| A detergent (from the Latin word "tergere" means to wipe) is strictly anything that cleans, including soap, but the word is normally used only for synthetic cleaners.
Our modern technological solution (since the 1940s) to the soap scum problem is to use Synthetic Detergents which don't precipitate the mineral salts found in hard water. Some of these synthetic detergents are chemically related to soaps, as they are derived from the same fatty acids used to make soaps. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (derived from the fatty acid lauric acid by a series of chemical reactions) is such a detergent. It can be found in _many_ common household products. Sodium lauryl sulfate belongs to a class of detergents referred to as "anionic". These compounds are especially effective at cleaning fabrics that absorb water readily, such as those made of Natural Fibers, such as Cotton, Wool and Silk.
"Orvus" is a commercial name for sodium lauryl sulfate. It is available at feed stores, which sell it as a shampoo for the manes and tails of show animals. Sodium lauryl sulfate is also packaged as a quilt soap and can be found at suppliers of quilting products.
Sodium lauryl sulfate is a common ingredient of Shampoos, and some persons like to use shampoo for hand washing natural fibers. However, you should be aware that shampoos may contain additional compounds which could cause undesirable results if used for laundering fabric.
Read product labels! In the USA , ingredients are listed on labels in order of decreasing quantities. If you use a shampoo for washing natural fibers, you want to find ingredients that contain the chemical prefix "laur" (from lauric acid). Myristic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid are also produced from fats by the action of lye, and are considered excellent soaps. Like lauric acid, they are converted into anionic detergents; therefore, you might also find the forms "myris," "palm," and "stear" among the ingredients.
The usual granular laundry detergents are sodium salts of fatty derivatives of aromatic sulfonic acids. They are of the anionic class, with similar cleaning properties to those of sodium lauryl sulfate. Manufacturers have now solved the problems with biodegradability which originally plagued these types of synthetic detergents.
Another class of detergents is referred to as "nonanionic." These are especially good for cleaning synthetic fabrics, such as polyesters. Most are liquids and produce little foam. You'll find them (along with anionic detergents) in dishwashing liquids and liquid laundry detergents. The "cationic" detergents, as well as being cleaners, also happen to be effective germicides and are used in antiseptic soaps and mouthwashes. They're also used in fabric softeners because their positive charges (cations) adhere to many fabrics that normally carry negative electrical charges (anions). |
