JP2003230794A - Water used for laundry and laundry method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means capable of imparting a high cleaning effect to greasy dirt, such as the dirt derived from collars and cuffs and the mud dirt sticking to socks by improving water used for laundry. <P>SOLUTION: The water subjected to deaeration treatment is used for laundry. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to water used for washing and a washing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Dirt derived from sebum on collars and cuffs and dirt such as mud adhering to socks are excellent and extremely stubborn.
Various efforts have been made to obtain good detergency.
However, the improvement of the detergency tends to impose a burden on the fibers, and it has been demanded that the detergency of the fibers is prevented while the detergency of the fibers is increased while the detergency is increased. As a technique for solving the problem, conventionally, an approach from a detergent and an approach from a washing machine have been mainly used, and many techniques have been developed and put into practical use. Furthermore, in recent years, a new technique for modifying the water used for washing has been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-172858 discloses a method for washing clothes using alkaline electrolyzed active water. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-167557 discloses antibacterial water to be used in a washing machine for clothes using alkaline ionized water. However, even if these techniques are used, it is still impossible to remove sebum stains and mud stains attached to clothing to a satisfactory level. In addition, JP-A-10-7
1375 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-288499 disclose a technique of using degassed water and ultrasonic waves together as a method for removing metal impurities, organic substances, inorganic substances, and particle contaminants generated during semiconductor manufacturing. However, these publications are not made from the viewpoint of improving the cleaning effect against sebum stains and mud stains of textile products, and do not show any countermeasures against them.

An object of the present invention is to provide a means for imparting a high cleaning effect to very stubborn dirt such as dirt derived from sebum on collars and cuffs and mud dirt adhering to socks. It is to provide from the viewpoint of water.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to degassed water for laundering. Further, the present invention is
It relates to a washing method in which deaerated water is contacted with a textile product at the beginning of the washing process. The present invention also relates to a washing method in which the water that comes into contact with the textile product at the beginning of the washing step is degassed water. The invention further relates to a washing machine provided with a device for degassing water.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION <Water> The present invention has found that excellent detergency can be obtained by using deaerated water as water used for washing. It is important that water to be brought into contact with textiles such as clothing is degassed, in other words, degassed. The reason why the cleaning effect is improved by the present invention is that by using degassed water as washing water, the air layer on the surface of the fiber dissolves in the degassed water when it comes into contact with the textile product, so that the deeper part of the fiber. It is presumed that it penetrates to the end, and as a result, excellent detergency is obtained. Therefore, in the washing process, first, the water that comes into contact with the textile product is degassed, specifically, the water when the textile product that is substantially dry during washing is wet or soaked. Is preferred.

As a method of degassing water, in addition to a method of degassing by depressurizing with a vacuum pump or the like, after heating,
Degassing may be performed by a method of cooling in a state where air is not touched (for example, a sealed system or a depressurized system). High temperature washing liquid
Although excellent detergency can be obtained, it may cause discoloration depending on the fiber product, and also in terms of absorbing air on the surface of the fiber, it is preferably at about room temperature, specifically 35 ° C or less. Especially, it is preferable to use one having a temperature of 15 to 30 ° C. Degassing may be promoted by applying ultrasonic waves during degassing, and it is conceivable to use, for example, a device in which a decompression device and an ultrasonic wave generation device are combined. In addition, as a method of degassing, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-15
005, JP-A-5-237472, JP-A-4-40270, JP-A-8-168756, JP-A-8-290007, JP-A-7-328.
Examples thereof include the device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 602. Among these, in particular, JP-A-4-40270
Vacuum degassing through a degassing membrane described in Japanese Patent No.
In addition, a method of degassing water using a decompression device such as a vacuum pump is preferable in terms of simplicity. Regarding the method of degassing through the membrane, commercial degassing equipment is commercially available to suppress the corrosion of boiler equipment, and this can be used.

