U¿J)EP/M?mtNT,OF AGRICULTURE/HOME AND ©ARDEN BULLETIN NO. 139 h u SOAPS and DETERGENTS for Home Laundering 419626

SOAPS AND I5ETERGENTS For flome Caunderîng^

"Southern Marketing and Nutrition Research DivisionZ/^'" I i^£^'^Agricultural Research Service^ 3 .«Sii IS' I Knowing how to choose and use washing, the kind of soil to be re- soaps and detergents is essential for moved, the hardness of the water, and the type of washer used. good results in home laundering. This bulletin can help you select The choice of a cleansing agent, in the right soap or detergent and use turn, depends on the fabric you are it more effectively.

HOW SOAPS AND DETERGENTS WORK The essential steps in cleaning When soiled fabric is agitated soiled fabrics are wetting fabric during the washing process, oily and dirt, removing dirt from fabric, dirt is broken up into small parti- and holding removed dirt in suspen- cles, each of which is surrounded sion—that is, keeping it from set- by a film of the soap or detergent tling back on the fabric before it is solution. rinsed away. As dirt is lifted from the fabric, Water alone has limited cleaning the soap or detergent holds it sus- ability. A soap or a detergent is pended in the water and helps to needed to increase both the wetting keep the dirt from settling back on and suspending power of water. the clothes.

A detergent is a cleansing agent. synthetic detergents and is used to Detergents, therefore, include both distinguish them from soaps. All soaps and synthetic detergents as products on grocery shelves labeled well as many other cleansing detergents are synthetic detergents. agents. In popular usage, however, In this publication, the word deter- the term detergent refers only to gent refers to a synthetic detergent. SOAPS AND DETERGENTS AVAILABLE

