Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating General How to remove laundry detergent residue the fastest way?

  • How to remove laundry detergent residue the fastest way?

    Posted by Margaret on November 29, 2023 at 2:05 pm

    OTHER than just washing a towel (or whatever) repeatedly in hot water, what is the FASTEST way to remove laundry detergent residue? Vinegar comes to mind, but maybe that’s for soap removal or just a myth(?).

    I wish to demonstrate the B.S. of those laundry strips, and I need fabric that has NO detergent residue so I can do a comparison between 3 samples, washed with either: laundry strip OR hot water OR usual powder detergent.

    Thanks for any help on this pressing matter ????.

    Margaret replied 1 year ago 4 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • ketchito

    Member
    November 30, 2023 at 8:51 am

    Since surfactants compete with binding sites, you could either change the electric nature of fabrics proteins (increasing pH would reduce the amount of positive binding sites for anionics), or increasing the ionic strenght of your solution (adding increasing amounts of salt, so it desorbs anionics, but salt’s counterions would bind instead, so you need to rinse after with deionized water).

  • Margaret

    Member
    November 30, 2023 at 9:18 am

    Thanks for the response! I guess I’ll be buying a jug o’distilled water to rinse the fabric in.

  • Microformulation

    Member
    November 30, 2023 at 2:07 pm

    Just go to a fabric store and buy un-laundered swatches.

  • Elliot

    Member
    December 2, 2023 at 2:42 pm

    Fabrics at the store will have sizing in them. PFD fabric (prepared for dyeing) will be the cleanest. Places like Dharma Trading will have blanks in various fibers.

  • Margaret

    Member
    December 2, 2023 at 3:33 pm

    The idea to buy fabric at a store is a good one. I would do it if I were doing a HUGE experiment here. However, I just want to test ONE strip of those B.S. laundry strips. I have LOTS of fabric at home here, so I think maybe I’ll just run the fabric I want to use through my washing machine several times with hot water.

    Thanks for the ideas!

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