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Ever thought about what goes on after you have place your clothes in the wash? We all spend time picking out the right laundry soap whether for fragrance or eco-friendliness - heck, some of us even make our very own! But exactly how does laundry detergent get your clothes clean?
There are plenty of different types of dirty that it's difficult to imagine one type of product can treat all of them. Be it the kids playing outside getting mud and dirt caked to their clothes, your gym clothes soaking in sweat from a powerful workout or just a shirt that you put in the wash after a day's living in the planet - clothes get dirty in a wide variety of ways and also to many varying degrees.
Continue reading for more information regarding your detergent and learn exactly what's happening whenever you close the lid in your washing machine.
Laundry soap Cuts down on the Surface Tension of Water
This is a bit of a strange one - did you know that without laundry soap, water neglects to completely penetrate the fabric of the clothes? Laundry soap lowers the top tension of water, letting it penetrate fabric completely and lift stains. It will help all of the oils and dirt dissolve within the water - the first step to getting your clothes clean.
Laundry Detergent Additives
Enzymes in your detergent help to break down built up protein-based stains that are challenging get out. Light bleach additives also break down these build ups as well as your laundry soap bonds with dirt and pulls it away from your fabrics as the machine spins. An excessive amount of bleach can damage your fabric, but small amounts can help to whiten clothing without causing spotting and discolouration.
Electric Charge
Anionic surfactants inside your detergent affix to both the dirt in your fabrics and also the fabrics themselves to create a repellent, electrical charge. As you might remember from senior high school science classes, two of the same charges cannot attract, so instead the dirt is 'forced' away from your washing. These anionic surfactants also prevent dirt and soil from finding their long ago to your fabrics after the washing machine has finished its cycle.
So there you have it! There are some different factors to the way your laundry detergent gets soils, dirt and make ups from your clothes. From simple enzymes that break up grime to electric charges that repel developed dirt, it really is nifty the way your clothes get clean.