[0008] Normally, the gas dissolved in tap water used for washing is mainly composed of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and argon forming air, and the dissolved amount is saturated or saturated. It is in a close condition. The saturated dissolution amount of gas in water is affected by the atmospheric pressure in contact with water, the water temperature, the solubility of each gas, the water vapor pressure, and the salt concentration. However, the mole fraction of the gas dissolved in water does not change significantly depending on the contact atmospheric pressure and the water temperature. Therefore, in the present invention, the degree of degassing is determined by measuring the amount of dissolved oxygen in water.

The saturated dissolved oxygen amount C in water is C = Ps / H
It is generally known that it can be obtained by the formula.
Here, Ps is an oxygen partial pressure (MPa) in the atmosphere, and H is a Henry constant [MPa / (mg / l)]. As an index of the degassing treatment in the present invention, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the treated water is
0.8 times or less of the amount of saturated dissolved oxygen, preferably 0.01
˜0.7 times, most preferably 0.01 to 0.5 times. Although the saturated dissolved oxygen amount changes depending on the temperature, it is 7.5 ppm (mass ratio, the same below) or less, preferably at room temperature or less, specifically at 35 ° C. or less, particularly at 15 to 30 ° C., which is the preferred water temperature of the present invention. The amount used is reduced to 6.0 ppm or less, more preferably 4.0 ppm or less.

The amount of dissolved oxygen in water is determined by the method disclosed in JP-A 5-1.
It is possible to easily perform the measurement by using a known method described in Japanese Patent No. 0886 or a water quality inspection device that is usually commercially available.

<Washing Machine> The present invention also provides a washing machine provided with a device for deaerating water (hereinafter referred to as deaerator). FIG. 1 does not have a deaerator,
It is the schematic of the conventional washing machine. In the washing machine of the present invention, the deaeration device may be installed in the middle of the path for introducing tap water into the washing tub as shown in FIG. 2, or as shown in FIG. A method is conceivable in which the water is provided and circulated through a deaerator and then put into a washing tub. As the degassing device, for example, in addition to a combination of the above degassing film and a vacuum pump, one having a degassing tank capable of heating using microwaves and a cooler as shown in FIG. 4 may be used. it can. The microwave method is also preferable in terms of energy efficiency.

<Washing Method> In the washing method of the present invention, the water to be brought into contact with the textile product by dipping or the like is first deaerated in the washing step. As a result, excellent cleaning power can be obtained by the mechanism described above.

In the present invention, "water to be brought into contact with the textile product in the washing step" does not include moisture in the atmosphere or water taken into the textile article, and water prepared separately for the washing step. Means

In the washing method of the present invention, after the textile and the deaerated water are first brought into contact with each other, sufficient detergency can be obtained even with ordinary water, which is desirable in terms of energy. It is preferable to use degassed water also in the washing step in order to obtain more excellent detergency. In that case,
The water contains a detergent composition. Specifically, it is used as a cleaning liquid in which the following other components are dissolved. That is, the present invention provides a cleaning method using a cleaning liquid prepared from deaerated water in the cleaning step.

(I) Surfactant As the surfactant, anionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants and amphoteric surfactants can be used, preferably having 10 to 15 carbon atoms. At least one anion selected from the group consisting of alkylbenzene sulfonates of 8 to 14 carbon atoms, alkyl sulfate ester salts of 8 to 14 carbon atoms, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate ester salts of 8 to 14 carbon atoms and an average addition mole number of 1 to 3 Surfactants are preferred. The salt is preferably a sodium salt or a potassium salt. The content is preferably 10 to 500 ppm, more preferably 20 to 20 relative to the water of the present invention.
0 ppm, particularly preferably 20 to 100 ppm.

In the present invention, a polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether type nonionic surfactant is also preferable, and a compound represented by the following general formula (1) is particularly preferable. R-O- (AO) n-H (1) [In the formula, R is an alkyl group having 8 to 18, preferably 10 to 16 carbon atoms, and A is an ethylene group and / or a propylene group. n is the average number of moles added, and is 4 to 20, preferably 4 to 15, and particularly preferably 4 to 10].

