JPH081027B2 - How to condition your fabric - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of conditioning a fabric, and more particularly to a method of conditioning a fabric in a washer after the washing stage of a laundering process.

When using a conventional detergent composition for laundry,
The texture of the fabric is impaired after washing. The treatment with a fabric softening agent for preventing this has been conventionally performed.
Because many fabric softeners are not compatible with detergent compositions, a typical softening process involves adding fabric softener to the rinse water after the washing step. The softeners also often contain other fabric conditioning agents such as antistatic agents and fragrances.

When using a popular washing machine in Europe, i.e. a washing machine designed to fill the tub with rinsing water and then agitate and then drain for a sufficient rinsing, the rinsing of the tub by hand or by an automatic drawing device. Adding fabric conditioning agents to water is extremely easy. A suitable product for such use consists of a dispersion of fabric softener in an aqueous medium. However, some washing machines are designed to rinse fabric with running water. Conventional fabric conditioning compositions that are prepared to be added at the beginning of rinsing but not just before the end of rinsing are not suitable for such running rinse washers. This is because, for example, when the conditioning composition is in the form of a liquid or a powder, most of the composition is washed from the washing machine with rinsing water without the opportunity to come into contact with the fabric to exert the conditioning effect. To be washed away. The conditioning agent may also desorb to some extent from the fabric during continued rinsing.

The use of cationic materials as fabric softeners in fabric conditioning compositions is well known. A typical cationic softener is a dialkyl (eg, di-hardened tallow) dimethyl ammonium salt. A composition comprising such a chaotic substance and an electrolyte such as sodium chloride is formed into a compressed form (eg sachet or tablet). Such compositions are obtained by pooled rinsing using conventional aqueous liquid products, as long as they allow some of the composition to drain with the rinsing water when added to the rinsing water above 20 ° C. Exhibits the same softening effect as the given softening effect. However, the softening effect of solid cationic substances, especially in compressed form, is significantly less than that of conventional aqueous liquid products, especially when added to cold rinse water, eg below 20 ° C.

The present inventors have found that in a washing machine designed to perform a running water rinse, the fabric can be conditioned at low temperatures while minimizing the amount of composition washed away from the washing machine while at the same time improving the dispersion of the fabric conditioning substance in water. We found a method to improve the softening effect. This method is based on the special physical shape of the conditioning product,
There is no need to add conditioning products just before the end of the running water rinse, and gelation of the softener is minimized.

That is, (i) placing the fabric in a rinsing bath provided by the present invention, and (ii) continuously rinsing water in the basin in the presence of a fabric conditioning product comprising a cationic solid fabric softener and an alkali metal bicarbonate. A method of conditioning a fabric with a fabric conditioning product comprising the steps of inflowing and outflowing and contacting the fabric, wherein the fabric conditioning product has a physical form such that it has at least one dimension greater than 1.0 cm and a cation. Solid fabric softener and alkali metal hydrogencarbonate are surrounded by means for inhibiting release of the softener when the product is left in water.

The fabric softening product can be in any number of forms as long as it has at least one dimension greater than 1 cm. It has been found that if the product is smaller than this size, it will be washed away from the washing machine with running water. The product may be composed of or may contain a conditioning composition. When the product is composed of a conditioning composition, it is clear that the composition cannot be in liquid or finely divided form, as the liquid or fines cannot meet the requirement of having dimensions greater than 1 cm. However, it is possible for the composition to take the form of blocks or tablets of the desired dimensions, for example discs or spherical blocks with a diameter of 2-10 cm.

One of the advantages of fabric conditioning products is, for example:
It can be used in cold rinse water below 20 ° C. The presence of the alkali metal hydrogen carbonate aids in the dispersion of the cationic material in compressed form and thus improves the softening effect of the fabric conditioning product. However, the presence of a release controlling means delays the dispersion of the cationic substance. Although it was a surprising finding, it was found that the combined use of a dispersion aid in the form of an alkali metal hydrogen carbonate and a release suppressing means controls the release of the softening substance and improves the softening effect.

