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Dishwashing liquid (or washing-up liquid in British English), or dishwashing soap, dish detergent, and dish soap is a detergent assisting in dishwashing. Dishwashing detergents for dishwashers come in various forms like cartridges, gels, liquids, pacs, powder, and tablets. [1] It is usually a highly-foamy mixture of surfactants with low skin irritation that consumers primarily use for washing glasses, plates, cutleries, and cooking utensils. In addition to its primary use, dishwashing liquid also has various informal applications, like creating bubbles, clothes washing, and cleaning birds from oil spills.
Dishwashing liquid has existed for a long time with different compositions and using conditions. [2] [3] [4] Currently, dishwashing liquid functions best with hot water. However, there are some special dishwashing liquids designed to work well with cold water or seawater.
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Consumers used washing soda (sodium carbonate) for dishwashing. [2] Sometimes, people used it in areas with hard water. [3] People used it for dishwashing before the invention of detergents in Germany during World War I. [4] People started to manufacture liquid detergent for dishwashing during the middle of the 20th century. Dishwashing detergent producers started production in the United States in the 1930s–1940s. [4] [5] Teepol, the first such in Europe, commenced production in 1942. [6]
In 2005, dishwashing detergent retail sales totaled nearly US$10 billion worldwide. [5]
Dishwashing liquid may contain bleach, enzymes, or rinsing aids. [1] The main ingredient is water; the main active ingredients are detergents. Dishwashing liquid has detergents, rather than soaps because they do not react with any minerals in the water to form soap scum. There are other thickening and stabilizing agents, as well. [7]
Hand dishwashing detergents utilize surfactants to play the primary role in cleaning. [5] The reduced surface tension of dishwashing water, and increasing solubility of modern surfactant mixtures, allow the water to run off the dishes very quickly. Additionally, surfactants remove grease and food particles to aid in cleaning dishes. [5] They may also provide foam. [5]
Other ingredients may include hydrotrope, salts, preservatives, fragrances, antibacterial ingredients and dyes. [5] [8] Preservatives prevent micro-organisms' proliferation within the liquid. [8] Antibacterial ingredients make it difficult for bacteria to survive on surfaces. [8] In 2010, the United States FDA raised health concerns over triclosan, an antibacterial substance used in some dish liquids. [9] Elsewhere, triclosan has been found to create problems at wastewater treatment plants, whereby it can "sabotage some sludge-processing microbes and promote drug resistance in others." [10] As of 2014, at least one state within the United States has banned triclosan in dishwashing liquids. [11]
Some dishwashing products contain phosphates. Phosphates make dishes cleaner but can also cause harmful algal bloom as the wastewater goes back to the natural environment. [12] Because of this, many places banned this component. [12] Phosphates can also cause harmful health effects upon skin contact. [8]
Many dishwashing liquids contain perfume which can cause irritant or allergic contact dermatitis. [13] It can cause hand eczema. Those with "sensitive skin" should persuade someone else to do the washing up. [14] Recent research has found that Blackcurrant seeds are helpful for lessening the effects of allergies, due to its hydrophobicity. [15] Surfactants that are anionic also showed promising results in preventing skin irritation. [16]
Adding onto potential skin irritation, accidental ingestion of rinse aids (components within dishwashing tablets) can lead to vomiting. [1] [17]
Some alternatives for dishwashing detergents may be homemade, using ingredients such as borax, essential oil, eucalyptus oil, leftover cooking oil, and bar soap, among others. [18] [19]
There has been comparisons of different surfactants that reduce the surface tension of water to determine the most efficient dishwashing liquid. [20] [21] Lowering of surface tension helps with the cleaning processes. [20] A study showed that anionic surfactant combined with non-ionic surfactant worked better than anionic and amphoteric surfactants combined. [20] Another study pointed out that cationic and anionic surfactants combined worked better than non-ionic and anionic surfactants combined. [21] Therefore, cationic and anionic surfactants work better than anionic surfactant combined with non-ionic surfactant. [20] [21] Anionic and amphoteric surfactants combined are the least effective out of the three. [20] [21]
Dishwashing liquid is primarily for removing food from dirty dishes and tableware. [1] [5] Consumers usually scrape heavy soil (large food particles) from the dishes before using dishwashing liquid. [1]
Consumers handwash dishes in the absence of a dishwashing machine when large "hard-to-clean" items are present, or through preferences. [5] Some dishwashing liquids can harm household silvers, fine glassware, anything with gold leaf, disposable plastics, and any objects that are brass, bronze, cast iron, pewter, tin, or wood, especially under hot water and the action of a dishwasher. [1] Dishwashing liquid components are also harder to rinse off from rough surfaces than smooth surfaces, increasing the chance of accidental ingestion. [22]
Automatic dishwashing is when consumers use a dishwashing machine or other apparatuses. [5] It is generally for convenience, sanitation, or personal preference. [5] The cleaning is less reliant on the detergent's surfactants and more so on the machine's hot water as well as the detergent's builders, bleach, and enzymes. [5] Automatic dishwashing detergents' surfactants generally have less foam to avoid disrupting the machine. [5]
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Reader's Digest notes it may be used to kill ants and weeds, help spread water-borne fertilizer, and wash human hair. [23] Good Housekeeping says it can be mixed with vinegar to attract and drown fruit flies. [24] Dishwashing detergent can clean mirrors as well as windows. [25]
Currently, market research companies like Euromonitor and Grand View Research collect data on different brands' market share. [44] [45]
Grand View Research gives the general global market trend. [45] For example, for 2021, the company reported dishwashing detergent market share to be at 17.98 billion US dollars worldwide. [45]
Euromonitor International collects market trends of many big brands like Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Ajax. [44]
For example, according to Euromonitor International in 2013, Reckitt Benckiser held highest retail value share percentages in nine countries: [44] Italy (31%), Spain (29%); with Finish brand: Australia (38%), New Zealand (38%), Austria (32%), Ireland (29%), and Israel (27%); Denmark (30%) with Neophos brand; and Portugal (22%) with Calgonit brand.
