WO1997038618A1

WO1997038618A1 - Fabric cleaning

Info

Publication number: WO1997038618A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/006302
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anjum Fatima Ahmed; Gerald L. Hart; Andrew Philip Wilson Stedman
Original assignee: S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Priority date: 1996-04-17
Filing date: 1997-04-17
Publication date: 1997-10-23
Also published as: GB9607958D0

Abstract

A stain removal pack that includes a wrapper (1), a fabric sheet (8) contained within the wrapper, and a stain removing liquid contained within the wrapper. The wrapper also contains a non-chlorine bleach. Preferably the bleach is stored within the wrapper (1) separately from the cleaning liquid (7). Preferably the cleaning liquid (7) is stored within a frangible container that can be broken open by finger pressure on the exterior of the wrapper.

Description

FABRIC CLEANING

Technical Field

The present invention relates to sheets of fabric impregnated with a cleaning liquid for use in removing stains from clothing.

Background Art Products comprising an impermeable wrapper containing a sheet of fabric impregnated with a cleaning liquid, which may be water, a hydrocarbon solvent, or a mixture of both, and which may contain a surfactant are on sale in some European countries for removing stains from clothing. The wrapper is sized so that it will fit inside a pocket or handbag, so that the users can carry it with them and use it to remove soiling, e.g. caused by spillages of food or drink, before the stain produced by the soiling becomes difficult to remove. One product on sale in Spain uses a fabric sheet impregnated with a mixture of water, a surfactant, and an organic solvent. These products are often described as stain removing wipes.

It would be desirable to provide more effective stain removing wipes.

Disclosure of Invention According to the present invention a stain removal pack comprises a) a wrapper, b) a fabric sheet contained within said wrapper, c) a stain removing liquid contained within said wrapper, wherein the wrapper also contains d) a non-chlorine bleach.

The wrapper will normally be sized to fit inside a pocket. Suitable wrappers are well-known and may comprise flexible plastics material e.g. sheets joined at their edges. The wrapper is preferably not more than 10 mm thick, more preferably not more than 5 mm thick, and is bounded by an edge, the total length of which is not more than 400 mm, more preferably not more than 350 mm. The wrapper may conveniently be substantially rectangular in plan with dimensions of not more than 100 mm x 75 mm.

The wrapper will normally be impermeable to liquid so as to retain the liquid. However one possibility is to have a dry fabric sheet and a separate container within the outer wrapper for the liquid. The liquid can be added to the dry fabric sheet after the sheet and the container of liquid have been removed from the wrapper, in which case it is not necessary for the wrapper to be impermeable to liquid.

The nature of the fabric sheet is not critical provided that it absorbs the stain removing liquid. Thus the fabric can be a viscose rayon fabric. The sheet is preferably not excessively large as a large sheet may be more difficult to manipulate. The sheet may for example have an area of less than 4 x 10 sq. mm, for example less than 2 x 10 sq. mm. An example of a typical size sheet may be one which is 150 mm x 128 mm.

The stain removing liquid may be water, an organic solvent, or mixtures of water and an organic solvent. Where mixtures of water and organic solvent are used it is not essential that the organic solvent should be completely miscible with water. Organic solvents suitable for use in the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Examples of solvents which may be used are the terpenes, e.g. d-limonene, the alkanols, e.g. isopropanol, octan-1-ol, the glycol ethers ,e.g. tripropylene glycol,

In a preferred form of the invention the amount of organic solvent will be small in relation to the amount of water. Thus the weight ratio of water to organic solvent may for example be in the range 10:1 to 50:1..

The organic solvent is provided to help remove greasy stains.

The package preferably also contains a surfactant to improve the performance of the stain removing liquid.. This is most conveniently stored within the package dissolved in the stain removing liquid.

The surfactant may, for example, be an anionic surfactant. Examples of suitable surfactants are the alkali metal salts of alkyl sulphuric acid, for example those with an alkyl chain, preferably a straight chain, containing from 10 to 20 carbon atoms, e.g. sodium lauryl sulphate.

