Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
Patent
1999-08-25
2000-07-11
Gupta, Yogendra
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
510283, 510375, 510376, 510535, C11D 3395, C11D 322, C11D 166, C11D 1706
Patent
active
060873132
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the cleaning of fabrics in soaking conditions, i.e., in conditions where the fabrics are left to soak in a soaking liquor comprising water and detergent ingredients, typically without undergoing any mechanical agitation, either as a first step before a typical washing operation, or as a single step.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fabric soaking operations have been described in the art. In such soaking operations, fabrics are left in contact with a soaking liquor for a prolonged period of time, typically ranging from a few minutes to overnight or even 24 hours. This laundering process has the advantage that it maximises the contact time between the fabrics and the key active ingredients of the soaking liquor. It also has the advantage that it reduces or eliminates the need for a typical laundering operation involving the need for mechanical agitation, or that it improves the efficiency of the subsequent typical laundering operation.
Such soaking operations are typically desirable to remove tough outdoor dirt from fabrics, such as particulate soil like mud, silt and/or clays. For example, clays usually have a microcrystalline mineral structure (e.g., hydrous aluminium silicate like illite, montmorillonite, kaolinite and the like) with the presence of an organic fraction. The organic fraction can contain a variety of compounds (e.g., humic acid, fulvic acid, plantlanimal biomass and the like). Clays can also contain several kinds of metals (e.g., magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron and the like). However, such particulate soil is particularly difficult to remove from fabrics. Indeed, it is believed that the very fine dirt grains like clays or silt, typically below 0.002 mm in size, can insert among fabric fibers and steadily stick to the surface of the fibers. This problem is particularly acute with socks which are most exposed to silt and clay pick-up. Also such soaking operations are not fully satisfactory regarding the stain removal performance delivered on enzymatic stains or even bleachable stains. Enzymatic stains are typically composed of carbohydrates and proteinaceus soil, like blood. It has now been observed that enzymatic stains may act as a glue for particulate soil on fabrics, thus removing such enzymatic stains may facilitate the removal of particulate soil from fabrics.
It is thus an object of the present invention to improve the stain removal of particulate soils, mud and/or clay, as well as of enzymatic stains and/or bleachable stains.
It has been found that this object can be met by soaking fabrics in an aqueous soaking liquor comprising an effective amount of a soaking detergent composition comprising an oxygen bleach and a highly alkoxylated nonionic surfactant, as defined herein after. Indeed, it has been found that such a highly alkoxylated nonionic surfactant and oxygen bleach, in a soaking composition, delivers improved stain removal performance on tough outdoor dirt like particulate soil, enzymatic stains and/or bleachable stains under soaking conditions (i.e., when left in contact for prolonged period of time typically more than 1 hour up to 24 hours), as compared to the stain removal performance delivered with the same composition being free of such a highly alkoxylated nonionic surfactant. Thus, in its broadest aspect the present invention encompasses a process of soaking fabrics, wherein said fabrics are immersed for more than one hour in a soaking liquor comprising water and an effective amount of a composition comprising a highly alkoxylated nonionic surfactant and an oxygen bleach, as defined herein, then removed from said soaking liquor.
An advantage of the present invention is that the stain removal performance, when soaking a fabric in presence of a soaking composition comprising an oxygen bleach and such a highly alkoxylated nonionic surfactant as defined herein, is improved even in the presence of relatively high levels of hardness ions. Indeed, the presence of hardness ions (calcium or magnesium ions), which occur natural
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Ardia Gabriella
Scialla Stefano
Echler, Sr. Richard S.
Gupta Yogendra
Petruncio John M
Rasser Jacobus C.
The Procter & Gamble & Company
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