Soaps Light duty. Light-duty soaps are for laundering fine fabrics and Soap is made by a reaction be- lightly soiled garments such as tween natural fats—including oils— lingerie, stockings, blouses, and and an alkali, such as lye. As soap baby clothes. They are safe for most dissolves, it reacts with water and dyes and are mild to the skin. the solution becomes alkaline. Some Heavy duty. These soaps are alkalinity is needed for good wash- general-purpose products for the ing. Acid in soiled clothes lowers family wash and for heavily soiled the alkalinity of the wash water and items—rugs, grimy play clothes, reduces the effectiveness of the soap. and greasy overalls. They may be Minerals in hard water react with harder on some dyes than unbuilt soap to form insoluble substances, soaps. The alkaline salts in these called soap scum. Scum reduces the products may damage wool and silk. amount of soap available for wash- ing, and tends to settle on clothes Detergents and give them a gray color. More soap has to be added to do a good Detergents are made from petro- washing job. leum and from natural fats and To maintain enough alkalinity in oils. The chemical processes that the wash water for effective clean- produce detergents are more com- ing, and to remove hardness min- plex than the reaction between fat erals, manufacturers often "build" and lye that makes soap. their soaps with alkaline salts and The properties of detergents de- water softeners. pend on their chemical composition. Retail stores offer a choice of Because a greater diversity of raw light-duty (unbuilt) and heavy- duty (built) soaps in bar, flake, and materials and chemical processes is used in making detergents than in powdered forms. making soaps, more types of deter- A partial list of brands ^ of laun- dry soap available in 1971 in- gents are available. cludes— Detergents dissolve readily in Light duty Heavy duty water, hot or cold, soft or hard. Ivory Flakes Duz They do not form scum in hard Ivory Snow Instant water. Some make suds easily, Lux Flakes Fels Naptha others clean with little or no suds. Like soaps, packaged detergents ^ The mention in this publication of any come in two types—light duty (un- commercial product does not imply its built) and heavy duty (built), and endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over other products not in liquid, powdered, and tablet named. forms. A partial list of brands of deter- Heavy duty. Heavy-duty deter- gents on the market in 1971 in- gents are the workhorse products eludes— for the family wash. They have largely replaced soaps for this pur- Liffht duty pose because they do not react with Aqua Lotion Swan (liquid) minerals in hard water to form Chiffon (liquid) ThriU (liquid) scum. Draft Vel (liquid and Ivory (liquid) powder) These built detergents contain Joy (liquid) Dove alkaline salts and other substances Lux (liquid) Palmolive (liquid) that increase their cleaning power. Octagon (liquid) Woolite Heavy-duty detergents are more Heavy duty effective than light-duty detergents High and San for cleaning moderately or heavily intermediate Silver Dust sudsing Surf soiled fabrics. They can be used Ajax Tide safely on many fine fabrics and are Bold Trend needed for thorough washing of Bonus Wisk (liquid) Breeze Cold Power fine fabrics that are heavily soiled. Cheer High-sudsing, intermediate suds- Drive Low sudsing ing, and low-sudsing heavy-duty Duz All (condensed detergents are available. Low-suds- Fab and fluffy) ing detergents are designed for use Gain Dash Oxydol Salvo (tablets) in automatic washers in which high Punch Cold Water All suds interfere with mechanical Rinso (liquid) action. Heavy-duty detergents especially made for use in cold water are also Light duty. Light-duty deter- available. These cold-water deter- gents, like light-duty soaps, are gents are suitable for washing suitable for washing lightly soiled lightly soiled synthetic fabrics; delicate fabrics. They are not effec- wrinkles may be set in these fabrics tive on heavily soiled clothes. Be- if they are wrung or spun dry while cause they are nonalkaline, they are hot. When these fabrics are washed safe for dyed fabrics and for silk in cold water, they need little or no and wool. ironing. USING SOAPS AND DETERGENTS Suiting Soap or Detergent to does an excellent cleaning job and Water is economical to use. Hard water, Whether you use a soap or deter- however, wastes soap because the gent depends partly on the hard- soap reacts with the "hardness" ness of your wash water. minerals—calcium and magnesium In soft or softened water, soap —and forms soap scum. This scum sticks to washer parts ready on fabrics. They can strip and settles on clothes in gray specks scum left from previous washings. that are almost impossible to re- When minerals, such as iron or move. Scum is especially trouble- manganese, are present in water, some when wash water is allowed to nonprecipitating water softeners drain through the clothes. will help prevent the minerals from Detergents help solve this hard staining fabrics. Always add a non- water problem. If used in sufficient precipitating softener to water con- amounts, detergents do not form taining iron or manganese before scum. A greater amount of deter- adding a bleach. gent is needed in hard water than in Some water softeners contain soft, how^ever. In very hard water only one water-softening chemical. (over 20 grains per gallon), it may Others are mixtures of two or more be more economical to soften the chemicals. water and use less detergent. A partial list of water softeners on the retail market in 1967 in- Softening the Water cludes— When hard water causes launder- Precipitating Nonprecipitating ing problems, you can either use a Washing soda Calgon Climalene Oakite detergent or soften the water and use soap. For best results with soap, Amount of Softener soften both the wash water and the water for the first rinse. The following test can help you A water-softening system in- determine the amount of softener stalled in the water-supply line is necessary for a particular hard a great convenience. Or, you can add water and a specific kind of soap. a water-softening chemical directly • Put 1 gallon of hot (140° F.) to the water. water in a pan and add % teaspoon Water-softening chemicals are of softener; stir until dissolved. two types. One type precipitates or • Put 2 cups of this solution settles the water-hardness minerals. into a quart jar. The other type keeps the minerals • Add % teaspoon of soap; in solution. shake vigorously for 10 seconds. If The precipUating softeners good suds form and hold for 5 min- should be dissolved in the wash utes, the water is softened. water before adding soap because • Try again, using less softener, they cannot dissolve soap scum once to find out if a smaller amount it has formed. makes good suds. The nonprecipitating softeTiers • If 1/^ teaspoon of softener does (also called water conditioners) not make good suds, repeat test with keep minerals in solution in a form fresh water, using 1 teaspoon of that the minerals cannot react with softener to 1 gallon of water. soap to form scum. • Continue until you find the These softeners have the advan- amount of softener that will make tage of redissolving soap scum al- good suds. If you change to a different soft- detergents. For lightly soiled fine ener or a different soap, repeat the fabrics, use light-duty products. test to find out the right amount of Some fabric dyes, especially vat softener for good suds with the dyes, are relatively fast to washing. soap. Other dyes may run or fade because of alkaline salts in heavy-duty soaps Suiting Soap or Detergent to and detergents. If in doubt about Fabric the colorfastness of a fabric, use a light-duty product. Consider what the cloth is made of and the type of dye used on it Suiting Soap or Detergent when you choose a detergent. to Washer Wool and silk,—Alkali damages wool and silk. Wash these fabrics In machine washing, your choice in nonalkaline, light-duty deter- of a detergent depends to some ex- gents. Light-duty soaps are also tent on the type of washer. satisfactory in soft or softened Some machines, particularly the water. front-loading or tumbler types, Light-duty products do a good give much better results with low- job on lightly soiled wool and silk, sudsing detergents because of the but heavy-duty detergents may be washing action. For top-loading needed to thoroughly clean badly machines, either high-sudsing soaps soiled articles. Heavy-duty deter- or detergents or low-sudsing deter- gents are more likely to cause gents can be used. Consult your bleeding of dyes and yellowing of instruction book for type recom- white wool and silk. mended. Shrinkage of wool during laun- Amount of Soap or Detergent dering is caused by agitation in the Needed washer, tumbling in the dryer, or rubbing by hand—not by the type How much soap or detergent you of detergent used. Unless wool need depends on— fabrics have a shrink-resistant or • Water capacity of the washer. wash-wear finish, mechanical action • Size of the load being washed. during laundering should be held to • Amount of soil in the clothes, a minimum. particularly greasy soil. Cotton^ linen, and manmade • Hardness of the water. fibers,—These fabrics are not af- • Type of detergent. fected by the alkalinity of soaps and Insufficient soap or detergent detergents. during laundering is a common For white fabrics, the amount of cause of graying in clothes. soil is the best guide in deciding To find out how much detergent which product to use. For the reg- to use, first consult the instruction ular family wash and for all book that came with your washer moderately soiled or heavily soiled and the label on the soap or deter- fabrics, use heavy-duty soaps or gent package. Keep in mind, however, that the With soap or a high-sudsing de- amount recommended does not ap- tergent, a good layer of suds should ply to all conditions. If water is remain throughout the wash cycle. very hard, or clothes are heavily Low-sudsing detergents should soiled, you may need to increase the form and maintain a thin layer of amount of soap or detergent. suds.

