LOW TEMPERATURE WASHING AND HYGIENE
Many modern laundry detergents in Europe are claiming good stain- and soil removal in cold water, even down to 15°C. This trend is related to the increased use of fine and synthetic fabrics, coloured clothes but also of garments of lower quality, which cannot be washed at high temperatures. However, also the need to save energy and to reduce CO₂-emissions has been an important impulse towards these low-temperature claims. Indeed, in several Life Cycle Assessment studies (1-2) it was found that heating the wash water accounts for about 70 percent of all energy used in the entire life cycle of a laundry detergent. Reducing the temperature for washing by factor 2 (60°C to 30°C and 40°C to 20°C) would save 60 percent of the electricity used for washing laundry (3).
Many new and powerful technologies in modern detergents like enzymes, new surfactant blends and new bleach systems (4-5) have supported the trend to low-temperature laundry washing and allowed acceptable washing results regarding soil and stain removal. Also higher efficiency washing machines and programs with better mechanics hav ...