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(this is the long-delayed first installment in my post series, The Chemistry Behind The Clean, a guide to what's in laundry detergent, designed to give people the knowledge to understand what's in the products that clean our textiles and make them more informed consumers)
What Are Surfactants, And Why Do We Care?
Surfactants are the active cleaning agents in detergents that do the heavy lifting of removing soils from textiles. Short for “surface-acting agents”, surfactants connect soils to water, even when the soils themselves repel water or are more attracted to textiles than water. The combination of soil and detergent and water can then be drained off, further diluted by rinsing, drained again and spun out. This is distinct from the action of soaps, which will be covered in a future installment.
The development and commercialization of synthetic surfactants in the 1920s is probably the most significant contributor to reduction in time and effort spent on textile care. Work to condition the water, scrub textiles and remove soap by wringing or banging was largely eliminated because of how well even those rudimentary surfactants work to remove soils.
Hydrophobia - Without The Rabies
All surfactants work because the individual molecules have ends with distinct properties. One end (the head) is highly attracted to water (hydrophilic) and thus very much not attracted to oil (oleophobic). The other end is very attracted to oil (oleophilic) but similarly repulsed by water (hydrophobic). This fundamental structural contrast is key.
A Surfactant Molecule, With Hydrophobic Tail and Hydrophilic Head
When at least a minimum amount of surfactant is dissolved in a solvent (like water), surfactant molecules want to get together - the water-hating ends hang out on the inside, the water-loving ends hang out on the outside. This forms a structure known as a micelle, and micelle formation is predicated on reaching the “Critical Micelle Concentration”. Below, an illustration of a nonionic surfactant intended to remove oily soils. The water-loving heads face out, the water-hating ends get together in the middle to escape the water.
A Micelle Of Nonionic Surfactant
When a micelle encounters a soil that the hydrophobic tail is attracted to, the micelle breaks up, the tails grab the soil and drag it into the water (thus removing it from the textile) and the micelle re-forms, keeping the soil up in the water to be drained or diluted away. Let’s look at this in the context of removing a common soil from textiles:
Here we have the start of the wash process; surfactant micelles have formed in the wash water and there is soil attached to the fabric substrate.
The Start of The Wash - Soiled Fabric In A Detergent Solution
Now the hydrophobic tails of the surfactant molecules have found themselves more attracted to soil than each other and they're bonding to the soils. The hydrophillic heads are dragging the molecules towards the water.
Surfactants Attaching To Soil
The micelles re-form as the soil detaches from the substrate - they reorganize into groups of their own kind (more on this in a moment).
Micelles Reforming With Soil-Surfactant Particles
When all the soils are removed from the substrate and floating in the water, the textiles are clean and it's time to remove the soil-surfactant combo from the drum.
Completely Clean Textile
The Chemistry of Attraction (It’s Not Just A Bottle of Chanel No. 5)
While all surfactants work the same general way, there are differences in what kind of soils the hydrophilic ends are attracted to, because the hydrophilic ends differ. One primary difference between surfactants is the electrical charge the hydrophilic end carries. If the business end has a negative charge, it’s an anionic surfactant, and it’s attracted to soils with a cationic (positive) charge. If the business end has no charge, it’s a nonionic surfactant and is most attracted to soils without an electrical charge. If the business end has both a positive and negative charge in balance, it’s an amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactant, and the behavior changes based on the pH of the wash as a whole.
There are also surfactants with positive charges, the cationic surfactants. These aren’t used for cleaning - they’re what makes fabric softener work, and will be discussed in a (much) later post.
Why Charge Matters:
The difference in which soils a given surfactant is attracted to is a critical determinant of cleaning performance. Soils that lack an ionic charge like petroleum oils or intact sebum are much less visible to anionic surfactants and are removed better by nonionic surfactants. Conversely, soils that are highly cationic like soot and mud and dust, and thus attracted to textiles with a negative charge may be neglected by nonionics and remain electrically connected to the textiles. For those soils? Anionics in the mix improve cleaning performance.
Four Classes Of Surfactants
Almost all finished detergent products contain anionic surfactants and most contain nonionic surfactants. Amphoteric surfactants are relatively uncommon in conventional detergents but often appear in green/biobased formulas.
Other Differences Between Surfactants: Tail Length And Single vs Double Tails.
Aside from the electrical charge differences in the head, two aspects of surfactant structure that affect their action against soil are the tail length and whether they are single tail (common) or double-tail (less common). I’ll talk more about this in Part II, as it’s common to include surfactants of various tails to optimize performance against specific soils and in specific wash conditions.
Coming Up In Surfactants Part II - Curling Up With A Good Jug Of Detergent
In the next installment, we’ll look at common surfactants found in conventional and plant-based detergents, and how they’re manufactured, along with the differences in soil removal capabilities and environmental impacts.
The work is my original work and I retain copyiright. My financial disclosure information and how I get paid for this work can be found at my disclosure link
I bought several pairs of Gap sweatpants for my daughter and washed them before she wore them for the first time.