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used as thickeners, components of some lubricants, and precursors to catalysts.
A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between 45 and 75 °C, at the dishes, with lower temperatures of water used for delicate items.
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more soluble in hard water, because the polar sulfonate is less likely than the polar carboxylate to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water.
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension or interfacial tension between two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid. The word "surfactant" is a blend of surface-active agent, coined c. 1950. As they consist of a water-repellent and a water-attracting part, they enable water and oil to mix; they can form foam and facilitate the detachment of dirt.
Dishwashing, washing the dishes, doing the dishes, or washing up in Great Britain, is the process of cleaning cooking utensils, dishes, cutlery and other items to prevent foodborne illness. This is either achieved by hand in a sink using dishwashing detergent or by using a dishwasher and may take place in a kitchen, utility room, scullery or elsewhere.
Joy is an American brand of dishwashing liquid detergent owned by JoySuds, LLC. The brand was introduced in the United States in 1949 by Procter & Gamble. In 2019, Procter & Gamble sold the rights to the Joy brand for the Americas to JoySuds, LLC.
A fabric softener or fabric conditioner is a conditioner that is applied to laundry after it has been washed in a washing machine. A similar, more dilute preparation meant to be applied to dry fabric is known as a wrinkle releaser.
Sunlight is a brand of laundry soap, laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent manufactured and marketed around the world by Unilever, except in the United States and Canada, where it has been owned by Sun Products since 2010.
Fairy is an international brand, primarily used for washing up liquid and dishwasher detergent, owned by the American multinational consumer products company, Procter & Gamble. The brand originated in the United Kingdom in 1898 and is now used on a number of P&G products in various markets.
Laundry detergent is a type of detergent used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder and liquid form.
A bubble bath is a filled bathtub with a layer of soap bubbles on the surface of the water. Less commonly, aerated or carbonated baths are called bubble baths.
Shower gel is a specialized liquid product used for cleaning the body during showers. Not to be confused with liquid soaps, shower gels, in fact, do not contain saponified oil. Instead, it uses synthetic detergents derived from either petroleum or plant sources.
Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing offensive odor, and avoiding the spread of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. Some cleaning agents can kill bacteria and clean at the same time. Others, called degreasers, contain organic solvents to help dissolve oils and fats.
A soap substitute is a natural or synthetic cleaning product used in place of soap or other detergents, typically to reduce environmental impact or health harms or provide other benefits.
Alkylbenzene sulfonates are a class of anionic surfactants, consisting of a hydrophilic sulfonate head-group and a hydrophobic alkylbenzene tail-group. Along with sodium laureth sulfate, they are one of the oldest and most widely used synthetic detergents and may be found in numerous personal-care products and household-care products . They were introduced in the 1930s in the form of branched alkylbenzene sulfonates (BAS). However following environmental concerns these were replaced with linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) during the 1960s. Since then production has increased significantly from about one million tons in 1980, to around 3.5 million tons in 2016, making them most produced anionic surfactant after soaps.
Dishwasher detergent is a detergent made for washing dishes in a dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent is different from dishwashing liquid made to wash dishes by hand.
Phosphates in detergent refers to the use of phosphates as an ingredient in a detergent product. The advantage of using phosphates in a consumer laundry detergent or dishwashing detergent is that they make detergents more efficient by chelating calcium and magnesium ions. The disadvantage of using phosphates is that they remain in wastewater and eventually make their way to a natural body of water. While phosphates are low toxicity, they instead cause nutrient pollution and feed the algae. This leads to eutrophication and harmful algal bloom.
Fabric treatments are processes that make fabric softer, or water resistant, or enhance dye penetration after they are woven. Fabric treatments get applied when the textile itself cannot add other properties. Treatments include, scrim, foam lamination, fabric protector or stain repellent, anti microbial and flame retardant.