Colored granules in washing powders

[grwasher_expert]

Everyone has seen that almost all powdered detergents in the world,the powder is not pure white.There are some colored granules evenly dispersed in the white powder.The most popular color is blue, but some powders contain and other colors such as green, red, pink or purple depending on the brand.Ariel contains blue and green granules and Skip(persil/omo) contains blue and red.I always had that question.Do the colored granules serve a functional purpose(for example blue granules contain enzymes, green ones contain bleach and white ones contain the rest ingredients) or they are just the same as the white granules and they are just dyed only for the optical effect?

 

[grwasher_expert]

[No message]

 

[vacerator]

Who knows anymore?

I thought they were those oxy clean crystals.

 

[gorenje]

Well, the italian DASH for example has blue granules that in contact with water they dissolve and turns to some kind of bluing agent to make whites whiter.

But some older formulations of the italian DASH had so much bluing in it that turned certain tissues not only into "whiter whites" as written on the box but into blue color.

Luckily that formulation was discontinued. Now the detergent has less bluing and some other granules but they don't turn the laundry blue.

However in some other detergents could be that these coloured granules are nothing else that a marketing trick.
A trick to make you think that their detergent has something more in it than others don't have.

But in reality just a plain white powder could contain all the ingredients that are also present in the one with coloured granules.

Especially European detergents have a high percentage of active oxygen that makes whites even more whiter and it's a plain white powder.

Ingemar

 

[nickuk]

specks

I always assumed they were the enzymes, because our (UK) non bio powders tend to be pure white whereas bio ones have the varying flecks.

Bold also has a kind of grey / yellow (dull) fleck which I always thought was the chalky "softener" component.

My thoughts are probably assumed misconceptions I've convinced myself of over the years, as opposed to the reality.

 

[supersuds]

I don't think you can assume they are enzymes. Here in the US, Oxydol had green specks for many years before it had enzymes (as far as I know).

My guess is that while in some cases the specks may serve a functional purpose they are mostly a marketing gimmick.

BTW, Ingemar, speaking of too much bluing, I tried using some 1950s vintage Super Suds to wash dishes (as it suggests on the box) and when I drained the wash water the bowl of the sink was slightly blue! It didn't stay on, but it was kind of cool to see. I haven't noticed any problems with clothes looking too blue, fortunately!

 

[launderess]

For what it is worth

Pipe:

http://www.globalsources.com/si/AS/.../Blue-Speckle-colored-Granules/1058831366.htm

http://google.com/patents/WO2007006357A1?cl=pt-pt

http://www.surf.co.uk/FAQs.aspx

 

[dixan]

The colour granules are there for aesthetic reasons. They have no function at all. They are usually made of bentonite or soap. The pigments used cannot dye, blue, whiten or whatever the clothes. Just aesthetics.

In some part of the world (Scandinavia) the powders are white with no colour granules. In other parts like South America the powders are not white but blue or green.