The content of the surfactant is preferably 1 to 200 ppm, more preferably 5 to 1 with respect to the water of the present invention.
00 ppm, particularly preferably 10 to 100 ppm.

(II) Dispersant In the present invention, it is preferable to add a dispersant for the purpose of enhancing the cleaning effect. In particular, a weight average molecular weight of 5,000 to 40,000,
Preferably 5,000 to 10,000 polyacrylic acid (salt), polymethacrylic acid (salt), or weight average molecular weight 10,000 to 100,000,
A non-carboxylic acid-based polymer selected from copolymers (salts) of acrylic acid and maleic acid of 30,000 to 70,000 and a polyethylene glycol having a weight average molecular weight of 4,000 to 20,000, preferably 5,000 to 10,000. Ionic polymers are preferred. The concentration of the dispersant is 1 to 10 in the water of the present invention.
0 ppm, preferably 1-80 ppm is suitable.

(III) Chelating Agent The water of the present invention preferably contains a chelating agent in order to reduce the hardness and remove the influence of heavy metals. Specific preferred chelating agents include phosphoric acid, tripolyphosphoric acid, phosphoric acid compounds selected from phytic acid, ethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid, ethane-1,1,2-triphosphonic acid, and ethane-1-hydroxy. -1,1-diphosphonic acid, ethanehydroxy-1,1,2-triphosphonic acid, ethane-1,2-
Phosphonic acid selected from dicarboxy-1,2-diphosphonic acid and methanehydroxyphosphonic acid, 2-phosphonobutane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid, 1-phosphonobutane-2,3,4-tricarboxylic acid, α-methylphosphonosuccinic acid Phosphonocarboxylic acids selected from acids, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, amino acids selected from glycine, nitrilotriacetic acid, iminodiacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, glycol etherdiaminetetraacetic acid, hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid, triethylene Tetraamine hexaacetic acid, aminopolyacetic acid selected from dienecoric acid, diglycolic acid, oxydisuccinic acid, carboxymethyloxysuccinic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, malic acid, oxydisuccinic acid, gluconic acid, carboxymethylsuccinic acid, Carboxy Organic acid selected from the chill tartaric, amino poly (methylene phosphonic acid),
Or polyethylene polyamine poly (methylene phosphonic acid), more preferably a phosphonic acid compound of, an amino polyacetic acid compound of, an organic acid of
Compounds of and are preferred. In the present invention, especially ethane
1,1-diphosphonic acid, ethane-1,1,2-triphosphonic acid,
Ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, phthalic acid, terephthalic acid,
Most preferred is a compound selected from isophthalic acid, fumaric acid, adipic acid, aspartic acid, azelaic acid, glutamic acid, glutaric acid, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid, ethylenediamine diacetic acid, and 2-hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid.

In the present invention, it is suitable that the above chelating agent is contained in the water of the present invention in an amount of 0.1 to 100 ppm, preferably 1 to 50 ppm.

In the present invention, it is preferable to use zeolite, which is a metal ion exchanger, for the purpose of lowering hardness and enhancing cleaning effect. Zeolite is A type, X type, P
Represented by type zeolite, and type A zeolite is particularly preferable. Zeolite having an average primary particle size of 0.1 to 10 μm, particularly 0.1 to 5 μm is suitable. Such a zeolite is added to the water of the present invention in an amount of 5 to 400 ppm, preferably 1
It is preferable to contain 0 to 200 ppm.

(IV) Silicate The water of the present invention preferably contains a silicate for the purpose of improving the cleaning effect and the purpose of rust prevention. 1 to 1 silicate
No. 3, amorphous sodium silicate such as sodium silicate, JP-A-7-89712, JP-A-60-227895 and Phys. Chem. Glasses. 7, p127-p138 (1966), Z.
Kristallogr., 129, crystalline silicates described in p396-p404 (1969), and a product name "Na
Crystalline sodium silicate commercially available as -SKS-6 "(δ-Na ₂ Si ₂ O ₅ ) is preferable.

