bingwsguy
Well-known member
At which temperature do oxygen bleaches become effective? Is it over kill to go beyond that temperature, or do they become more effective the higher you go over that initial activation temperature?
Laundress.....Foolish Question?
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Depends upon which oxygen bleach.
Perborate bleaches will start working at around 120F or so, but really need 140F and higher water temps to really get going. OTOH, percarbonate bleaches work in all water temps, but really get going at 100F. Mind you all oxygen bleaches work slower at the cooler end of their ranges, so contact time must be increased as temps go below 100F or so.
Perborate bleaches were inexpensive and when most wash (at least in Europe) was boiled or done at very high temps, it worked well. Persil was the first detergent to combine perborate bleach (PERborate -SILicate ='s PERSIL). However as laundry temps began to drop from boiling to 120F-140F or lower, bleaching activators were added to give the same results with cooler water. Also because of bleaching activators such bleaches would work with shorter contact time, despite cooler water. This is one of the reasons Persil and other activated oxygen bleachs/detergents came out with a colour version. Repeated laundering of dark and or some coloured items with normal Persil eventually lead to bleaching/fading of colours.
Percarbonate bleaches OTOH as stated do work in warm and in some cases cold water, but again contact time must be increased as water temp drops, unless activators are used.
As for wash temps and "over kill" it depends upon what one is laundering. If trying to restore whiteness/remove stains from sturdy white/colourfast items, then hot or boiling water temps with oxygen bleach will do the trick quite quickly. One must remember to as temps go higher to limit contact time, say at 180F to 200F, no longer than 10-15 minutes. On the other hand if trying to remove stains from delicate items or anything that would be harmed by very hot water, longer contact time with cooler water (100F to 120F) is best.
Just as an aside, oxgyen bleaches are called "colour safe" because of several reasons. First, neither perborate or percarbonate bleaches can remove colourfast dyes. Though darks and some other colours can fade with repeated use, especially in with hot water. In the case of perborate bleaches, because it needs hot or very hot water to really get going, the warm water temp normally used for laundering colours is not going to activate perborate's bleaching activity to the extent to cause damage. All oxygen bleaches work by attacking organic colour matter such as tannins. Man made chemical dyes normally are stable, but always test before hand.
L.
Perborate bleaches will start working at around 120F or so, but really need 140F and higher water temps to really get going. OTOH, percarbonate bleaches work in all water temps, but really get going at 100F. Mind you all oxygen bleaches work slower at the cooler end of their ranges, so contact time must be increased as temps go below 100F or so.
Perborate bleaches were inexpensive and when most wash (at least in Europe) was boiled or done at very high temps, it worked well. Persil was the first detergent to combine perborate bleach (PERborate -SILicate ='s PERSIL). However as laundry temps began to drop from boiling to 120F-140F or lower, bleaching activators were added to give the same results with cooler water. Also because of bleaching activators such bleaches would work with shorter contact time, despite cooler water. This is one of the reasons Persil and other activated oxygen bleachs/detergents came out with a colour version. Repeated laundering of dark and or some coloured items with normal Persil eventually lead to bleaching/fading of colours.
Percarbonate bleaches OTOH as stated do work in warm and in some cases cold water, but again contact time must be increased as water temp drops, unless activators are used.
As for wash temps and "over kill" it depends upon what one is laundering. If trying to restore whiteness/remove stains from sturdy white/colourfast items, then hot or boiling water temps with oxygen bleach will do the trick quite quickly. One must remember to as temps go higher to limit contact time, say at 180F to 200F, no longer than 10-15 minutes. On the other hand if trying to remove stains from delicate items or anything that would be harmed by very hot water, longer contact time with cooler water (100F to 120F) is best.
Just as an aside, oxgyen bleaches are called "colour safe" because of several reasons. First, neither perborate or percarbonate bleaches can remove colourfast dyes. Though darks and some other colours can fade with repeated use, especially in with hot water. In the case of perborate bleaches, because it needs hot or very hot water to really get going, the warm water temp normally used for laundering colours is not going to activate perborate's bleaching activity to the extent to cause damage. All oxygen bleaches work by attacking organic colour matter such as tannins. Man made chemical dyes normally are stable, but always test before hand.