According to the fabric conditioning method of the present invention, the conditioning composition can be retained in the tank even when the rinsing water is continuous running water, the conditioning effect of the fabric can be achieved in the rinsing stage, and the rinsing of the conditioning agent from the tank is minimized. Can be suppressed to.

You can usually pre-wash the fabric in the same tub of the washing machine,
Alternatively, the fabric may be placed in a vat just for conditioning purposes. When prewashed, the fabric is at least partially impregnated with a wash liquor containing an active detergent bound to the fabric by adsorption or other action, and running water has the function of removing this wash liquor from the fabric. The rinse water entering the tank is substantially free of active detergent. Although any type of fabric treatment is possible, treatment of fabrics containing natural fibers such as cotton is particularly suitable when the conditioning agent is a fabric softener, and synthetic fibers such as nylon when the conditioning agent is an antistatic agent. The treatment of fabrics containing is particularly suitable.

The flow velocity of running water is determined by the design of the washing machine,
It has been found that good results are obtained when the process of the invention is carried out in a tank having a capacity of about 35 and at a low flow rate corresponding to about 5 to about 50 cups per hour. This flow rate is equal to 3.5-30 / min. Any water temperature can be used. Cold water at temperatures between 0 ° C and 30 ° C has been found to be suitable. The rinsing time is determined by the design of the washing machine, that is, its rinsing efficiency and a predetermined rinsing degree,
It has been found that good results are obtained within a rinsing time of less than 20 minutes, for example 5 to 15 minutes.

The fabric conditioning product may be added at the beginning of the flush rinse, i.e. prior to introducing rinse water into the bath, or may be added to the fabric in the bath during the rinse cycle. Alternatively, the product may be added at the end of the normal flushing cycle, and then the flushing of the tank may be continued for a short period of time, for example 5 minutes. However, for ease of use, it is preferred to add the fabric conditioning product to the bath at the beginning of the rinse cycle.

Suitable cationic fabric softeners that can be used in the fabric conditioning composition are water insoluble cationic fabric softeners. The water-insoluble cationic fabric softener may be any cationic compound that has a solubility of less than 10 g / in water at pH 2.5 and a temperature of 20 ° C. and is fabric-substative. Particularly preferred substances are unsubstituted or -OH,
It is a quaternary ammonium salt having two C _{12 to} C ₂₄ alkyl or alkenyl chains substituted or interrupted with a functional group such as —O—, —CONH—, —COO— and the like.

Known types of substantially water-insoluble quaternary ammonium compounds have the formula Wherein R ₁ and R ₂ are hydrocarbyl groups containing from about 12 to about 24 carbon atoms, R ₃ and R ₄ are hydrocarbyl groups containing from 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, and X is preferably halogenated. An anion selected from a methylsulfate group and a halogenated ethylsulfate group]. Representative examples of these quaternary softeners are ditallowdimethylammonium chloride, ditallowdimethylammonium methylsulfate, dihexadecyldimethylammonium chloride, di (hydrogenated tallowalkyl) dimethylammonium chloride, dioctadecyldimethylammonium chloride,
These are dieicosyldimethylammonium chloride, didocosyldimethylammonium chloride, di (hydrogenated tallow) dimethylammonium methyl sulfate, dihexadecylethylammonium chloride, and di (coconut alkyl) dimethylammonium chloride. Ditallow methylammonium chloride and di (hydrogenated tallowalkyl) dimethylammonium chloride, di (coconut alkyl) dimethylammonium chloride and di (coconut alkyl) dimethylammonium methosulfate are preferred.

