Anti dye tablets, fragrance beads, softeners... Use science to tell you that these laundry "ingredients" are really fragrant
2022-03-17
On the "March 8th" International Women's day, major online shopping platforms have launched promotional activities, and women's frequently purchased goods - washing powder are also among the profit categories. Nowadays, the types of laundry products are constantly renovated. When washing clothes, we should not only put the "main material" - washing powder, but also put many "ingredients", such as anti dye tablets, fragrance beads, softeners and so on. So, are these products IQ tax or "black technology"? What exactly do they do? How can we use it to maximize its effectiveness? In view of the above problems, the reporter of science and technology daily interviewed relevant experts to solve your doubts one by one. Anti dye sheet: powerful adsorption function to lock the "escape" dye Clothing dyeing is a headache. If you are careless, light colored clothes will not escape the fate of being dyed by dark clothes. In recent years, a product called anti dye film has become popular on the online shopping platform. Merchants call it a new auxiliary laundry tool, which can avoid dye particles from adhering to other clothes. However, is it really so divine? "Anti dye tablets, also known as anti cross color laundry tablets, can prevent clothes from cross color and fading when washing. They are made of absorbable materials." Zeng Jia, senior engineer of Beijing Research Institute of chemical industry of China Petrochemical Group, introduced in an interview with the reporter of science and Technology Daily that this seemingly ordinary little white cloth piece is actually "with unique skills". Firstly, the anti dye tablet makes use of the principle of anion and cation adsorption commonly used in the field of chemical industry. Clothes made of cotton fiber, animal fur, artificial leather, polyester fabric and other materials will be dyed with chemical dyes before leaving the factory. If such clothes are decolorized during washing, the dye surface in the water will contain anions, while the anti dye sheet surface has cations. The combination of anions and anions can prevent the falling dye from "polluting" other clothes. Secondly, most of the anti dye sheets have a loose and porous structure similar to activated carbon, and also have a certain adsorption effect on cationic dyes commonly used in fabrics such as acrylic fiber. "The anti dye sheet with these two skills has strong adsorption capacity and can quickly adsorb the dye molecules released by multi-color fabrics during washing, so as to avoid the falling dye molecules from being adsorbed by other clothes." Zeng Jia added that before washing clothes, it is best to read the product description of anti dye tablets and put enough anti dye tablets according to the number of clothes to ensure that they play their full role. Liuxiang beads: nano microcapsules can release fragrance for a long time Nowadays, many girls feel that washing clothes should not only be clean, but also fragrant. But washing powder alone is difficult to do this, so Liuxiang beads were born. Zeng Jia said that Liuxiang bead is a common washing and care product for clothes, which can make clothes stay fragrant for a long time after washing. "The main components of liuxiangzhu are fragrance essential oil and microcapsules. Most clothing fiber surfaces will carry anions when washing, while liuxiangzhu microcapsules have cations on the surface, which will be firmly adsorbed on the clothing surface." Zeng Jia explained that the microcapsule wraps the fragrance essential oil in a small micro nano capsule. The capsule material will not have a chemical reaction with the fragrance essential oil and can be used as a barrier to prevent the rapid volatilization or oxidation of the fragrance. After washing clothes, the fragrance in the liuxiangzhu microcapsule can only be released slowly through the pores of the microcapsule shell, which makes people feel that the clothes washed with liuxiangzhu can retain fragrance for a long time, and even resist the peculiar smell of clothes caused by eating hot pot, barbecue, sports sweating and smoking. "With the progress of technology, the formula of the new generation of fragrant beads has been adjusted to increase the functions of sterilization, mite elimination, decontamination and softness. It adopts the structure of color and white beads - color beads are soft and fragrant, and white beads are sterilized, mite elimination and decontamination." Zeng Jia said. At the same time, when using the washing machine to wash clothes, due to the high friction strength of the machine, or lead to the explosion of liuxiangzhu microcapsule and the release of aroma, emitting a pleasant fragrance. "Machine washing can release the fragrance contained in Liuxiang beads to the greatest extent, which is why many Liuxiang beads are recommended to be used in machine washing. It should be noted that if it is mixed washing of multi-color clothes, it is recommended to add anti dye tablets first, and then put Liuxiang beads after a period of time, so as to prevent the chemical reaction between the two substances." Zeng Jia added. Softener: eliminate fabric static electricity by lubricating protective film Softener is the "big brother" in laundry products. For a long time, detergent and softener have been the golden combination, just like the fixed combination of shampoo and conditioner. The biggest selling point of softener is that it can make clothes soft and free from static electricity. "In fact, clothes are usually softened when they leave the factory, but the softness is destroyed after people wash them with alkaline washing products. Therefore, adding softener during washing can make the fabric soft, fluffy and free from static electricity." Zeng Jia said. She said that the role of softener is similar to that of evenly applying a layer of lubricating protective film on the surface of clothing fibers. When washing clothes, softener is adsorbed on the fiber surface, which reduces the friction coefficient between fibers, enhances mobility, and restores the inherent smoothness, extension and compression properties of fibers, so that clothes will appear soft, fluffy and elastic. At the same time, the softener will also reduce the surface resistance coefficient of clothing fiber and prevent charge accumulation, so as to reduce the possibility of static electricity and reduce the dust adsorption caused by static electricity. As a result, clothes become fluffy after washing and rarely absorb dust. "However, it is worth noting that due to the different action mechanisms of various detergents and softeners, if they are poured into the washing machine together, there may be a charge 'fight' phenomenon, which greatly reduces the washing effect and softness effect of clothes. Therefore, it is recommended to pour the softener into the softener tank of the washing machine, or add the softener in the middle of washing to ensure the softness of the softener Smooth effect. " Zeng Jia added. Bacteriostatic liquid and bactericidal liquid: kill bacteria on clothes by various methods In shopping malls, buses, hospitals and other public places, bacteria are everywhere. E. coli residues attached to close fitting clothes cannot be removed by washing products alone. Washing machines that have not been cleaned for many years are a hotbed for bacteria. Laundry detergent can only play the role of decontamination, but can not remove the bacteria hidden in the depths of clothes. When people realized the necessity of clothes sterilization, clothes bacteriostatic liquid and sterilization liquid products appeared one after another. "Ordinary laundry products have no bacteriostatic function and can only clean stains on the surface of clothes." Zeng Jia introduced that the standard names of bacteriostatic liquid and bactericidal liquid are bacteriostatic detergent and antibacterial detergent respectively. They have the function of inhibiting microbial reproduction or contact sterilization on the surface of clothes, and can reduce the possibility of bacterial cross infection after use. China has formulated the light industry standard of antibacterial detergent, which stipulates that it is prepared from surfactant, washing assistant and bactericide or bacteriostatic agent, and needs to have decontamination and antibacterial or bacteriostatic functions. Bacteriostatic agents and fungicides use metal ion contact reaction, catalytic activation mechanism and cation fixation mechanism to inhibit the growth of bacteria and then kill bacteria. "The bactericidal efficacy of bactericidal liquid and bacteriostatic liquid is different. The bactericidal rate of bactericidal liquid is required to be no less than 90%, while the bactericidal rate of bacteriostatic liquid is generally required to be no less than 50%." Zeng Jia specially reminded that although there is only one word difference between bacteriostatic liquid and bactericidal liquid, there is a huge difference in bactericidal efficacy. Consumers should distinguish it clearly when purchasing in order to achieve the expected disinfection effect. (Xinhua News Agency)
Edit：Li Ling Responsible editor：Chen Jie
Source：Science and Technology Daily
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