An Alternative Bleach
Modern laundry detergents are highly sophisticated formulations that are able to remove most stains if used correctly. One of the …
Laundry
The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #13: Summary
The last dozen posts or so have all discussed various aspects of washing clothes. Now I’ll summarise it all and …
The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #12: Enzymes revisited.
Over the years the concept of the laundry prewash has changed. Essentially, they used to be degreasers. The idea was …
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The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #11: Prewashes
The story of laundry prewashes is a fascinating story in itself. The first one on the market in Australia was …
The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #10. Liquid Detergents
No discussion of laundry detergents is complete without discussing liquid detergents. It’s probably fair to say that liquid laundry detergents …
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The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #9: Hot or Cold #2
Following on from yesterday, there are several intrinsic advantages in washing in hot water, such as increased detergent activity, increased …
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The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #8: Hot or Cold
Should we wash our clothes in a hot water or cold water? 50 years ago this would have been considered …
The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #7: Enzymes
Without question the most exotic chemicals in any laundry powder are the enzymes. Enzymes are chemical specialists. If they were …
The Chemistry of Clothes Washing #6: Bleaches
There are several approaches to stain removal. One of them is to destroy the stain. That is, if you are …