Another type of preferred water-insoluble cationic substance is the formula [Wherein R ₆ is an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, preferably 1 or 2 carbon atoms, R ₇
Is an alkyl or alkenyl group containing 8 to 25 carbon atoms, R ₈ is an alkyl or alkenyl group containing 8 to 25 carbon atoms, R ₉ is hydrogen or an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, A ^- is an anion, preferably a halogen, alkyl imidazolinium salts is estimated to have a methosulfate or ethosulfate]. A preferred imidazolinium salt is 1-methyl-1- (tallowylamide)
-Ethyl-2-tallowyl-4,5-dihydro-imidazolinium methosulfate and 1-methyl-1- (palmitoylamido) -ethyl-2-octadecyl-4,5-
It is dihydro-imidazolinium chloride. Other useful imidazolinium substances are 2-heptadecyl-1.
-Methyl-1- (2-stearylamide) -ethyl-imidazolinium chloride and 2-lauryl-1-hydroxyethyl-1-oleyl-imidazolinium chloride. Also suitable is the use of the imidazolinium-based fabric softening components described in US Pat. No. 4,127,489. The disclosure of that patent is hereby incorporated by reference.

The fabric conditioning composition may contain a nonionic fabric softener.

Typical nonionic fabric softeners are fatty acid esters of monohydric or polyhydric alcohols containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms or their anhydrides, for example sorbitan monostearate or sorbitan tristearate. Esters, ethylene glycol esters such as ethylene glycol monostearate, glycerol esters such as glycerol monostearate,
The disclosures of the alkyl mono- or dialkanolamides such as palm or tallow monoethanolamide and tallow diethanolamide, as well as other substances such as those described in British Patent No. 1550206, are included herein. Shall be provided.

Alternatively, the non-ionic fabric softener may include lanolin and lanolin-like substances such as acetylated lanolin.

The fabric conditioning product may further include another fabric conditioning agent in addition to the cationic fabric softener. The term "fabric conditioning agent" in the present text is meant in its broadest sense to encompass all substances that provide benefits such as flexibility, antistatic properties, fragrances, drape properties, anti-wrinkle properties, ironability or improved bleaching. in use.

The term "alkali metal hydrogen carbonate" in the present text refers to an alkali metal hydrogen carbonate and a mixture of the alkali metal hydrogen carbonate and another electrolyte (the ratio of alkali metal hydrogen carbonate to another electrolyte is 1: 1 or more. ) Is used in a broad sense to include. Sodium sesquicarbonate, a 1: 1 mixture of sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate, is suitable for use in the fabric conditioning composition.

The alkali metal hydrogen carbonate in the fabric conditioning composition is preferably sodium hydrogen carbonate or potassium hydrogen carbonate.

The levels of these substances in the composition can range from 1: 0.5 to 1:20 ratio of cationic fabric softener to bicarbonate,
Particularly preferably, the level is in the range of 1: 1.5 to 1:10.

The fabric conditioning products also include means for inhibiting gelation of the cationic fabric softeners and optionally other conditioning agents while inhibiting their release in water. The release suppressing means may be physical means or chemical means. The cationic fabric softener and optional conditioning agent release inhibiting means are such that substantially all of the softener / conditioning agent is released into the rinsing water during the rinsing period of at least 30% of the softening agent / conditioning agent, preferably 50%. It is preferable to ensure that the% is released later in the rinse period.

One suitable method of achieving sufficient inhibition is to use a cationic fabric softener, an alkali metal bicarbonate and optionally a conditioning agent, paraffin wax,
Cyclic or acyclic mono- or polyhydric alcohols, substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic carboxylic acids, esters of the alcohols and acids, alkylene oxide condensates of C ₂ -C ₄ of the material, and mixtures thereof Cover with. Tallow alcohol is particularly preferred. Other suitable materials are nonionics which have a melting point comparable to that of tallow alcohol ethoxylated with 18 to 25 ethoxylate groups per molecule. Details of such materials can be found in US Pat. No. 3,936,537 (Bas
kerville) as a dispersion inhibitor.

