Cleaning cellulases to stop dirt redeposition

In every laundry load, dirt particles in the wash water are redeposited onto otherwise clean clothes. The result is graying whites and dull colors. Cleaning cellulases in your laundry detergent can help.

See how to keep whites white and colors bright

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City life means grime on clothes

The United Nations estimates that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. For many, this means adopting a white-collar city wardrobe. It also means battling the traffic dirt and particles that stick deep in the fabric of clothes. These microscopic dirt particles dull colors and make whites look gray on otherwise clean clothes. They even cause problems in the washing machine: when they’re removed from one item of clothing in the wash, they can redeposit onto others, leaving the whole laundry load less than clean.

Laundry strategies to
beat urban grime

According to the World Health Organization, 91% of the world’s population live in places where air quality exceeds recommended limits. So it’s unsurprising that many urban consumers have already developed laundry sorting strategies to try to beat urban grime. In some regions, it’s common for consumers to wash indoor and outdoor wear separately to prevent redeposition. But these time-consuming strategies are hard to maintain in the face of fast-paced city lifestyles.

Fast-paced urban lifestyles mean that time-consuming laundry sorting strategies are hard to maintain

What causes dirt redeposition?

Some changes to our clothes happen on a molecular level. If we zoom in on a natural fiber by a factor of 50 million, we see that most of the surface of each fiber is made up of highly ordered parallel layers of long chains of carbohydrate molecules.

However, some regions have weaker bonding between the molecules, resulting in a disordering of the fibers - an amorphous region. These regions are receptive to dirt particles.

So despite being invisible to the naked eye, the dirt particles will ultimately make white fabric appear gray and colored fabric look dull.

Cleaning cellulases at work - see how they help clothes stay bright and white

Clothes undergo various changes, some instantly visible, others gradual, but aging them over time. If we look closer, we can see the molecular chains get disordered and become amorphous, which means they trap dirt.

When dirt sticks during wear and washing, it makes fabrics appear dull. Cleaning cellulases restructure the fibers to reduce dirt attraction and protect clothes for long-lasting whiteness and brightness for consumers.

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