How to ensure the softener fragrance stay in your clothes?
You may notice that fabric smells very good right after laundry is done and aired out. However, by the time it dries completely, it may smell different and much of the good smelling fragrance is gone. Why does that happen and what can we do to maintain as much of the pleasant smell as possible?
First what you have to know is that all fragrances have different level of profiles. You have your top note (the very first and distinct smell that hits you); middle note where it’s still noticeable but it is not as strong as the top note; and base note which usually is a very mellow, musky type of fragrance, which tends to linger quite long. All different fragrance profiles are made from different chemical compositions, which some are much less volatile than others; and some are more stable chemically when exposed to the air, hence will remain much longer in the atmosphere.
Fragrance are also very sensitive to heat and evaporation. Store your softeners in a cool and dark place to prolong its lifespan. When the laundry (with softener added) goes into a hot tumble dryer, majority of the fragrance will evaporate due to heat and convection air sucked out of the dryer to reduce humidity within the dryer. If it is being dried under the sun, depending on the intensity of the sunlight and windy condition, the fragrance will also evaporate faster.
Some people mix laundry detergent and softener together, but you should never do that as they will chemically react with each other. Laundry detergent contains surfactants which will absorb the fragrance chemicals within the softener and wash away down the drain along with your laundry dirt.
The best way to retain maximum fragrance on the fabric is to air dry it and avoid prolonged exposure to intense sunlight. Do not leave wet laundry in the machine for long and hang the laundry up straight away for best results.
Hmm, but the fragrance still does not stick well to my clothes. Is there another new technology?
Yes, there is! In order to enhance the effectiveness of the fragrance materials, new technologies are being developed or adapted for home type of washing and softening products. The technology used is called encapsulation of fragrance. It has been used to prevent volatile compounds, to control the rate of fragrance release and to make more durable fragrant finishing on textiles.
Microcapsules are small particles that contain an active agent or core material surrounded by a coating layer or shell. Their diameter may vary from 1 to 1000 micrometre. The microcapsule shell can be compromised by various factors such as temperature and pressure so that the contents are delivered when the capsule begins to melt and the fragrances are gradually released while wearing the clothes and not before in the washing machine
Some studies showed the potential to use the fragrance encapsulated as fabric softener to improve fabric long lasting properties and enhance the effectiveness of fragrance materials. Protected by microcapsules, the fragrance stays on fabrics through the cleaning process and releases its scent over time when dried microcapsule membrane ruptures due to physical abrasion. Fragrance could stay in your clothes for more than a month!
To know more about encapsulation technology and to give it a try, do get in touch with us for some future game changing products.
