There have been many examples of innovative, highly effective laundry products through the years, though all of them have used one chemical or another to do their job properly. Chemical engineers engaged in formulating these laundry products have been looking for a way to increase the cleaning power of laundry products without use of strong or aggressive chemicals, many of which are also proven carcinogens. A totally chemically-free laundry product with high cleaning properties might be still too much to ask for, but there have been many advancements in formulating and production of such detergents, solvents and cleaners. One of the aims of manufacturers is to formulate and produce a phosphate-free laundry product.
Problem is that phosphates are an essential ingredient in the cleaning power of such products. The solution to this chemical problem might be in replacing phosphates with enzymes. Enzyme fortified laundry detergents are becoming increasingly popular for both domestic and commercial use. Although such detergents are phosphate-free, they still have the same cleaning and washing power, because they use a unique blend of sequestering, soil suspending and anti-re-deposition agents. At this stage, most of these phosphate-free detergents are available in powder form. The other issue faced by manufacturers is coming up with chlorine-free laundry product formulas.
Chlorine is detrimental to health and causes many problems, especially to allergy prone individuals, or people suffering from skin conditions. Chlorine is also bad for the environment, as its purification and production methods use up a lot of resources and creates pollution. Yet again, there is a relatively acceptable solution to this as well, which is to use alkalis instead of chlorine. Alkalis when in concentrated liquid form are highly effective in removal of stains and soiling from different garments and fabrics. Alkalis are also the cost efficient alternative to using chlorine and chlorine based substances in laundry products, plus they leave fewer traces in fabrics which makes using them healthier. These products are technically known as non-chlorinated alkali cleaners.
Such laundry products have also got the power to actually brighten laundry, not just clean it. These products also contain soil suspending agents, and make use of optical fabric brighteners. The fact that there is no chlorine or other aggressive chemicals, allows for these laundry products to be compatible with bleaches, fabric softeners and colour boosters. In general, these laundry products can be used in both automated and non-automated laundry systems.
