Charles Mackintosh is known for having invented many chemical creations during his time. His most famous invention, Mackintosh Cloth, is used in piano covers and rain gear to this day. This article describes the background of the invention and the uses of it in modern times.
Charles Mackintosh lived from 1766 to 1843 and was a Scottish chemist and inventor of waterproof fabrics. The Mackintosh raincoat is named after him. Macintosh was born in Glasgow and at young age he worked as an regular employee in a general store. His passion, and how he spent his young adult years, was devoted to his love of science, particularly chemistry. At the young age of 19 Mackintosh left his position as an employee to begin to work with the manufacturing of chemicals, which allowed him to directly involve his love of science. He was quickly a great talent, inventing many new processes. His experiments with a subset of the substance of tar called naptha led to his best known creation of waterproof fabrics. This invention came about when he experimented with the cementing of two layers of India-rubber together. The India-rubber was made soluble by the chemical mixture of the naphtha. For his various chemical discoveries he was, in 1823, elected a fellow of the Royal Society
The fabric he developed for use in clothing had the ability to keep the harsh weather of his area in Scotland outside and then to keep the inner layer next to the skin warm and dry. The fabric was far superior to the regular rain gear and was instantly approved by the people living in his time. Clothing started to use the idea of the cloth and within 10 years his name was attached to most products associated with rain gear.
In the business of helping people with who own pianos we know Charles best as the inventor of the Mackintosh fabric used in many piano covers. The Mackintosh fabric is manufactured in many styles and helps to make any grand piano covers bright and beautiful. I typically describe the fabric as being a lot like a fabric wound tightly like a denim. The fabric is soft and warm on the outside and is lined with felt to protect the piano as the cover is removed and replaced throughout the course of a week.
The material is perfect for the application of piano covering because it is durable, attractive, relatively lightweight and easy to work with in the manufacturing process. The Mackintosh fabric used in piano covers is not completely waterproof, as the original products developed using the material Charles invented was, because the benefit of being waterproof is that the fabric would not breathe and would cause more harm than good for the piano. The material used by piano cover manufacturers is much like your favorite pair of blue jeans, only woven much tighter to allow it to be water resistant on the outside. Being water resistant does not mean that it is waterproof, you will have to quickly blot any spills that occur on your Mackintosh fabric. Failing to do in a timely manner can lead to stains.
If this is a large concern for you , you should consider covering it with a layer of coating such as camp-dry or scotchguarding. That will make the cloth less likely to absorb any water and stains would not form from spills that might occur during a party or from a pet. Mackintosh is the ideal fabric for a piano cover, all thanks to Charles Mackintosh.
