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Laundry hygiene is becoming increasingly important for laundry products,
due to increased consumer perception of the importance of effective
home hygiene and through hygiene claims on products such as kitchen
and bathroom cleaners.
A recent study in the United States has found that
coliform bacteria, associated with digestive processes, abound in
many washing machines - around 40% of sterile clothes washed in
non-bleach laundry detergents contained faecal bacteria.
In addition, more research has concluded that germs
can transfer from fabric to fabric in the wash and can also remain
within the washing machine and be transferred onto other fabrics
in the next load.
All this can create problems for many households,
where bacteria can be transferred from contaminated surfaces, raw
meats, household pets, kitchen cloths/sponges, soiled clothing,
bathroom towels, etc. into the washing machine and onto other garments.
If the chain of cross-contamination is not broken, problems can
arise for the elderly, the infirm and the very young, as well as
being unpleasant to the consumer in general.
Detergents with activated bleach systems can provide
biocidal activity when the wash temperature is too low to provide
effective thermal sanitation or disinfection. Examples of biocidal
efficacy of MYKON™ bleach activators, which are based
on tetra acetyl ethylene diamine (TAED), are:
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