After the wicks have been braided, the raw wicks are wound up in hanks of about 4 lbs. each. Around 150 of these hanks (total of approximately 600 lbs.) are placed in a vat to which the chem-icals are added. These chemicals consist of var-ious salts, and its formulation is highly proprietary by each wick manufacturer.

After the pressure aided soaking process, which lasts about 1/2 hour, the batch is centrifuged. Since cotton has the capability of 100% moisture absorption, 80% (about 55 gallons per batch) of the chemical solution is being discharged as waste during the centrifuging process and about 20% still remains in the wick.

The wet wick hanks, which are still holding 20% of the chemical solution, are put on rods and placed in drying chambers for drying by hot air. This process takes between 12 and 20 hours. The salts in the solution follow the moisture and crystallize only after the moisture has totally evaporated.

By law of gravity, the moisture proceeds towards the bottom part of the hanks, increasing the possibility that the salts crystallize at a slightly higher concentration in this area. Therefore, the hank batch impregnation process does not guarantee an absolute even distribution of the chemical salts throughout the entire wick.