As a student in textile conservation I have recently been experimenting with various detergents, one of which is Orvus WA paste. This detergent is not very widely used in England (Symperonic N has generally been the detergent of choice), and as I understand it Orvus is far more popular in North America. There has been, however, some discrepency in the literature concerning Orvus's critical micelle concentration and I am curious how other conservators prepare a washing solution with Orvus. Specifically, I was wondering what cmc value you understand Orvus to have and what concentration of the detergent do you use when wet cleaning (i.e. at how many times it's cmc do you find effective)?
Thank you!
Nicole Rode
MA Texile Conservation student at the Textile Conservation Centre, Winchester.