In laundering

Borax is used in the production of pyrex glass, ceramics, as a flux in soldering and welding, and in laundering to impart a glaze to linen. 

Chemical Properties. Under slightly acidic or basic conditions at room temperature, acetate and triacetate fibers are resistant to chlorine bleach at the concentrations normally used in laundering. 

As a result of many painstaking investigations, the soils on apparel encountered in laundering have been shown to be complex mixtures containing both oily and finely divided soHd material (1,2). The oily material consists largely of fatty acids and polar fatty material but a considerable proportion of neutral nonpolar oil is also present. The soHd components vary widely with the locale in which samples are taken, and resemble local street dust in composition. 

MeutralSoluble Salts. So dium sulfate [7757-82-6] and, to a considerably lesser extent, sodium chloride [7647-14-5] are the principal neutral soluble salts used in laundering compositions. They are often considered to be fillers although they perform an important standardizing function enabling the formulator to manufacture powders of a desired, controlled density. Sodium sulfate, in addition, lowers the critical micelle concentration of organic surfactants and thus the concentration at which effective washing can be achieved. 

Essentially nonionic soil-release agents comprise polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes, polyepoxides and polyacetals. These have been used mainly on polyester and polyester/ cellulosic fabrics, either crosslinked to effect insolubilisation (if necessary) or by surface adsorption at relatively low temperature. Polyester soil-release finishes have been most important, particularly for polyester fibres and their blends with cellulosic fibres. These finishes, however, have much lower relative molecular mass (1000 to 100 000) than polyester fibres and hence contain a greater proportion of hydrophilic hydroxy groups. They have been particularly useful for application in laundering processes. These essentially nonionic polymers may be given anionic character by copolymerising with, for example, the carboxylated polymers mentioned earlier these hybrid types are generally applied with durable press finishes. 

The concentration of H2O2 generated by sodium perborate (NaB03 H20), present as bleacher in laundering powder formulations, can be determined by polarographic methods . 

Typical chemical and physical properties of these fibers have been discussed (68). In slightly acidic or basic conditions at room temperature, acetate and triacetate fibers are very resistant to chlorine bleach at the concentrations normally encountered in laundering (68). Acetate and triacetate fibers are not affected by the dry-cleaning solutions normally used in the United States and Canada, but triacetate is softened by trichloroethylene (68). Delustering can be accomplished by hot soap solutions (72) so caution needs to be applied during cleaning of acetate fabrics. The immediate cause of delustering by hot soap solutions is the... 

Chiao-Cheng, J.H., B.M. Reagan, R.R. Bresee, C.E. Meloan and A.M. Kadoum (1989). Carbamate Insecticide Removal in Laundering from Cotton and Polyester Fabrics, Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 17, 87-94. 

Fligher permanence in laundering and chemical cleaning Crosslinking of silicones, new catalysts for the fixation of flame retardants... 

The important use of polyester fibers in clothing and bedding increased the nonionic constituent in laundering as it was found that nonionics remove soil from these fibers better than the anionics. 

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