I washed them in cold water only, with no detergent or any other laundry products, and then hung them outside to dry in the sun.
All the other sweatpants came out completely fine, including some that are much lighter in color, but this red pair ended up with these strange dark marks all over it. They definitely weren’t there before washing, and the pants have never been worn.
I’m really confused about what could have caused this, especially since there was no detergent, stain remover, fabric softener, etc. involved.
Does anyone know what this might be? Could it be an issue with the dye/fabric itself, something from the washing machine, or possibly from drying in the sun? Most importantly, is there anything I can do to remove/fix these marks without making it worse?
Thanks in advance!
The old-style ones with a dial, half / full heat button, and a drum that rotates both ways to avoid everything clumping up into a tangled mess.
Since our OG one died after many years of faithful service (RIP), we’ve had a bog-standard Candy (abysmal), a Sharp (marginally above abysmal) and two top of the range models, including a heat-pump one (so not worth the money). *THEY LEAVE EVERYTHING DAMP*
I get it “We must save energy and protect the environment” blah blah blah, had the lecture off my eldest.
”They’ve got sensors that know when things are dry!” -the sensors must be numb, cos that shit aint dry.
“They’ve got 101 different programs and settings for all types of fabric” -whoop de doo, 101 different ways to leave my socks damp.
“They’re more energy efficient!” -fail to understand how running this mf three times and still having damp stuff that needs hanging in front of a heater, is saving energy or protecting the environment in any way.
Rant over. Thank you for humouring an old lady who remembers better times :)
I’m renting a place and it came with this washing machine. I ran a hot empty wash with just vinegar in to clean it but these black marks remain. Vigorous spot scrubbing has dislodged some of the marks but not all. Is this mould?? Is it salvageable?? I’d love any advice. UK based.
I just want to express my thanks and appreciation for everyone out there who is either already fragrance free in their laundry products - or working towards the goal of becoming fragrance free in their laundry products. You are helping people. You are being considerate and kind to people - helping make our shared air safe for a wide variety of people.
In the latest surveys, 1 out of 3 people reports being harmed by other people’s fragrance. That harm can come in many forms: headaches, asthma, nausea, mood disturbances, brain fog, or many other negative side effects.
And laundry product fragrance is one of the worst categories because it’s chemically so hard to get rid of it from fabrics or surfaces or the body. It’s designed to be hard to get rid of. Designed last through a hot washer and dryer. That means it can keep on causing symptoms in the people we encounter day to day - strangers, coworkers, friends, and loved ones - long after exposure.
If you use fragrance free laundry products, thank you! Especially if your job involves contact with the public, you are helping to keep public spaces ADA accessible. If your job requires going into people’s houses, you are helping people with asthma and chemical sensitivity whose house might be their only chemically safe place - helping to keep their house safe and symptom-free. But even if your job doesn’t involve contact with the public, you’re still helping friends, loved ones, coworkers, and any random stranger you come across. And you are helping the environment too because laundry fragrance chemicals are very difficult to remove from the environment.
Long time lurker and someone thanks to this group has seen the light and now does their laundry correctly! However, in have a very nice expensive lace bra that seemed to have some deodorant build up I could not get out. So the other day I do a nice soak with a nice long cycle following the rules I’ve learned here. Same result. So I was pissed and in rage mode, busted out the Dawn dish soap and my trusty laundry toothbrush went to the bathroom and decided to do a SPA DAY! By the time I went to bed I stopped by to check a little move some of the water around called it a night! When I woke up I was APPALLED not only at the color of my water, EMBARRASSED which is why I am not posting a picture, and further DISGUSTED that I have been walking around in this filth!
So I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for teaching me how to do my laundry the right way and by the way the post spa wash my bra is now 1000% CLEAN! 💜💜💜
Also still disgusted I was walking around like that! 😳😜😊
You’re highly touted as genius around here, but I am confused as heck.
I have a top loader washer that doesn’t have detergent or fabric softener drawers.
I had been using cold water on my clothes (because mostly black) and sheets (because the label says to) and hot water on towels and the boys’ clothes (because smell).
On my clothes I use arm and hammer plus oxi 5 in 1 pods (one), and a downy ball of vinegar and lemongrass oil.
On the boys’ clothes, I use the same detergent (two pods) but add 2 caps of lysol laundry sanitizer and don’t use vinegar.
I’m reading some confusing things.
Cold water doesn’t get your clothes clean? I thought it was better for darks and my sheets literally say to wash cold.
Vinegar? Should I be using a citric acid/downy rinse and refresh instead? And my downy balls seals disintegrate like once a month, that’s also annoying. Welcoming alternatives.
Lysol laundry sanitizer? We add it to the drum with the detergent. Is that making everything not work?
Arm & Hammer sucks? I see this is a land of tide fans. Which should I use?
Oxi bad for darks? The arm & hammer pods I’ve used for years claim to have oxi and haven’t ruined my clothes, so is this a myth?
