Fluorescent whiteners and brighteners are also added to some laundry detergents because they minimize the yellowing of fabrics. Bleaches contain peroxides, which can oxidize fabrics. The most common whitening agents are bleaches. ĭetergents can also include components that make clothes whiter or brighter. Some examples of builders include sodium tripolyphosphate (STTP) and zeolites. Another benefit of adding builders to laundry detergents is that manufacturers can use less surfactant, since the builders make the surfactant more efficient. Builders also are bases, so they work to neutralize acid and can help disrupt chemical bonds. This allows the surfactants, especially anionic surfactants, to bind to more grime, rather than the positively charged ions in the wash water. Builders accomplish this feat by removing calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions in hard water by binding to them.
Additives called builders can help detergents to work better under hard water conditions. As described previously, some types of surfactants typically do not work well in hard water due to the excess positive ions present. Read on to learn about some other ingredients that help detergents do their job.Īlthough surfactants are at the heart of laundry detergent's ability to clean fabrics, other ingredients can help detergents clean better, brighten clothes or smell better. These surfactants are very mild and are often found in gentler cleansers such as hand soaps, shampoos and cosmetics. Amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactants are both positively and negatively charged.They help the anionic surfactant molecules pack in at the water/dirt interface thereby allowing the anionic surfactants to pull more dirt away. Cationic surfactants are positively charged in solution.Therefore, they are not as easily impaired under hard water conditions, since they are not attracted to the positive ions. Since anionic surfactants are negative they are attracted to the positive ions and bind, making them unable to bind to other molecules in solution. This is because hard water has many positively charged ions presents such as calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+). However, they do not work as well by themselves in hard water. Anionic surfactants are negatively charged in solution.Therefore, the prime benefit of surfactants is their ability to draw grime out of clothing while making sure it doesn't return to the fabrics. When the washing machine agitates the clothes, the molecules form tiny spheres, which stay suspended in the water and are rinsed away when the water is drained. So when a greasy piece of clothing is immersed in water with detergents containing surfactant, the tail of the surfactant molecules attach to the grease, and the head end of the molecule is attracted to the water. The head of the surfactant molecule, on the other hand, is hydrophilic - it's attracted to water.
What the hydrophobic end is attracted to is grease and dirt. The tail of a surfactant molecule is hydrophobic, or not attracted to water.
The word surfactant stems from the combination of words "surface-active agents." Surface-active agents get their name from their unique chemical structure, which allows them to interact with two different types of surfaces, such as oil and water. All laundry detergent ingredients have a job to do, but the one group that's really crucial to getting your clothes clean are surfactants.
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