Does laundry detergent kill bacteria?

In life, everyone must know about the efficacy of laundry detergent. The main ingredient of laundry detergent is active ingredient, which can promote buffering and cleaning, while increasing efficiency. Laundry detergent will make clothes cleaner and more convenient than using soap. If the laundry detergent contains bactericidal ingredients, it can kill bacteria, but there is no guarantee that all current laundry detergents have a bactericidal effect. It depends on the additives in the laundry detergent.

There are five major categories of ingredients in laundry detergent: active ingredients, detergent ingredients, buffering ingredients, synergistic ingredients, and auxiliary ingredients. There are five categories of ingredients:

Active ingredients

The active ingredient is the main ingredient in the detergent. Detergent active ingredients are a class of substances called surfactants. Their function is to weaken the adhesion between stains and clothes. Under the action of washing water flow and mechanical forces such as hand rubbing or stirring of the washing machine, the stains are separated from the clothes, thereby achieving the purpose of cleaning the clothes.

Note: 1. To achieve good cleaning effect, the washing powder should contain sufficient active ingredients. In order to ensure the washing effect of washing powder, the national competent authorities have stipulated the minimum content of active ingredients in washing powder. Depending on the type of active agent used and the category of the product, the amount of active ingredients in washing powder should generally not be less than 13%;

2. Because many surfactants have strong foaming ability, consumers can judge the quality of washing powder based on their experience and the foaming after washing powder is dissolved in water;

3. However, the foaming ability of some washing powders specially used for drum washing machines is much worse than that of ordinary washing powders. This is because the drum washing machine mainly relies on the mechanical force generated by the tumbling of the clothes in the drum to achieve the purpose of cleaning the clothes. However, too much foam in the detergent solution will greatly weaken the mechanical force generated by the tumbling of clothes, greatly reducing the cleaning effect.

Cleaning ingredients

Detergent builder is the largest ingredient in laundry detergent, generally accounting for 15%-40% of the total composition. The main function of detergent is to soften the water by binding the hardness ions contained in the water, thereby protecting the surfactant and maximizing its effectiveness. The so-called phosphorus-containing or phosphorus-free detergents actually refer to whether the detergent used is a phosphorus-based or non-phosphorus-based substance.

Notice:

1. Some provinces and cities have formulated local regulations to prohibit or restrict the sale and use of phosphate-containing detergents.

2. Among non-phosphorus detergents, the substance called zeolite is recognized by the industry as a good substitute for phosphate components.

3. In addition, there are various "cheap" phosphorus-free builders, such as sodium carbonate (pure alkali), sodium silicate (water glass) and their complexes in various proportions. Since these non-phosphate additives eventually form water-insoluble precipitates, they will sink to the clothes if they are not effectively suspended in water. Long-term use of this phosphorus-free detergent will result in clothes becoming hard and yellow. To prevent this from happening, well-designed phosphate-free detergents use effective dispersants in their formulas so that the insoluble particles that form do not settle on the clothes.

Buffering ingredients

Common dirt on clothes is generally organic stains, such as sweat stains, food, dust, etc. Organic stains are generally acidic, and making the washing solution alkaline is conducive to the removal of such stains, so a considerable amount of alkaline substances are added to washing powder. Commonly used are pure alkali and water glass.

Notice:

1. Although alkalinity is beneficial to the washing of clothes, excessive alkaline substances will cause damage to clothes and skin. Therefore, the state has made corresponding regulations on the alkalinity of washing powder, and qualified washing powder should meet these requirements.

2. In addition, as mentioned earlier, these alkaline substances will form precipitation with hard water, and too much alkaline substances will cause a large amount of precipitation to form during washing, which will make the washing effect worse.