New detergents improve laundry safety

Until recently, detergents used in professional settings were very different from commercial detergent and much more dangerous.

“The professional products available in laundry are powerful, clean well and work well but [they rely on] on chemistry that’s less than friendly,” said Ed Offshack, associate director for global technology development at Procter & Gamble. Some detergents’ chemical components can even wear away at concrete floors over several years, according to Offshack.

But, due in part to the green movement, the chemical components in detergents are getting friendlier for the environment and for people, as laundry room workers can shed the gloves and goggles that were once needed.
Offshack recommended staying away from products made with Nonylphenol Ethoxylate and get those that are non-alkaline or don’t have a hazardous shipping label.

On the environment side, new high-efficiency detergents are available, a trend that might prompt hotels to use more high-efficiency machines.

“[High-efficiency washing machines] use less water, so you have detergents especially formulated for that machine,” said Jessica Lawshe, assistant brand manager at The Dial Corp.

High-efficiency machines may come with instructions saying regular detergent can be used as opposed to high efficiency, but at half the recommended dosage. However, Lawshe said this is not a good way to go.

“It’s the same price as regular detergent, and it’s formulated so it doesn’t foam as much because the machine’s action makes the clothes flop on one another and creates more suds, and too much detergent overfills and stops the process, which uses more energy,” she said.
 

In the Numbers
10-20 percent of people are scent avoiders
Source: Ed Offshack, managing director, Proctor & Gamble
mid-’90s scientists began to raise concern with the use of Nonylphenol Ethoxylate in cleaning products
Source: Proctor & Gamble
51 percent of people would pay more for a washer or dryer that was energy efficient
Source: Mintel/Greenfield Online
20-50 percent less energy is used by high-efficiency washers
Source: The Soap and Detergent Assn.
20-66 percent less water is used by high-efficiency washers
Source: The Soap and Detergent Assn.

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