Laundry Detergent Question

nick681

nick681

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I have a laundry detegent question and this is the only part of the forum I could think to post this. And since I didn't think that there are any forums for laundry enthusiasts here ya go.
The new Army uniforms specify laundry detergent with no "Optical Brighteners". When I buy laundry detergent what should I look for ? None of the packages specify "Optical Brightener Content". I would guess that bleach and bleach alternatives would be "optical brighteners".
Any info would be helpful.

Thanks,

Nick
 
The optical brighteners are mineral salts that glow when they are exposed to ultraviolet light (not bleach). I am guessing that they are phosphates, but I really don't know which chemicals they add for the effect. Pet urine stains glow under UV light because they have flourescent elements in them. If you for example wandered into a "gentleman's club" that illuminated the stage with black light you would notice the dancer's lingerie glowing because of the brighteners in her detergent. The army doesn't want their soldiers to glow in the dark if the enemy shines UV lights at them. The detergent manufacturers add brighteners so that white garments are whiter than white (since some of the invisible UV light in sunlight gets converted to visible for extra brightness).

If you are really concerned about this effect you want to avoid almost all major brands. You want to avoid any brand that says that it "brightens" or has "brighteners" in it. Maybe ultra mild liquid detergents that are made for woolens wouldn't contain brighteners. You could also try finding some industrial detergents made for metals or greasy kitchens. It needs to be a low-foaming detergent if you use it in a machine. You could also hand wash things in a hand dish washing detergent (not a dishwasher detergent).

PS. Doing a little internet searching it looks like the optical brighteners are made with a dye technology and really stick to the clothes.
 
Here is a link to one brand of detergent that doesn't contain optical brighteners. From their advertising blurb they consider this as a means to make their product hypo-allergenic. You might look for other hypo-allergenic brands in health food markets:
http://www.planetinc.com/ull.htm
 
I thought most supermarket detergent has "whitening" agents in them.
Is this the optical brightener?
I know Tide has them because that's the only detergent I use. When you shine a UV light on to a just washed clean and bright White T shirt, you'll see it light up with the UV light.
Maybe a mild detergent like Ivory Snow might not have it in them.
 
The best place I would go is a hunting and fishing supply store. Walmart and K-Mart would be a good bet too on buying a clothes wash made for this, it turns the gloss of the material off. There are 2 kinds from what I remember and prepared to get a little sticker shocked but it works.
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This may be a little harder to get. Tide is a wonderful detergent but in this case you need something else. Good luck! :)
 
She's right about hunting supplies. Since many animals see further into the UV than humans, wearing camo is a waste of time if you wash it in standard detergents.
 
TiberiusBkirk said:
I thought most supermarket detergent has "whitening" agents in them.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, most consumer detergents will have "Optical Brighteners" in them also called "bluing agents" or "color-safe/non-chlorine bleach." Any detergent that brags of "brighter colors" or "whiter whites," is no good for your application.

Look at Woolite or Ivory brand. You may also be able to get something at a "natural foods" type store, organic, environmentally-friendly type soap.
 
Try All- Free and Clear, and Costco's Kirkland equvelent.

Both are hypo- allergenic, and have no dyes in them.

Not sure if they'd work; you'd have to look.
 
I was going to say Hunters Specalities or UV Killer (don't remember who makes it, but I got it at WalMart) As Cindy said it'll be with the hunting clothes. I've been using these 2 brands for years.
Danny
 
I might be wrong but I think normal non biological wash powders generally dont have whiteners/ brighteners in them. I use non biological wash powder and my clothes never glow particularly in arcades/ theme parks.

I guess the easiest way to tell is to wash a rag or something and then get one of those cheap pocket UV lamps with a 4" UV flourescent tube on it and try it
 
Wildlife Outdoors should be the name of the product and you bet, we know how to wash those clothes. A woman I worked with was the best deer hunter I ever knew and never wore anything but black pants, coat,gloves, cap,etc...she also raised deer as pets. I wish I had the pictures to back me up. I asked her why she wore nothing but black and this is what she said. She had cammo on before she went to her stand and the deer she raised looked at her like they were spooked. She started wearing black and tried it again. The deer were NOT spooked and didn't look at her in a perculiar way. Shadows of black move in the woods so any hunters out there this is a HMMMM. moment. She harvested more 8 points than yo momma can say "get those clothes in the washer, boy". The reason the deer in the pen were spooked when Rhonda wore camo is because she looked like foliage coming at them.
 
Cindy,I was just kidding,hope ya' didn't take me seriously.Great thread. :thumbup:
 
Thanks guys and Cindy :) . I will try some some of that huntin' stuff.

A lot of the new uniform items the Army is coming out with have some different washing intructions, rinse twice, powder detergent only, no optical brighteners, etc. etc. the wife and I are trying to figure out one washing protocol for the whole mess.

Of course this is all fine and dandy until I deploy and there are foreign nationals on camp doing the laundry, they just throw everything in a big mesh bag and wash it, and this is when I will need all the uniform's "special powers" to work. Oh well....

Thanks again,

Nick
 
what about borax? No idea how well it works but I thought it was suppose to be a washing detergent...
 
Borax is a good additive for detergents , it's good to remove smells etc but baking soda is really good to remove smells.. For a detergent I use Shaklee's Basic H which IIRC is only a surfactant , no perfumes or anything else .
 
nick681 said:
I have a laundry detegent question and this is the only part of the forum I could think to post this. And since I didn't think that there are any forums for laundry enthusiasts here ya go.
The new Army uniforms specify laundry detergent with no "Optical Brighteners". When I buy laundry detergent what should I look for ? None of the packages specify "Optical Brightener Content". I would guess that bleach and bleach alternatives would be "optical brighteners".
Any info would be helpful.

Thanks,

Nick
Click to expand...

Actually, there are quite a few forums for laundry enthusiasts...
I found that out when I was looking at getting a new LG washer and drier and wanted to read some reviews...
That plan is now gone because of the downpayment of the car I had to buy when the old one died...
 
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