Why do detergents work

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. For the most part, powder and liquid detergents share the same active ingredients except for the filler used.

Additionally, powder and liquid detergents both have pros and cons, and since they have similar cleaning power, people usually choose which type to use based on personal preference. Although detergents are made with harsh chemicals, it is debatable whether these chemicals expedite the breakdown of fabrics. As discussed previously, the detergent's job is to help pull away the dirt and grime from the clothing and rinse it out with water.

The actual "wearing" out of clothes is more likely due to the rubbing of clothes in the washing machine i. Even though detergents do a tremendous job of getting rid of the dirt and grime in our fabrics, at what cost does this come?

Considering the toxicities of their chemical ingredients and carbon cost of production, it's not surprising that some people have concerns about the impacts of laundry detergents on the environment. Their carbon footprint alone is significant by many people's standards. Carbon footprints are an indicator of the amount of carbon dioxide CO2 produced while making, shipping and using a product.

To put this in perspective, it is estimated that for every mile an average car travels, 1 pound 0. Recall that American families on average do loads of laundry per year. This means that the carbon footprint of laundry detergents for one year of laundry is approximately pounds kilograms per year, or about 10 pounds 4.

So, while this may not seem like a lot, especially if your car produces about 5 tons of CO2 per year, this number only reflects the laundry detergent.

It does not factor in the extra energy requirements of running the washer and dryer [source: Wall Street Journal ]. Now, add to that the toxic effects of the chemical components in detergents. According to the EPA , some of the major concerns about the chemical ingredients used in laundry detergents include the following:. Another concern relating to laundry detergent is that it can make the wash water acidic, and depending on where that water runs to, it could further impact the environment, having effects similar to acid rain.

Read on to the next page to find some green alternatives to regular detergents. Changing laundry detergents to account for environmental concerns may clear your conscience, but it could also lead to changes in body odor. There have been a few reports in medical literature about patients suffering from severe body odor after switching their laundry detergent.

This is because the new detergents interact with your sweat and can change your natural skin chemistry [source: Sargent ]. Given some of these environmental considerations about laundry detergents, there are some greener options available to today's consumer.

Most detergents marketed as environmentally friendly don't include perfumes or dyes, and they're typically phosphate free, biodegradable, and they haven't been tested on animals. One eco-conscious option is detergent designed to work well in cold water. On average, 80 to 85 percent of the total energy used washing a load of clothes goes to heating up the water [source: Sabaliunas et al.

Washing in cold water saves energy, which can translate to savings on your household energy bills , too. Another environmental approach is to use concentrated formulas, which cuts down on packaging and on the amount of water it takes to make the detergent. The cold water and concentrated options that different companies manufacture may be one step to greener washing practices. However, even in these forms, the detergents still contain some potentially environmentally hazardous chemicals.

An additional green choice -- for the benefit of the environment and you wallet -- could be making your own laundry detergents. There are a variety of recipes out there, with the common ingredients of water, bar soap, borax and washing soda. Some environmental benefits of making your own laundry detergent are that they typically use fewer chemicals and additives, and they can save on packaging.

So, as we rinse, the micelle floats away and we are left with a clean surface! Clothes Hands Dishes Surfaces. Learn More. About Ingredients. Ingredient Safety Initiative. Surfactants yellow cause water to lose surface tension, which is what keeps water separate from other materials Have you ever seen a bead of water sitting on a surface? What is a surfactant? Like a magnet has two ends, one end of the surfactant is attracted to water molecules while the other is repelled.

Every surfactant has two ends. One end wants to be in water and the other does not. How these two ends interact with soil and water is the secret to how a surfactant works. How Surfactants Clean Once the surfactant is added to water, the water-fearing ends try to stay away from the water. Soapy Science In this activity, you can: find out how detergents work , carry out four bubble-making experiments , explore surface tension and measure it by making your own button balance.

How do detergents work? Back to the top. Making bubbles Bubbles and soap films are made of a thin layer of water, sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules. Once you've made your bubble solution, you can try our four experiments! Experiment 1 Use your hands to make a hoop-shape. Experiment 2 Dryness not sharpness breaks bubbles. Experiment 3 Make a large hoop of string about 1 metre in diameter and tie 4 small loops at the corners to make handles. Experiment 4 Now try and make a bubble dome, like our diagram below.

Exploring surface tension "The introduction of the Dr. Marten size finally allowed Annie to walk on water" Water has many unusual properties, one of which is the phenomenon of surface tension. You will need: a lollystick, some nylon thread, a button, some plasticine, some graph paper, a piece of card, a container to hold the liquid to be tested. Here's how to build your button balance: You can set up the balance in one of two ways, as shown in the diagram above. To use your balance: Balance the lever before you start, for example by sticking a piece of plasticine on the lollystick.

Raise your container of liquid up carefully so that the button rim downwards settles gently onto the surface. You should notice the lever tip towards the liquid. The chemicals react with hydrocarbons derived from petroleum or fats and oils to form new acids that are similar to fatty acids. A second reaction adds an alkali to the new acids that produces a type of anionic surfactant molecule. Nonionic surfactant molecules can be produced by first converting the hydrocarbon to an alcohol and then reacting fatty alcohol with the ethylene oxide.

The nonionic surfactants can be further reacted with sulfur-containing acids to produce another type of anionic surfactant. All these energies interact with each other and hence should be in proper balance. Now let us have a look at how they work together -. Lets' assume we have piece of fabric with oil and grease on it. Using water alone will not help and the reason for this is that the oil and grease present in soil repel the water molecules. Now if we add a soap or detergent to the water, the water-repelling end of surfactant is repelled by water but is attracted by the oil in the soil.