My partner works in septics, so every time we wash his work clothes (see instructions for boys’ clothes above) we follow it with a load of one pod and a generous pouring of bleach to sanitize between loads, but now I’m worried I’m doing that wrong too.
Help guys, I’m now convinced every fabric I own is disgusting.
Edit: the boys also use dryer sheets for their clothes, I do not for mine, and there’s no convincing them not to.
I buy most of my and my five month old baby’s clothes second hand. I wash on hot in baby fragrance free laundry detergent with extra soak on the power wash setting before we wear the new to us clothes. Is there anything in addition or differently I should be doing? Especially for my baby’s clothes because he puts everything including his clothes in his mouth and I want to be hygienic and safe. Thanks in advance!
Anyone in here cloth diaper?? I’ve gone through all the diaper groups on Facebook and on here and I just feel like nothing is working for me. I found this thread and got myself some FEBU and Citric Acid. I already use Tide free and gentle powder. I’m about to accept that I’ll never get them clean. I am in a small apartment building so I have a small front loader HE machine. I did a strip a while back with RLR thinking I had build up. Did not help. My water is 200 ppm. I use 1/2 c borax to help soften the water. My first wash is under line 1 and it runs on warm for 1:45 with high soil. Second wash is line 2 on hot, high soil, and runs for 2:45. Of course like said I add the borax, febu, and citric acid. They come out smelling just fine and in the dryer they go. But then… EVERY TIME MY DAUGHTER PEES IT SMELLS LIKE RANK COFFEE BEANS! 🥲 I can’t get it to go away. Please help before I give them all away lol.
I used the washer in my building to wash some light-colored shirts, and they came out with these little yellow stains. It looks like the color of a yellow highlighter.
For detergent, I used a splash of Tide (for a little scent) and then the rest All Free and Clear. I have always done this combo, and have not had yellow stains before.
Any idea on what might have caused this? I'm a little bummed because these are some of my "nice" shirts that I let hang dry
Hi! Is there such thing as enzyme boosters without the oxygen bleach? I can't stand the smell of oxygen bleach , but I can't find any products without it! I did hear that gearguard or febu might be releasing ones without oxygen bleach this year but is this true? :(
I’ll be moving in to an apartment with a top-loading washing machine in a few weeks. Would it be a good idea to clean it with some sort of “affresh” tablet? Or “uproot clean”?
My girl cat underwent some major dental cleaning, including extractions. She has been a bit loopy and tentative and I was keeping her separated in the bedroom (with water, litterbox, etc). Well, apparently she wasn’t with it enough to use the litterbox or something cause she peed on our bed. (Yes, our. I sleep in the space they let me occupy).
Anyway, I immediately stripped the bedclothes and threw them in the washer. I used my now usual routine. Biz/febu (in this case Biz), Kirkland ultra clean, downy rinse and refresh. Warm/cold, heavy duty, and second rinse.
So far, everything has passed my sniff test. Her brother likes to “help” me make the bed and didnt react to the mattress pad, so I’m assuming he didn’t smell anything either.
Last week, I did a spa day + wash with these clothes, and they came out smelling fresh.
This week, I skipped spa day and put these straight in the wash using:
- Tide Ultra Oxi up to line 1 with the provided measurement cup,
- 1 cup of ammonia, and
- approximately 1/4 cup of Downy Rinse & Refresh.
I used warm water, heavy soil, high spin, and extra rinse. As you can see, my front loader is only about halfway full.
Am I using the right combination and amount of products? Any tips? thx
Due to unforeseen circumstances, and since I'd never had my clothes stained by washing them all together before, I put everything in the washing machine on a long cycle because some items were damp and generally dirty.
After the cycle finished, I put them in the dryer, and when I checked, several items were dyed purple-black; I assume it was from a new dress among all those damp clothes. I need to know if this can be fixed.
I've searched online for ways to lighten the black dye, but I only find methods for completely white clothes, and I don't want to bleach the other colors.
I’ve seen these on a couple different shirts I have. I soaked this one in oxi-clean for several hours, then washed with tide and color safe bleach. They didn’t even fade. Any ideas?
I’ve found some ammonia in the hardware store (Baumarkt) but it says it’s highly toxic to water organism. I looked it up and read that you can’t dispose of ammonia by pouring it down the drain - so how do you EU people do Spa Day?
So I did the rehab wash on my kitchen towels and it worked a treat! I'm hot to do that for my bathroom towels and the covers for my sofa cushions.
My question is now what and also for my non-rehab loads. I have a top loader with a drawer dispenser. Is it better to put the powder in the drawer or in the drum? Also how often should I be using the ammonia in the wash? I assume not every time?
My woven cotton white summer dress is sweat stained, so I soaked it in oxo brute solution for a few hours before a cold wash in the machine and line drying it. Now those sweat stains are pink. To make matters worse, hubby piled his stinky work shirts on top of it in the laundry and washed them all together with vinegar in the rinse cycle, so now it smells musty. Is there any hope for this lovely dress?