The silicate content is preferably 1 to 300 ppm, more preferably 10 to 200 pp, relative to the water of the present invention.
It is preferable to contain m.

(V) Enzyme The water of the present invention preferably contains at least one enzyme selected from protease, cellulase and lipase,
Especially the alkalophilic microorganism Bacillus sp. KSM-6
35 (FERM BP-1485) or a mutant thereof, preferably containing an alkaline cellulase and / or an alkaline protease. Examples of alkaline proteases include alcalase, savinase (manufactured by Novo Nordic), Maxacal (manufactured by Gist Brocades), KAP4.3G (manufactured by Kao Corporation), KAP11.
1G (manufactured by Kao Corporation) and the like can be mentioned, but especially KAP
4.3G and KAP11.1G are excellent. Further, the alkaline cellulase preferably has an optimum pH of 7 or higher when carboxymethyl cellulose is used as a substrate, or a relative activity of 50% or higher relative to the optimum condition at pH 8 or higher. Specifically as a commercially available enzyme granule, KA
C500 (manufactured by Kao Corporation) may be mentioned.

These enzymes are added to the water of the present invention in an amount of 0.5 to
It is suitable to contain 20 ppm, preferably 0.5 to 10 ppm.

(VI) Alkaline agent For the purpose of improving the cleaning effect, the water of the present invention preferably contains an alkaline agent in addition to the above-mentioned silicate, and as the alkaline agent, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, Potassium hydroxide is preferred. The water of the present invention has a pH at 20 ° C. of 9 to 12, preferably 9.5.
It is preferable to adjust to -11.

In the present invention, preferably the above-mentioned surfactant,
The textile product to be washed is immersed in water that has been degassed by reducing dissolved oxygen containing a dispersant, a chelating agent, a silicate, a zeolite, an enzyme and the like, and is washed. The mass ratio of water to the textile product to be washed is preferably 5 / water / textile product to be washed.
-30, more preferably 7-25. The washing temperature is preferably 5 to 40 ° C. Furthermore, it is preferable to perform gentle stirring for the purpose of enhancing the cleaning effect, and it is preferable that air is not entrained in water, and 10 to 200 r
pm, more preferably 50 to 150 rpm is suitable. In the case of this washing temperature and stirring conditions, the washing time is preferably 1 to 300 minutes, more preferably 5 to 200 minutes, and particularly preferably 5 to 60 minutes.

After washing, after rinsing / dewatering, it can be dried naturally or by a dryer. In addition,
It is also possible to use water that has been deaerated in a step other than the washing step such as a rinsing step. In addition, water that has not been degassed, such as ordinary tap water, can be used in steps other than the step of bringing the deaerated water into contact with the textile product.

[0029]

Example <Preparation of degassed water> Water-a 3 L of tap water (dissolved oxygen amount at 20 ° C. 8.68 ppm, saturation value) was placed in a 5 L glass eggplant flask, and the pressure was reduced to 200 mPa · s with an evaporator. For 0.5 hours. The dissolved oxygen content of the treated water at 20 ° C. was 4 ppm. The amount of dissolved oxygen was measured by placing 1.5 liters of test water in a 2 liter beaker and stirring gently (10 rpm) for 5 minutes with a stirrer, and then using a diaphragm electrode (water quality checker, U-10 type, Horiba, Ltd.). (Manufactured by K. Co., Ltd.) and allowed to stand still, and the amount of dissolved oxygen was measured after 5 minutes (20 ° C.).

Water-b A treatment was carried out in the same manner as in water-a except that the treatment time was 2 hours. The amount of dissolved oxygen at 20 ° C. was 1.5 ppm.

