Why laundry detergent works

Using this method you should be able to blow bubbles up to about 60 cm in diameter! Dryness not sharpness breaks bubbles. Blow a large bubble then try putting your fingers inside it. If your hand is wet you can touch and even place your hand inside the bubble without bursting it!

Make a large hoop of string about 1 metre in diameter and tie 4 small loops at the corners to make handles. Dip this into the soap solution and with a friend pull the handles apart to form a giant soap film.

Trying shaking one end and watch the wave travel along the film. Wet a tray or the kitchen work-surface with your bubble solution. Using a straw, blow a large bubble. Push the straw through the original bubble and blow a smaller one inside. See how many smaller bubbles you can make! Marten size finally allowed Annie to walk on water". Water has many unusual properties, one of which is the phenomenon of surface tension. As we said earlier, surface tension is the force that prevents a blob of water on a surface from spreading out.

Surface tension allows pond skaters and other insects to walk across water and also allows a pin to float. You can demonstrate this yourself by taking a bowl of water and floating a pin on the surface. Like soaps, detergents have hydrophobic or water-hating molecular chains and hydrophilic or water-loving components. The hydrophobic hydrocarbons are repelled by water but are attracted to oil and grease. The hydrophilic end of the same molecule means that one end of the molecule will be attracted to water, while the other side is binding to oil.

Neither detergents nor soaps accomplish anything except binding to the soil until some mechanical energy or agitation is added into the equation. Swishing the soapy water around allows the soap or detergent to pull the grime away from clothes or dishes and into the larger pool of rinse water. Rinsing washes the detergent and soil away.

Warm or hot water melts fats and oils so that it is easier for the soap or detergent to dissolve the soil and pull it away into the rinse water. Detergents are similar to soap, but they are less likely to form films soap scum and are not as affected by the presence of minerals in the water hard water.

Modern detergents may be made from petrochemicals or from oleochemicals derived from plants and animals. Alkalis and oxidizing agents are also chemicals found in detergents. Here's a look at the functions these molecules serve:. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

Use precise geolocation data. After four hours, wring your clothes out well, and run them through a normal wash-and-dry cycle. We all are!

How much laundry detergent should you actually use? The best way to remove detergent buildup To restore your wardrobe to its full glory, you need to remove the buildup of detergent burrowed into its fibers. The word surfactant stems from the combination of words "surface-active agents. The tail of a surfactant molecule is hydrophobic, or not attracted to water.

What the hydrophobic end is attracted to is grease and dirt. The head of the surfactant molecule, on the other hand, is hydrophilic -- it's attracted to water [source: Silberberg ].

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. 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. 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.

Essentially, there are four main types of surfactants, with the first three used the most in laundry detergents, and their actions depend on their interactions with ions.

Ions are charged particles due to the gain or loss of electrons. Researchers at Wright State University examined the extent to which mites and mite allergens were removed when washing clothes in water alone and with detergents.

Interestingly, they found that both methods were equally effective in removing mite allergens. The researchers suggest that washing in water alone is equally effective as washing with detergent because allergens and mites are water soluble, so contact with water removes them [source: Arlian ]. Although 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.

As described previously, some types of surfactants typically do not work well in hard water due to the excess positive ions present. Additives called builders can help detergents to work better under hard water conditions. This allows the surfactants, especially anionic surfactants, to bind to more grime, rather than the positively charged ions in the wash water.

Builders also are bases, so they work to neutralize acid and can help disrupt chemical bonds. Another benefit of adding builders to laundry detergents is that manufacturers can use less surfactant, since the builders make the surfactant more efficient. Detergents can also include components that make clothes whiter or brighter.

The most common whitening agents are bleaches. Bleaches contain peroxides, which can oxidize fabrics [source: EPA ]. Fluorescent whiteners and brighteners are also added to some laundry detergents because they minimize the yellowing of fabrics. These additives work by absorbing ultraviolet light and emitting back visible blue light, which can mask the yellow that may make colors appear faded and whites appear dingy.

Enzymes are naturally occurring biologic agents present in many detergents in varying concentrations. These enzymes are typically classified into the following categories and are similar to the enzymes used by your body to digest food:. These enzymes help break down food particles that are present on clothing by catalyzing, or speeding up, the decomposition process.

A point to consider is that enzymes are biological products that can break down over time. Therefore, detergents can also contain enzyme stabilizers, which protect the enzymes and help them function. Some other components include fragrance and coloring, which give laundry detergents their distinctive scents and appearance. Detergents sometimes contain trace amounts of dye, which is not enough to dye your actual clothing.

However, on top of making your laundry detergent more visually appealing, dyes can show you when there is still detergent left on your clothes after the wash cycle. Lastly, fillers help dilute and distribute the active ingredients to their proper dosages. Powder and liquid detergents use different fillers. The major filler in powder detergents is sodium sulphate, which provides the granular powdery texture. The primary filler in liquid detergents is water. In the next page, we will examine some more similarities and differences between powder and liquid detergents.

Soaps and detergents both act as cleansers. In fact, prior to the development of detergents, people used lye-based soaps to wash clothes. However, lye laundry soap could lead to dull colors, graying whites and rings of soap scum in washing machines. Though soap is a surfactant, the major difference between it and detergent is that soaps don't contain many of the additional components such as builders, enzymes, whiteners and brighteners that make laundry detergent better at cleaning clothes.

Laundry detergent manufacturers have come a long way since the first box of Tide was produced more than 60 years ago. Currently, the two main types of laundry detergent are powders and liquids.