A textile is a material made from fibers, yarn or fabric. Any such material will interact with moisture when exposed to the atmosphere so quantifying water uptake is important in textile science and technology.

The water sorption properties of textile fibers, for example, govern the wicking behavior of high performance fabrics. Moisture can also affect the physical properties, such as rigidity and strength, of fibers or yarns and their size, due to swelling.

Humidity also plays a role in the degradation and aging of textiles and textile composites. This issue is important in a number of areas, including the aerospace, automotive, defence and sports equipment industries, and art conservation and restoration.

Water sorption by textiles at near-ambient conditions, in a flowing stream of nitrogen carrier gas, can be determined using the IGAsorp dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) analyzer, while the IGA-002 gravimetric vapor sorption analyzer can be used to measure water sorption isotherms from a vacuum.