The surfactant may also be a non-ionic surfactant, e.g. the reaction product of a long chain alkanol and an alkylene oxide. Thus the long chain alkanol may contain a chain, preferably a straight chain, containing from 10 to 20 carbon atoms. In general the surfactant will be derived from a mixture of alkanols within this range e.g 13 to 15 carbon atoms. The alkanol may be reacted with 4 to 12 molecules of alkylene oxide, e.g. ethylene oxide, per molecule of alkanol.

A mixture of anionic and non-ionic surfactants may be used.

The weight ratio of water to surfactant may for example be in the range 10: 1 to 30: 1 . preferably 14:1 to 25:1..

The non-chlorine bleach is preferably a peroxy bleach, but reducing bleaches may also be used.

The bleach may be a liquid peroxy compound, e.g. hydrogen peroxide, or a solid, e.g. the salt of a peroxy acid, which dissolves in the stain removing liquid..

Where the bleach is liquid the most convenient method of storing it within the package is to include it within the stain removing liquid stored within the wrapper.

However, this may facilitate decomposition of the peroxide during storage. It is therefore preferred to store the bleach within the wrapper separately from the stain removing liquid. This may be achieved by storing the fabric sheet impregnated with solid bleach within the wrapper separately from stain removing liquid. Alternatively the fabric sheet impregnated with stain removing liquid may be stored within the wrapper separately from a solid bleach. If this alternative is used it rriay be more difficult to obtain a good dispersion of the bleach in the stain removing liquid before use.

It is possible to store the various components within the wrapper in such a manner that they are removed separately and are brought together after the user has removed them from the wrapper. Preferably, however, the wrapper is impermeable to liquids and any components stored separately within the wrapper can be brought together by the user before the outer wrapper is opened. For example the liquid may be stored in a frangible container which can be broken open by finger pressure on the exterior of the wrapper before the wrapper is opened or a frangible partition within die wrapper can be opened by finger pressure..

The use of peroxide gives a significant improvement in the removal of stains using the product. However, we have found that the presence of peroxide can, in some cases, cause yellowing of the portion of the clothing to which the liquid is applied .

In order to overcome this we have devised a modification of the invention in which a bleach deactivating agent is included in the liquid applied to clothing. The nature and amount of the bleach deactivation agent is chosen such that the initial activity of the bleach is sufficient to contribute to the removal of stains but is decreased over time by the action of the bleach deactivating agent to leave no significant amount of bleach remaining on cloth treated to remove a stain. Preferably sufficient deactivating agent is provided to react with all the bleach initially present.

Where the bleach is an oxidizing bleach then a reducing agent may be used as the bleach deactivation agent. An example of a suitable bleach deactivation agent for use with peroxy bleaches is a bisulphite salt, e.g sodium bisulphite.

The bleach deactivating agent will be stored separately from the bleach within the wrapper until the user wishes to remove a stain. Thus, where a solid peroxide is stored separately from the stain removing liquid, the deactivating agent may be dissolved in the stain removing liquid. The liquid may contain a preservative to prevent bacterial growth. Suitable preservatives are well-known to those skilled in the art.

By way of example some ranges of compositions for different ways of carrying out the invention are set out below.

Where all the components of the stain removing liquid are present in the stain removing liquid as stored in the wrapper: water 96.3 - 81.9% bleach 0.2 -3.0% Hydrogen Peroxide anionic surfactant 0.2 -3.0% sodium lauryl sulphate non-ionic surfactant 0.1 - 3.0% C13 - C15 linear alcohol

8EO organic solvent 2.0- 6.0% perfume 1.0 - 3.0% preservative 0.1%.

Where the components of the stain removing liquid as used are stored separately: Liquid - part A water 96.5% - 84.9% anionic surfactant 0.2% - 3.0% sodium lauryl sulphate organic solvent 2.0 - 6.0% perfume 1.0 - 3.0% preservative 0.1%. Powder - part B

Dry oxidizing agent 3.0 - 6.0% Where a bleach deactivator is used:

Liquid - part A

Water 93.5% - 78.9% reducing agent 3.0 - 6.0% sodium bisulphite anionic surfactant 0.2 - 3.0% sodium lauryl sulphate non-ionic surfactant 0.2 - 3.0% C13-C15 linear alcohol 8EO organic solvent 2.0 - 6.0% perfume 1.0 -3.0% preservative 0.1% Powder - part B dry oxidizing agent 3.0 - 6.0% sodium hydrogen peroxycarbonate.