<Method for producing model-contaminated cloth> -Preparation of mud-stained model-contaminated cloth Tanigami Shoten cotton knitting (A-10) was dipped in a solution prepared by dispersing 120 g of Kanuma red clay (average particle size: 30 μm) in 1 L of Perkren. Then, the cloth was taken out and dried, and then excess soil adhered was removed with a brush. 6 cm x contaminated cloth
A test piece cut into 6 cm and having a reflectance of about 40% before washing was used for the experiment. Preparation of Collar Staining Model Contaminating Cloth An artificial soiling solution was prepared according to the method described in JP-A-8-43272, "Contaminating Solution for Preparing Artificial Contaminating Cloth for Cleaning Evaluation and Manufacturing Method of Artificial Contaminating Cloth". The composition of the artificial dirt liquid used was that described in No. 4 of Table 1 of the above publication. The artificial dirt liquid was attached to the cloth by using a gravure-type fouling machine disclosed in JP-A-7-270395. The production conditions are as follows: cell volume of gravure roll 58 cm ³ / m ² , coating speed 1 m
/ Min, a drying temperature of 100 ° C., and a drying time of 1 minute.
Cloth is polyester / cotton broad (mass ratio 65 /
35) (purchased from Yatomi Shoten) was used. 6 cm x 6 c
It cut into m and used for the experiment.

<Washing Method> 1 part of the degassed water prepared above
Put 1 L in a beaker made of L glass, 80 ppm of mixed sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate having an alkyl group chain length of 11 to 15 carbon atoms, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (average addition mole number 6) 80 ppm, zeolite 150
ppm, No. 2 silicate 30 ppm, sodium carbonate 1
00 ppm, protease (KAP4 manufactured by Kao Corporation.
(3G) After dissolving 3 ppm, four mud stain model-contaminated cloths and collar stain model-contaminated cloths prepared above were put in each, and stirred for 10 minutes using a cylindrical stirrer piece having a length of 52 mm and a diameter of 15 mm ( Water temperature is 20 ℃, 50rp
m). After stirring, rinsing with tap water and drying, the washing rate was calculated by the following formula. The results are shown in Table 1. In addition,
In this method, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the degassed water hardly changes before the degassed water contacts the model soiled cloth.

<Method of calculating cleaning rate> The cleaning rate was calculated for each of four model soiled cloths by the following formula, and the average value of the four sheets was taken as the cleaning effect on the model soiled cloth.
The results are shown in Table 1.

[0034]

[Equation 1]

The reflectance is ND-30 manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd.
460n for muddy dirt model contaminated cloth using 0A
m, collar stain model contaminated cloth, the reflectance at 550 nm was measured.

[0036]

[Table 1]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a washing machine equipped with a deaerator.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a washing machine equipped with a deaeration tank and a deaeration device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a microwave-based deaerator.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Noriyuki Kitaori             Kao Stock Association 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo             Company research institute (72) Inventor Kiyoteru Osawa             Kao Stock Association 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo             Company research institute (72) Inventor Toshiharu Numata             Kao Stock Exchange 2606, Akabane, Kai-cho, Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture             Company research institute F term (reference) 3B155 AA01 AA11 BB08 CB38 CB39                       CB50 CB51 FA31 GC00 MA02                 4D037 AA01 AB11 BA23 BB02 BB06                       BB07

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. Deaerated water for washing. 2. The water for washing according to claim 1, wherein the amount of dissolved oxygen is 0.8 times or less the saturated amount of dissolved oxygen. 3. Water for washing according to claim 1, which is used for washing at 35 ° C. or lower. 4. A washing method in which deaerated water is contacted with a textile product at the beginning of the washing process. 5. A washing method in which the water that comes into contact with the textile at the beginning of the washing step is degassed water. 6. The washing method according to claim 4, wherein the water contains a detergent composition. 7. The washing method according to claim 4, wherein the dissolved oxygen content of water is 0.8 times or less the saturated dissolved oxygen content. 8. A washing machine equipped with a device for degassing water.