The ratio of cationic fabric softener and fabric conditioning agent to the release inhibitor in the composition depends on the form of the product and the conditions of use, such as the planned rinsing time and temperature. The amount of the release-inhibiting substance present is preferably relatively small.
The weight ratio of the cationic fabric conditioning agent to the release inhibiting substance is preferably 1: 1 to 50: 1, more preferably
1: 1 to 15: 1. The choice of release inhibitor also depends on the temperature of the rinse water.

It is preferred that the release suppressing means be present as a coating on the fabric conditioning product. In particular, fabric conditioning products in the form of blocks or tablets with a coating layer of release-retarding material are preferred.

Another suitable method of achieving sufficient control is to contain the fabric conditioning agent in a release control space in the form of a container having at least one dimension greater than 1 cm. The container should be configured to hold the conditioning composition. In this case, the conditioning composition can be in any physical form including liquids and powders.

Particularly suitable is a container in the form of a sachet formed from a water-permeable material, for example a short sachet with a side length of at least 3 cm. Suitable sachets are described in EP 18678 and applicant's European patent application 87 304526.6, EP 236136 and GB 2187728.

It is especially preferred to use a container and a coating together to control the release of fabric conditioning substances. In such a combination, for example, a sachet coated with beef tallow alcohol 25 E0 is used.

When the fabric softener or fabric conditioning agent is a surfactant, it is advantageous for the fabric conditioning composition to further comprise an antifoaming agent to eliminate the foam generated during rinsing. Any known defoamer can be used at a level sufficient to produce the desired effect. Suitable antifoam agents in the form of granules are described in the applicant's European patent publication No. 94250.

 The invention will now be described on the basis of non-limiting examples.

Reference Example A block was prepared by compressing a powdered fabric conditioning composition containing Arosurf TA100 (2 g) and the following electrolyte (6 g) by applying 1 ton of pressure with a hydraulic ram using a 3 cm die. . Each block had a thickness of about 1 cm.

The obtained block is a National NA-W101 with a capacity of about 40.
8 Two-tank washing machine, hardness 6 ° FH (6 × 10 ^-4 per 1
Water with a molar concentration of free calcium ions) was kept flowing for 10 minutes.

The results of measuring the weight loss of the block after rinsing with running water for 10 minutes are as follows.

From these results, when the block contains sodium sesquicarbonate, the block is completely dispersed in water at 25 ° C, and when the block contains sodium hydrogen carbonate,
It is clear that the block was completely dispersed even in water at 10 ° C, and the other electrolytes lacked dispersibility.

Examples 1 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 Example 1 A block prepared in the same manner as the Reference Example from a powdered fabric conditioning formulation containing 2 g of Adogen 442-100 P (ex Rewo) and 8 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate. , 0.3 g of tallow alcohol 25 E0.

Comparative Example 1 A block prepared in the same manner as in Reference Example from a powdered fabric conditioning formulation containing 2 g of Adogen 442-100 P (ex Rewo) and 8 g of sodium sulfate was coated with 0.3 g of tallow alcohol 25 E0. did.

Comparative Example 2 A block prepared in the same manner as in the Reference Example from a powdered fabric conditioning formulation containing 2 g of Adogen 442-100 P (ex Rewo) was coated with 0.3 g of tallow alcohol 25 E0.

Comparative Example 3 A block was prepared in the same manner as in the Reference Example from a powdered fabric conditioning formulation containing 2 g of Adogen 442-100 P (ex Rewo) and 8 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate. However, this block was not coated with tallow alcohol 25 E0.

The dispersibility and flexibility of the blocks thus obtained were tested as follows. The test was repeated 4 times for each example block.

Using a National NA-W1018 two-tank washing machine with a capacity of about 40, water in 10 ° C with a hardness of 6 ° FH (6 × 10 ^-4 molar concentration of free calcium ion per 1) of a commercially available powder detergent made in Japan "Top" Is used in an amount of 31 g per 35 washing liquids, 1.3 kg
The cotton cloth (terry towel) was washed for 10 minutes. After washing
The washing liquid was drained from the washing tub, and the cloth was taken out and placed in a centrifugal dehydrator for dehydration for 1 minute. The fabric was then returned to the tub and the block was placed in the washing machine at the beginning of the rinse cycle and rinsed under running water for 10 minutes. The flow rate of running water was 15 / min.

