The evolution of laundry detergents have come a long way from bar soaps deriving from animal fat and lye, till using modern advance technology chemicals which are environmental friendly and less harmful for human skin. Nowadays, laundry detergent manufactures introduce advance additives and nano-technology based ingredients to help detergent clean better, smell better and even brighten the color of clothes. One of it's finest evolution is the ability to maintain colour whiteness.
Over time, fabric normally starts to turn from white to yellow. Laundry detergent manufacturers have solved this issue by developing a specialized laundry product which enables fabric to retain and further improve its whiteness. Hence, if you still own a pair of yellowing white t-shirts, white pants or white sheets that you are embarrassed to use and ashamed to throw it away, don't give up hope quite yet!
We have 5 laundry products that you can try to salvage the clothes and return them to their original brightness and whiteness again.
1. K100 Detergent Powder - Strong performance, treatment cleaning
Concentrated detergent powders which contains a blend of enzyme, oxygen bleach and optical brightener. Enzymes can be natural or processed chemically. It’s typically categorized into the following types of enzyme:
Proteases (degrades protein-based stains),
Lipases (degrades fat-based stains),
Amylases (degrades starch-based or carbohydrate stains),
Cellulase (degrades cotton fibers to release soils),
Mannanase (degrades food-based stains) and,
Pectinase (degrade fruit-based stains)
These enzymes used in laundry detergent are similar to the enzymes used by your body to digest food. By incorporating enzymes into laundry detergent, it help to degrade food particles that are present on clothing by catalyzing, or speeding up the decomposition process, making cleaning effortlessly.
Oxygen bleach is a gentle bleaching, color fabric friendly agent and eco-friendly alternative to chlorine bleach. It removes stain and brightens all types of washable white or colour fabrics effectively. However, it works more slowly than chlorine bleach but it is less corrosive and harmful to fabric. More information specific on oxygen bleach below.
Optical brightener is an additive to improve the appearance of whiteness by absorbing UV light and re-emit a blue light. Optical brightener adsorbs into the fabric and retains it's effect. The blue light helps cancel out the yellow tinge, which enables the clothes to look much whiter. The clothing will also emit more visible light than is being shined on it, making it show up brighter and whiter.
2. Wookare - For whitening delicates
Garments made from natural delicate fabrics, such as silk and wool shouldn't use detergents which contains enzyme or bleach, as it may deteriorate the fabric itself.
Wookare is a specialised laundry product for delicate fabric, such as wool and silk.
Special skin friendly gentle detergent, highly recommended for extremely gentle care of premium grade textiles along with high soil removal capacity and whiteness preservation of the fabrics. Suitable for both machine and hand wash.
3. Ultra White
Ultra White is a concentrated detergent liquid, which contains whitening agent to give the best wash results and brilliantly white laundry. It’s suitable for general wash, improves the whiteness effect and generally gentle on normal garments.
Bleaching is a chemical reaction with stains and converts it into colourless, soluble particles which are easily removed from clothing. Bleach can also brighten and whiten fabrics and help remove stubborn stains. Bleach can classify to oxygen bleach and chlorine bleach. Chlorine bleach is a very powerful and strong chemical. It disinfects laundry, as well as cleans and whitens. However, chlorine bleach is not safe for all fabric for long term, particularly coloured clothings. It also weakens fabric.
Clorox bleach contains sodium hypochlorite which acts as a disinfectant on bacteria and viruses and generally whitens fabrics. It is suitable for white and bleachable items only. Always add the bleach and detergent to the wash water before adding the clothes or to the proper automatic dispenser in your washer. Never pour chlorine bleach directly onto fabrics. If using clorox bleach for stain removal, bleach the entire garment to prevent spotting.
Oxygen bleach will boost the cleaning power of your regular detergent. As with any product, take a minute to study the package directions because each brand is slightly different. Oxygen bleach is available in both powder and liquid form in the market. Powdered form are more stable and will retain their cleaning power much longer compared to liquid form. In general, oxygen bleach is safer on fabrics than chlorine bleach.
When Oxygen bleach is introduced to water, the main chemical component oxidizes to help remove soil, stains and cut through residual detergent and fabric softener build-up that stiffens fabrics and dulls colour. It is a colour-safe bleaching agent as it maintains colours and whiteness. It is a more gentle, less toxic alternative to chlorine bleach that relies on oxygen ions for its cleaning effect. The recommended temperature for processing is 40°C - 65°C and is suitable for soaking. However, we have introduce an additive to our oxygen bleach which will lower the recommended temperature for maximum efficiency to room temperature. This is save energy cost for heated water when doing laundry. Completely submerge the stained garments after mixing oxy bleach powder with water and allow the garments to soak for as long as possible - up to eight hours or overnight.
Different kinds of laundry product have their own specific uses. Some products are damaging to delicate fabrics and some are not suitable for colour fabric. So be sure to utilize the right product which works best for you. Always seek professional advice on this if you are not sure. We are just an email away!