How do Laundry Detergents Get stains out of clothing?

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  1. Bruce H says:
    October 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    Laundry detergents remove stains in a least 5 different ways :

    1. Most laundry detergents are alkaline. Being alkaline, they effectively act to saponify vegetable and animal fats and oils (turning the oils into a soap in the process) which are soluble/dispersable in water. So, things like sweat and sebum (skin oil) present in collar and cuff stains are partially solublised by the alkali.

    2. Laundry detergents contain a variety of different surfactants (sometimes called "tensides") that make the water "wetter" allowing the water to penetrate the stains, oils and soils present in dirt. The surfactant then bundles the dirt up in a little ball (called a miscelle) and floats it off the surface of the fabric.

    3. Many detergents contain a bleaching agent – usually either sodium percabonate or sodium perborate, which form hydrogen peroxide when dissolved, or sometimes a product like "chlorinated trisodium phosphate" which forms hypochlorite bleach when dissolved. These bleaches act on stains to decolourise them via oxidation.

    4. Most detergents contain a blend of enzymes which help to break down stains. Usually there is :

    A protease – which helps to break-down proteins (found in sweat, food stains, grass stains, etc).

    An amylase – which helps to break-down sugars and starches

    A lipolase – which helps to break-down fats and oils.

    Some more modern powders also contain an enzyme known as "care-zyme", actually a cellulase, which helps to breakdown cellulose. Now, cotton is a cellulosic material so the addition of this enzyme works by breaking down part of the material it is cleaning. Luckilly, the enzyme is only capable of working on VERY fine bits of cellulose – no more than a few microns – so the result is that "carezyme" sort of dissolves the "fluffy bits" (known as "prilling") which you find on older clothes – the clothes wind up looking newer and cleaner!

    5. Most detergents contain "optical brighteners" – compounds which absorb UV light and re-emit the light in the visible spectrum (usually at the blue end – to give a "blue-white" look which westerners regards as "clean" – but in some countries – Brazil, for example – they are tailored to give a "red-white" which is regarded as "clean" in those countries).

    These five different and distinct parts of the powder act synergistically to give better cleaning than "soap and water".

  2. Don S says:
    October 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    They all have varying strengths of bleach in them.

  3. tonya_momma says:
    October 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    Same as any detergent. It actually gets water "Wetter" inhances the cleansing properties of water.

  4. zee_prime says:
    October 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    Two ways. Bleach is an oxidising agent which reacts with the coloured chemicals in stains. Most chemical compounds are colourless, so if you oxidise a coloured compound, chances are, you’ll remove the colour. These days, many detergents contain enzymes, rather like the enzymes in your stomach which digest food. The enzymes break down organic compounds like the ones in blood, red wine and poo poo which give these stains their colour.

  5. lindam772005 says:
    October 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    chemicals

  6. amos says:
    October 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    soap works because it has both an OH group with a hydrocarbon tail. the OH group is "hydrophilic" and likes to be with water while the hydrocarbon tail is "hydrophobic" and likes to be with the hydrocarbon compounds in a stain (like what would make up grease). this helps the grease "dissolve" in the water better. when you rinse with water, the OH part of the soap will follow the water and carry with it the grease, which follows the hydrocarbon tail of the soap. laundry detergent is probably similar.

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