The percentages are weight percentages and are based on the total weight of the composition when all the components are mixed together.

In the above formulations the liquid is used to impregnate a fabric sheet The fabric sheet may for example be 100% viscose rayon fibre with typical dimensions of 150 mm x 128 mm.

The amount of liquid contained within the wrapper, e.g. used to impregnate the fabric sheet, may be for example 1 - 4 g. Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying Examples.

Example 1

This example shows the production of an impregnated fabric wipe in accordance with the invention which contains a non-chlorine bleach but does not contain a bleach deactivator. A two part formulation was used comprising a liquid (Part A) and a powder (part B).

The composition of the liquid (part A) was

Ingredient % wt

Deionized water 87.56

Anionic surfactant 1.9

Ethylene oxide derivative 1.9

Isopropanol 0.95 d-Limonene 0.95

Tripropylene glycol methyl ether 0.95

Octan-1-ol 0.95

Preservative 0.08

The anionic surfactant was sodium lauryl sulphate in the form of 28% active material. The ethylene oxide derivative was an ethoxylated alkanol derived from the reaction of ethylene oxide with a synthetic alkanol in the ratio of 8 molecules of ethylene oxide per molecule of alkanol. The preservative was a commercially available material known as Bodoxin.

Packaged wipes were prepared by adding 0.15 g of powder B to a dry wipe fabric (dimensions 130 mm x 147 mm) within a sachet. Just prior to testing liquid (part A of the composition) (3.0g) was added to the sachet.

Tests were carried out as described below. The results are shown in Table 2.

Comparative Test A

This is a comparative test not according to the invention

A one part formulation was used consisting of a liquid (A). The composition of the liquid ( A) was

Ingredient % wt

Deionized water 95.72

Anionic surfactant 2.0

Ethylene oxide derivative 2.0 d-Limonene 0.2

Preservative 0.08

The anionic surfactant and non-ionic surfactants and preservative were the same as in Example 1.

Six different stains were applied to white 1005 cotton cloth. I drop of each stain was applied to the fabric in each case. Each stain was allowed to absorb on to the fabric and any excess was removed with a spatula. These stains were coffee, tea, red wine, spaghetti bolognaise sauce, sesame oil, melted butter.

The liquid (3.0g) was applied to a dry wipe fabric (130 mm x 147 mm) to produce an impregnated wipe. A fresh fabric wipe was used for each stain. Each stain was cleaned using the following method. Twenty circular movements around the periphery of the stain (to reduce the formation of a halo of a different colour where the stain had been) were followed by twenty motions up and down across the stain, to remove the body of the stain. The fabrics were then allowed to dry naturally before stain removal evaluation.

Each stain was evaluated using the following system for grading For stain removal 0 = No removal of stain

5 = Complete removal of stain For halo effect

0 = No extra halo from stain 5 = Extremely bad halo left The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 2

A two part formulation was used comprising a liquid (Part A) and a powder (Part B). The composition of the liquid (Part A) was

Ingredient % wt

Sodium metabisulphite 4.76

Deionized water 82.8

Anionic surfactant 1.9

Ethylene oxide derivative 1.9

Isopropanol 0.95 d-Limonene 0.95 Tripropylene glycol methyl ether 0.95 Octan-1-ol 0.95

Preservative 0.08

The anionic surfactant, the ethylene oxide derivative, and the preservative were as 5 in Example 1.

Part B (the powder) was sodium hydrogen peroxycarbonate in an amount of 4.76% of the total composition (part A plus part B).

10 The powder (part B)(0.15g) was introduced on to a dry wipe fabric (130 mm x 147 mm) and the liquid (part A) was then intoduced on to the fabric wipe. Stain removal tests were carried out as in Comparative Test A. The results are given in Table 1.

