picked up by the fabric the bleaching solution may be supplied from a head tank where the bleaching solutions are prepared the cloth is in contact with the bleaching solution in the saturator from one to about five seconds in open width processing and from one or two minutes when in rope form the temperature in the saturator will normally be at room temperature in continuous bleaching hydrogen peroxide solution requires a high temperature and sufficient contact time with the cloth to achieve effective bleaching this is accomplished in the peroxide steamer the temperature may vary from 160 u00b0 f to boiling at 212 u00b0 f the lower temperatures are preferred for polyester blends while higher temperatures are preferred for cotton goods the cloth hold up in the steamer may vary from 5 minutes to 2 hours the steamer is usually a j box in continuous bleaching in batch bleaching kiers or becks are usually used temperatures vary from 160 u00b0 to about 190 u00b0 f bleaching time will vary from 2 to 5 hours after bleaching the fabric is rinsed again with water and then it moves on to the dyeing and finishing operations the best mode of practicing my invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following examples cotton terrycloth toweling was scoured in rope form and then bleached for about 1 hour at a temperature of about 190 u00b0 f in a j box in alkaline hydrogen peroxide solution the saturator had the following concentration hydrogen peroxide 6 grams per liter sodium orthosilicate 1 6 grams.