Laundry detergent

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Laundry powder in white

Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a substance which is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) that is added when one is washing laundry to aid in getting the laundry cleaner.

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[edit] Format

Laundry detergent has traditionally been a powdered or granular solid, but the use of liquid laundry detergents has gradually increased over the years, and the popularity of liquid detergent now rivals that of solid detergent. Some brands also manufacture laundry soap in tablets and dissolvable packets, so as to eliminate the need to measure soap for each load of laundry. In some countries where washing clothes by hand is more popular, detergent bars are more popular. Recently, environmentally friendly detergents have experienced a surge in popularity.

[edit] Composition

Laundry detergent typically consists of ionic and anionic surfactants which act as the detergent to remove the dirt from the clothes, perfume, phosphors which make clothes appear whiter (it is these that show up under ultraviolet light), and for powders anticaking agents to prevent the powder becoming one large lump in the presence of moisture. For liquid degertents, the bulk of the product is water; for concentrated liquids, somewhat less water, but still the product is mostly water. Biological laundry detergents contain enzymes which act as catalysts to "eat" the dirt off of the laundry; these function best at the kinds of body temperatures found in warm-blooded creatures (30 °C (86 °F) to 50 °C (122 °F)) and will perform no better, and sometimes worse, at higher temperatures. Detergents may have other additives such as bleaches and fabric softeners and these are usually advertised clearly on the packets as selling points.

[edit] Containers and sizes

Solid laundry detergent is commonly sold in cardboard boxes and plastic tubs as a powder, although compressed tablets are also available. In many parts of the world, laundry detergent is also sold in single-use packets or sachets. This single use allows the consumer to buy the detergent they need for the day rather than having to spend a larger amount upfront. The size of the boxes can vary from small single-use boxes sold from vending machines in laundromats to large economy-size boxes. For domestic use, powder detergent is generally sold by volume in box sizes of around 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) and 3 kilograms (6.6 lb). In some cases, plastic measuring scoops have been included inside the boxes.

Liquid detergent is sold in plastic bottles, usually high density polyethylene or sometimes PET or other kinds. Again, various sizes are available. On large-size bottles, a handle to carry the bottle is often pre-formed as part of the bottle. The bottle caps are often made large enough so they can be used as cups for measuring out the liquid detergent; however this can make the cap very large as the dosage can be as much as 120 millilitres (4.2 imp fl oz; 4.1 US fl oz).

Dosing balls became popular during the 1990s as a way of promoting liquid detergents. The argument was that some percentage of detergent poured into the drawer of the washing machine was lost in the sump. Putting the detergent into a dosing ball that is placed directly onto the clothes would reduce the loss to the drain. These dosing ball devices became more sophisticated, including roller balls, allowing pretreatment. One of the disadvantages of the dosing ball was noise, and some of the more recent examples are coated with softer plastic material.

[edit] Environmental Impact

The CO2 emissions from a liquid laundry detergent used to wash an average load of laundry is about 0.7 kilograms (1.5 lb).[1] The loss of natural habitat potential from a liquid laundry detergent used to wash an average load of laundry is about 0.5 square metres (5.4 sq ft) based on primary production correlations.[2]

In the 1960s, detergent manufacturers waged an advertising battle over who had the longest lasting suds, and detergent compounds quickly appeared in the waterways. Suds began to appear in streams, rivers, lakes, and at the foot of Niagara Falls, where piles of discolored detergent foam rose eight feet high.[citation needed] As with washing-up liquid, the suds are totally cosmetic and add no cleaning value, but are created by an additive surfactant.

Detergents also contain phosphate additives. It was noted that between 1940 and 1970 the amount of phosphates in city wastewater increased from 20,000 to 150,000 tonnes per year.[citation needed] With the increase in phosphates, algal blooms grew splendidly on the excess phosphorus and consumed most of the oxygen in the waters, killing fish and plants.[citation needed]

As part of the switch to "go green" and protect the environment, by 2009 almost all liquid laundry detergent sold in the US will be in small bottles and in concentrated form, which supposedly helps protect the environment by introducing less plastic into it.[citation needed] Using a more concentrated formulation increases the number of washes per bottle, reduces the amount of carbon dioxide produced by its transport and the transport of raw materials. Some stores around the US are already carrying concentrated laundry detergent while some in the northeast and midwest states are only carrying the small bottles that are used for high-efficiency washers.

In hard water areas, a greater amount of detergent must be used to the same effect as for that in soft water areas. This could perhaps be better countered with a special additive instead of by simply using more detergent. While it is possible to formulate the detergents differently for different areas, this has proved difficult for reasons of logistics: not only must more varieties be produced, but areas of hard and soft water can be very localised, and people may take washing powder with them on trips and so forth, so efficient distribution can be problematic.[citation needed]

The use of enzymes in biological detergents reduces the need for the chemical detergent, and also allows washing at lower water temperatures, thus reducing the energy needed to heat the water, compared to non-biological powders. The enzymes pose no harm to the environment as they are broken down into harmless biomass either as part of the wash itself or at the sewage treatment plant.

Soap nuts are a natural alternative to laundry detergent that have been used in India and Nepal for centuries. They are actually not nuts at all, but a fruit of the sapindus tree. With no added chemicals or preservatives, soap nuts are one of the best environmentally friendly alternatives to commercial laundry detergents. They can be purchased in many online stores.

[edit] Pre-Wash Laundry Detergents

In addition to the detergent for a washing machine's main wash operation, there are a number of additives such as Vanish or OxyPlus that are added to either the main wash or pre-wash operation. These products claim to improve the performance of standard detergents or to shift stubborn stains.

[edit] Brands of laundry detergent

 The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

The name "Ultra" is not brand specific and many private label store brands use it in their product name. Stores such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam's Club, Smart & Final, Sears, Walgreens, Longs Drugs, Albertsons, Lucky, and Stater Bros. sell an "Ultra" detergent. They are all manufactured by the same company, Huish Detergents. CVS Pharmacy also sells a private label "Ultra" laundry detergent, but it is not manufactured by Huish Detergents. Sears detergent is made by DeSoto.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Six Products, Six Carbon Footprints". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122304950601802565.html. 
  2. ^ "ecological effects of laundry detergent". ecofx. http://ecofx.org/wiki/index.php?title=Laundry_detergent. 
  • Outwater, Alice (1996). Water: A Natural History. New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-03780-1. 
  • Commoner, Barry (1971). The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 039442350X. 
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