The results of visually evaluating the dispersibility of each block are as follows.

The block of Example 1 was gradually dispersed during the rinsing cycle and was completely dispersed.

The block of Comparative Example 1 did not completely disperse during the 10 minute rinse cycle.

The block of Comparative Example 2 did not disperse at all and only gelled completely.

The block of Comparative Example 3 was completely dispersed but disperses too fast and the cationic softener disappeared completely with the drainage or by complexation with anions.

After the completion of the rinsing cycle, the cloth was dehydrated again, spread at room temperature and dried in a line, and then the cloth was evaluated for flexibility. The evaluation followed the paired comparison procedure. That is, four specialists compare two cloths rinsed in the presence of each example block, for example the cloth rinsed in the presence of the block of Example 1 and the block of Comparative Example 1. The softer (feeling better) fabric was judged by comparison with the fabric rinsed underneath. The results are as follows.

Example 1 vs Comparative Example 1: 16-0 Example 1 vs Comparative Example 2: 16-0 Example 1 vs Comparative Example 3: 16-0 Comparative Example 1 vs Comparative Example 2: 8-8 Comparative Example 1 vs Comparative Example 3: 16-0 Comparative Example 2 vs Comparative Example 3: 16-0 The result of 16-0 in Example 1 vs Comparative Example 1 is 4
This means that all human experts judged that the cloth rinsed in the presence of the block of Example 1 was softer than the cloth rinsed in the presence of the block of Comparative Example 1. Please interpret the other results as well.

In addition, the softness of the fabrics rinsed in the presence of the blocks of each example was rated on a scale of 2 (very soft) to 14 (very stiff). The results are as follows.

Example 1: 4.75 Comparative Example 1: 7.0 Comparative Example 2: 7.0 Comparative Example 3: 8.0 From the results of the above Examples 1 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3, surprisingly, the combined use of sodium hydrogen carbonate and tallow alcohol 25 E0 coating. It was confirmed that an excellent effect was obtained.

Examples 2-3 and Comparative Examples 4-5 Sachets were made from 61 g / cm ² polypropylene laminate (Kimtex SMS ex Kimberley-Clark) formed by melt blowing. The sachet had dimensions of 5 cm x 5 cm. This sachet was filled with a powder unmixed material, the sachet was heat-sealed, and 20 pinholes having a diameter of 0.7 mm were provided on each surface.

Example 2 2 g of Arosurf TA100 and 4 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate were charged.

Example 3 The same powder formulation as in Example 2 was filled and after providing pinholes on each side of the sachet, as an additional release suppressing means.
Coated with 1 g of tallow alcohol 25 E0.

Comparative Example 4 2 g of Arosurf TA100 was filled and no electrolyte was filled.

Comparative Example 5 2 g of Arosurf TA100 and 4 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate were added to the rinsing water in powder form.

The sachet thus obtained was tested in the same manner as in Example 1. At the beginning of the rinse cycle, put the sachet in the wash tub and put it in the presence of 1.3 kg cotton cloth (terry towels) for 10
Rinse with running water at 0 ° C for 10 minutes.

The results of evaluation of the softness of the cloth by the comparative comparison method are as follows.

Example 2 vs. Example 3: 0-16 Example 2 vs. Comparative Example 4: 16-0 Example 2 vs. Comparative Example 5: 15-1 Example 3 vs. Comparative Example 4: 16-0 Example 3 vs. Comparative Example 5: 16-0 Comparative Example 4 vs. Comparative Example 5: 0-16 The results of evaluating the fabric flexibility on a scale of 2 to 14 are as follows.

