A study simulated textile padding with vacuum extraction and recycling for seven equimpment configurations using mass balance equations. The concentration of the chemical solution being applied were changed by a number of perturbations. The equations included the following five parameters describing these perturbations: evaporation of the solution under vacuum, incomplete recover of the chemical after vacuum extraction, preferential absorption of the chemical or of water from the applied solution before the pad nip or between the nip and the vacuum extractor hydrolysis of the reactive group of a dye or chemical, and desorption of water or chemicals already present in the fabric being treated. The models allowed researchers to predict initial conditions for mimediate steady state operation when perturbations occur. This made it possible to establish adequate control of the initial padding process and imporve the quality of dyeings, eliminating initial tailing and suppressing thermally induced migration during the drying process.