What's in Soaps and Detergents

Surfactants are the active ingredi- growth of algae. Research is under- ents in soaps and detergents that way to develop other builders that change the surface properties of can be used to replace part of the water, soil, and fabrics so dirt can phosphates in heavy-duty soaps and be more easily removed. detergents. Before July 1965, some surfac- Other alkaline salts, such as sodi- tants widely used in household de- um carbonate (washing soda) and tergents decomposed very slowly in sodium silicate, are also used as sewage treatment plants or surface builders. In heavy-duty detergents, waters. The low rate of degradation sodium silicate helps prevent dam- of these "hard" detergents, plus age to the metal parts of washers their tendency to foam at very low and to the water pipes. concentrations, was a major fac- Enzymes are included in many tor in the much-publicized foam detergents to break down soils con- problem. sisting of protein or starch so that Household detergents now on the they can be more easily removed marhet contain surfactants that are during laundering. This use of more readily decomposed hy micro- detergents is currently under re- organisms during treatment of sew- view to determine whether or not age. As a result^ less detergent gets such enzymes may irritate sensitive into streams to cause foam. Such persons exposed to them. detergents are called hiodegradahle or "soft,'^^ Brighteners are included in most Research is continuing on this soaps and detergents. These com- problem and more changes may be pounds, when absorbed on fabrics made in the future. Soaps are com- during washing, convert some of the pletely biodegradable. invisible ultraviolet light in sun- Mildly alkaline phosphates are light to visible blue light. The addi- important ingredients in heavy- tional blue light from a fabric coun- duty soaps and detergents. They act teracts yellowness and makes the as water softeners, provide proper fabric appear whiter. Fabrics also alkalinity for good cleaning, and appear brighter because the total help to disperse and suspend soil. amount of visible light is increased. One disadvantage of phosphates Brighteners vary in composition is that they may contribute to the and in their effectiveness on various fabrics. Some brighteners work well on the clothes, and then add the on cotton and rayon, others on nylon chlorine bleach. Once the brightener and other fibers. Finishes on fabrics is absorbed on fabrics, bleaches have may reduce the effectiveness of little effect on it. brighteners. Many laundry products now con- Chlorine bleaches inactivate some tain two or more brighteners. brighteners in wash water. To Antigraying compounds are add- avoid this, add the soap or deter- ed to all heavy-duty detergents and gent to the wash water first, allow to some light-duty detergents and a few minutes for the brightener in soaps. They help keep loosened soil the cleansing agent to be absorbed from redepositing on clothes.

POINTERS ON SOAPS AND DETERGENTS Specific laundering jobs require specific • Use heavy-duty soaps in soft or soft- types of soaps and detergents. ened water. The following recommendations take For general laundering and for heavily into consideration the amount of soil, the soiled fabrics in a front-loading washer— kind of fabric, the colorfastness of the • Use heavy-duty low-sudsing deter- dye, and the hardness of the water. No gents in soft or hard water. one type of soap or detergent is best on For fabrics of cotton, linen, and manr all counts. made fibers— For laundering lightly soil fine fabrics— • If white or colorfast, use either soaps or detergents ; light duty for lightly soiled • Use light-duty detergents in soft or fabrics, heavy duty for those more heav- hard water. ily soiled. • Use light-duty soaps in soft or soft- • If not colorfast, use light-duty soaps ened water. or detergents. For general laundering and for heavily For fabrics of wool and silk and for soiled fabrics in a top-loading washer— blends of these with other fibers— • Use heavy-duty detergents, either • Use light-duty detergents or soaps. high-sudsing or low-sudsing type in soft • If heavily soiled; uB^ a heavy-duty or hard water. detergent.

This i BmC}jd4/^^ of USDA

This bulletin supersedes Home and Garden Bulletin 49, "Detergents for Home Laundering.'* Issued December 1967 Washington, B.C. Slightly revised October 1973

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 25 cents Stock Number 0100-02983 8

^ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1973 O-524-749