L.
One more question, Launderess: Straying from my beloved Tide Coldwater, I'm occasionally using powdered Tide With Bleach (color safe) to wash whites in hot water. I always add liquid chlorine bleach to those loads (last 5 minutes of cycle if using TL'er; 1st rinse if using FL'er). Am I negating the sanitizing properties of the LCB by doing this?
I checked the Tide site and it said one can use LCB with Tide With Bleach, but that it will cancel out the bleaching properties of the detergent. It said nothing about the detergent's color-safe bleach negating any of the properties of the LCB.
What's your take on it?
I checked the Tide site and it said one can use LCB with Tide With Bleach, but that it will cancel out the bleaching properties of the detergent. It said nothing about the detergent's color-safe bleach negating any of the properties of the LCB.
What's your take on it?
Yes, the bleaches will cancel each other out, but at some point if one adds more of one than the other, the majority will win out. After all one adds oxygen bleach to wash loads done in tap water treated with chlorine, and the oxygen bleach works fine. Given the small amount of bleach per dose of TWB or TCW a healthy dose of chlorine bleach is probably going to over power the oxygen bleach.
L.
L.
I use 1-1/4 cups of LCB in the top-loader; 1/3 cup (which maxes out my dispenser) in the front-loader. Since there's extraction between the wash and 1st rinse (which is when the LCB gets dispensed), I'm hoping there isn't enough detergent left to seriously affect the sanitizing power of the LCB. I wash all my whites together, and sometimes there are kitchen towels which have had contact with raw meat, etc., that sit in my hamper for a day or two before they're laundered. That's why I'm always a stickler for using LCB and drying those loads very thoroughly on high heat.
I've never had a problem with food-borne illnesses, so I guess whatever I'm doing is working.
Although I had great results with stain removal using Clorox Complete (that new-fangled, expensive chlorine-based bleach), I've returned to using plain old LCB for its sanitizing benefits.
I've never had a problem with food-borne illnesses, so I guess whatever I'm doing is working.
Although I had great results with stain removal using Clorox Complete (that new-fangled, expensive chlorine-based bleach), I've returned to using plain old LCB for its sanitizing benefits.
bingwsguy
Well-known member
Thank You Laundress.....
Thank you for the input..... I knew you would have the answer. I really like the stain removal power of oxygen bleaches and now I understand how they work.
Frigilux...I also like Clorox for its germ killing ability....somehow I have always liked the smell of LCB doing its job.
Thank you for the input..... I knew you would have the answer. I really like the stain removal power of oxygen bleaches and now I understand how they work.
Frigilux...I also like Clorox for its germ killing ability....somehow I have always liked the smell of LCB doing its job.
Oxygen Bleach and Water Temperatures
Need to correct something posted earlier upthread.
In terms of being colour safe, all oxygen bleaches, that is both sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate have the potential to cause damage to colours when used in water temps of 140F or above. Every 18 degree increase in water temp will cause an corresponding increase in the bleaching action of oxygen bleaches. This is behind the rationale for "boil washes" favoured in European/UK countries as water temps of 180F to 200F would REALLY kick up the bleaching properties of either sodium perborate or sodium percarbonate.
On the flip side, using warm water temps,will allow a more controlled bleaching that would remove stains but keep colours/whites "bright". If one has say white sheets or shirts with black trim or coloured trim, it may be wise to keep wash temps around 120F to 100F just to be on the safe side.
L.
Need to correct something posted earlier upthread.
In terms of being colour safe, all oxygen bleaches, that is both sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate have the potential to cause damage to colours when used in water temps of 140F or above. Every 18 degree increase in water temp will cause an corresponding increase in the bleaching action of oxygen bleaches. This is behind the rationale for "boil washes" favoured in European/UK countries as water temps of 180F to 200F would REALLY kick up the bleaching properties of either sodium perborate or sodium percarbonate.
On the flip side, using warm water temps,will allow a more controlled bleaching that would remove stains but keep colours/whites "bright". If one has say white sheets or shirts with black trim or coloured trim, it may be wise to keep wash temps around 120F to 100F just to be on the safe side.
L.