J 5

0

25 TABLE 1

A comparison of the results for Example 1 with those for Comparative Test A shows that, despite the presence of a bleach deactivator, superior results obtained using a non-chlorine bleach in accordance with the invention.

Example 3

This is a further experiment showing the beneficial effects obtained when a bleach deactivator is used with a non-chlorine bleach.

The compositions of Example 1 and Example 2 were tested to evaluate any fabric damage to white 100% cotton fabric using wipes in accordance with the invention.

The wet fabric wipes were prepared as described in Example 1. Each wet fabric was then removed from the sachet and applied to a pre-designated area of a swatch of white 100% cotton cloth. Twenty circular motions of the wipe were applied to the pre-designated area followed by 20 vertical motions across the area.

The fabric was then placed in a solar simulator for about 7 hours. One hour in the solar simulator is equivalent to 24 hours in direct sunlight. After this time the area treated with the wipe was evaluated for damage to the fabric.

TABLE 2

The fabric treated with the composition of Example 1 showed some yellowing indicating that UV absorbers had been removed from the fabric. The fabric treated with the composition of Example 2 remained white.

The invention will further be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package according to the invention, and

Figure 2 is a cross-section (not to scale) along the line II-II of Figure 1.

As can be seen from Figure 1 the package is in the form of a sachet (1) of impermeable flexible plastics material, intended to be torn open to obtain access to the contents. The sachet consists of a wall of plastics film (2) bonded along the edges (3) of the sachet. A weak seal (4) is provided which runs from one end of the sachet to the other at about a third of the width of the sachet, and which divides into two compartments (5) and (6). Compartment (5) contains a cleaning liquid (7). Compartment (6) contains a folded cloth (8) impregnated with solid non-chlorine bleach.

The weak seal (4) constitutes a frangible partition between the two compartments and is provided by an adhesive (9) with a low peel strength. If pressure is applied with the fingers to the compartment (5) it is transferred through the liquid (7) which fills the compartment to give an outward force on the wall (2) of the compartment. This force peels the wall of the sachet away from the adhesive (9) so allowing liquid from compartment (5) to enter compartment (6) and moisten the cloth (7). The sachet can then be torn open and the moistened cloth removed for use.

Claims

Claims:

1. A stain removal pack which comprises a) a wrapper, b) a fabric sheet contained within said wrapper, c) a stain removing liquid contained within said wrapper, wherein the wrapper also contains d) a non-chlorine bleach.

2. A stain removing pack according to claim 1 wherein the stain removing liquid comprises water.

3. A stain removing pack according to either one of claims 1 or 2 wherein the wrapper has a thickness of not more than 10 mm.

4. A stain removing pack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wrapper is bounded by an edge which has a total length of not more than 400 mm.

5. A stain removing pack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wrapper is impermeable to liquid.

6. A stain removing pack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cleaning liquid is a mixture of water and organic solvent in the weight ratio of 10:1 to 50:1.

7. A package according to any one of the preceding claims which contains a surfactant.

8. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the non- chlorine bleach is a peroxy bleach.

9. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the bleach is a solid bleach and is stored within the wrapper separately from the cleaning liquid.

10. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wrapper is impermeable to liquid and the cleaning liquid is stored within the wrapper within a frangible container which can be broken open by finger pressure on the exterior of the wrapper.

1 1. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wrapper is impermeable to liquid and the cleaning liquid is separated from a solid bleach by a frangible partition which can be broken open by finger pressure on the exterior of the wrapper.

12. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wrapper contains a bleach deactivating agent, the nature and amount of the bleach deactivating agent being selected such that the initial activity of the bleach is sufficient to contribute to the removal of stains but is decreased over time by the action of the bleach deactivating agent to leave no significant amount of bleach remaining on cloth treated to remove a stain.

13. A package according to claim 12 wherein the bleach is a peroxygen bleach and the bleach deactivating agent is a bisulphite salt.

14. A package according to either one of claims 12 and 13 wherein the bleach is a solid bleach stored within the wrapper separately from the cleaning liquid and the bleach deactivator is dissolved in the cleaning liquid.