Example 2: 6.25 Example 3: 4.75 Comparative Example 4: 8.25 Comparative Example 5: 7.0 Comparative Example 4 in which no alkali metal hydrogen carbonate was present.
In the case of No. 6, since the softening agent gelled, in the case of Comparative Example 5 in which the sachet was not present, the softening agent was rapidly dispersed, so that the softening effect was poor.

Example 4 and Comparative Examples 6-8 Example 4 To a mixture containing 2 g of Adogen 422-100 P and 6 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate, 1.5 tons of pressure was applied with a hydraulic ram using a 3 cm die. Blocks were prepared by compression. Then block 0.3 g of tallow alcohol 35 E0
Coated with.

Comparative Example 6 A block prepared in the same manner as in Example 4 from a mixture containing 2 g of Adogen 422-100 P and 6 g of sodium sulfate was coated with 0.3 g of tallow alcohol 35 E0.

Comparative Example 7 2 g of Adogen 422-100 P and 6 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate
Blocks were prepared as in Example 4 from a mixture containing 0.3 g tallow alcohol 35 E0. However, no coating was applied to this block.

Comparative Example 8 2 g of Adogen 422-100 P, 6 g of sodium sulfate and 0.3 g
A block was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4 from a mixture containing tallow alcohol 35 E0. However, no coating was applied to this block.

Each block thus obtained was placed in a washing machine having a capacity of 40 l, and water at 25 ° C was kept flowing at a flow rate of 15 l / min for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, the block was taken out of the washing machine and weighed.

Example 4 0 g (completely dispersed) Comparative Example 6 7.0 Comparative Example 7 5.7 Comparative Example 8 6.5 From these results, only when the block containing sodium bicarbonate as in Example 4 was coated with tallow alcohol 35 E0. , The block was completely dispersed in the rinsing process for 15 minutes, thus giving the cloth a softening effect. On the contrary,
When tallow alcohol 35 E0 was added as a binder to a block containing sodium hydrogen carbonate as in Comparative Example 7, the block could not be completely dispersed in the rinsing step for 15 minutes (weight change 8.3 g → 5.7 g).

Also, as in Comparative Example 6, the block was tallowed with alcohol 35
When coated with E0 and the block contained sodium sulfate instead of sodium bicarbonate, the block lacked dispersibility (weight change 8.3 g → 7.0 g). Even when the block was not coated with 35 E0 tallow alcohol as in Comparative Example 8 and the block contained sodium sulphate instead of sodium bicarbonate, the block lacked dispersibility (weight change 8.3 g).
→ 6.5g).

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-61-276896 (JP, A) JP-A-53-86895 (JP, A)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A step of: (i) placing the fabric in a rinsing bath; and (ii) continuously providing rinsing water to the bath in the presence of a fabric conditioning product comprising a cationic solid fabric softener and an alkali metal bicarbonate. What is claimed is: 1. A method of conditioning a fabric with a fabric conditioning product comprising the steps of flowing in and out and contacting the fabric, said fabric conditioning product having a physical form having at least one dimension greater than 1.0 cm and a cation. Solid fabric softener and alkali metal hydrogen carbonate are surrounded by means for inhibiting release of the softener when the product is left in water. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the means for controlling the release of the softening agent into the water is a coating of a fabric conditioning product. 3. The release suppressing means comprises (i) paraffin wax, (ii) cyclic or acyclic monohydric or polyhydric alcohols and esters, and C ₂ -C ₄ alkylene oxide condensates thereof, (iii) claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is selected a mixture of a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic carboxylic acids and their esters and their C ₂ -C ₄ alkylene oxide condensates, and (iv) the substance from
The method described in. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the softening agent release suppressing means is a sachet containing a cationic fabric softening agent and an alkali metal hydrogen carbonate. 5. A solid cationic fabric softener, an alkali metal bicarbonate and a sachet having at least one dimension greater than 1.0 cm, said sachet containing said softener and said alkali metal bicarbonate. A fabric conditioning product for use in the method of claim 1, wherein the fabric conditioning product is a fabric conditioning product.