Percentage of Surfactant in Low Suds Laundry Detergent

Laundry Detergent Choices

• Each household has its own laundry detergent requirements. Households with children that play sports or occupations that cause clothing to be heavily soiled may need a detergent with vigorous cleaning power. Other households may require mild detergents that are less destructive to clothing fibers. The type of laundry equipment in your home also influences the type of detergent you need. Top-loading washers clean by pulling clothing through the water. A high-sudsing detergent can help to remove soil and grease from the clothing fibers. Front-loading washers clean by a slightly different action. They toss the clothing and water around, hitting it against the walls of the tub. This type of washer uses less water and benefits from a detergent that produces less foam.

About Surfactants

• Many types of surfactants are used in laundry detergents, often in combination, to provide the broadest cleaning capability for most kinds of dirt and stains. Each type has particular characteristics that enable it to remove dirt in various types of water. Alcohol ethoxylate, for instance, is a surfactant that is relatively low-sudsing and is especially effective against oily soil from clothing, according to the American Cleaning Institute website. Alkyl sulfate surfactants are high-sudsing and may be affected by hard water conditions.

Low-Suds Laundry Detergents

• Low-suds detergents are also known as high-efficiency detergents. These detergents are formulated to create a lower rate of sudsing for front-loading washers. These washers allow clothing to hit the sides of the tub, cleaning clothes much like they were cleaned in ancient times when they were hit on rocks to loosen soil. Generally, surfactants are added to detergent formulas in percentages of 30 to 70 percent, according to the Detergents and Soaps website. To reduce the amount of sudsing in low-suds detergent, the lower percentage may be used. Using a low-sudsing type of surfactant also helps reduce foaming of the products, as well as eliminating lather-enhancing ingredients.

Advantages of Low-Suds Detergents

• Because front-loading washers clean differently from top-loaders, they use less water and less energy. This can save energy costs for consumers. High-suds detergents can cause the machine to work harder, causing more wear on parts as well as noisy operation. Low-suds detergents clean effectively without the large amount of foam. However, low-suds detergents may cost more than traditional detergent formulas.