Wash All My Troubles Away Laundry Aids

In the past 50 years lifestyles have undergone many changes, not least in the kinds of garments that we wear, and the materials from which they are made. For environmental reasons we want to use less 

Our early ancestors had quite a struggle to wash clothes, but they were willing to experiment. The first laundry aid they discovered was a natural chemical, saponin, which is found in the leaves and roots of 

66) Surveys have shown that the most com- 68) A survey conducted by Unilever in 1997 

Soap comes from fats and oils. These natural chemicals are composed of glycerol (chemical formula C HbO ) to which is attached three 

Enzymes have improved over the years so that food stains on clothes, and unmentionable stains on undergarments, now present no problem. In the late 1980s, enzymes were engineered that could resist the action of the peroxide bleach and by 2000 it was possible to have a mix of all kinds of enzymes in the same detergent. Because enzymes are themselves protein molecules, a protease enzyme could in theory attack other enzymes and digest them as well, so special varieties have been developed to overcome this. Today, enzyme demand is 

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