation of
sweat.
The body uses blood circulation for moving sweat from the
body's core to the skin where it can transfer to the outside
environment. Convection occurs when skin temperature
is higher than the air surrounding the body, and is facilitated
by air movement. Conduction occurs when the skin is
in direct contact with clothing or other material that can
absorb heat. Radiative heat loss is relatively small,
but is based on the temperature difference between the body
and another object.
Clothing confounds these mechanism because it traps a small
layer immediately next to the skin. With activity and warm
conditions, this air layer becomes heated, reducing the effectiveness
of both convective and conductive heat losses. This air layer
also becomes humidified through sweating and restricts the
exchange of air with the outside environment. Since sweat
evaporates most readily in low-humidity environments, evaporative
heat transfer is reduced. The burden on the individual wearer
is further increased when the overall environment is hot and/or
humid combined with high levels of physical activity.
In general, heat-resistant clothing must often cover most
of the wearer's body; and some applications require relatively
heavy and bulky protective clothing to provide adequate protection
from heat. The fabric used in this type of clothing works
to create multiple air spaces from layering materials or using
"batt"-like constructions. Thereby, the same principle
that is used to provide protection from thermal hazards creates
a new hazard in itself, potentially over heating the wearer.
Hydroweave® fabric eliminates this problem.
How does evaporative cooling work?
When water evaporates from a surface, that surface becomes
cooler because heat is expended to change the water from a
liquid into a vapor. A nice breeze on a hot day cools us because
the current of air makes perspiration evaporate quickly. The
heat needed for this evaporation is taken from our body surfaces.
As water comes in contact with air, it evaporates to become
moisture in the air. The amount of water the air can hold
depends largely on how much water is already in the air. The
term humidity describes the amount of water in the air. At
any given temperature, there is a maximum amount of water
that air can hold.
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What Is Relative Humidity?
Humidity is said to be high if the air contains large amounts
of moisture and low if the air contains only a small amount
of moisture. When the air holds as much moisture as possible
at a given temperature, the air is saturated. The warmer the
air, the more moisture it can hold. Relative humidity (RH)
gauges the amount of water in the air relative to the amount
needed for saturation. If the air contains half the amount
of moisture it can hold, the relative humidity is 50%.
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Does Cool Water Absorb More Heat Than Hot Water?
Water temperature does not have a great effect upon the cooling
produced through evaporation. At 90º F (32º C) it
takes 9,000 BTUs (2.268 kilocalories) to evaporate a gallon
of 50° F (10º C) water and 8,700 BTU (2.192 kilocalories)
to evaporate a gallon of 90º F. water. In this example,
the water is 180% warmer and results in only a 3% reduction
in the amount of heat absorbed.
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Can products made of Hydroweave® freeze?
Hydroweave® does not freeze.
What about custom designed products?
Our design staff can create products with your specifications
for any application.
If you can wear it, we can make it...!
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