What is optical brightener in detergent and how dangerous is it?

foto25491-1A variety of modern washing powders allows you to quickly and easily get rid of any dirt, return the laundry to cleanliness and freshness.

But if you carefully study the composition of the washing powder, you can see an optical brightener in the declared components.

What it is and how harmful this ingredient is to human health and the environment, we will understand in more detail.

What it is?

foto25491-2Optical brightener - it is nothing more than a luminescent dye.

Penetrating deep into the fibers of the fabric, it absorbs ultraviolet light, reflecting the blue glow visible to the human eye. The result is a visual illusion of perfect whiteness, shining purity of the fabric.

It is important to understand that optical brightener will not remove stains or make your laundry cleaner. Manifesting under ultraviolet sunlight, it only masks the yellowness or grayish tint of the washed repeatedly white clothes.

When buying powders that contain optical brightener, you need to pay attention to what type of fabric they are intended for:

The final washing result depends on this.

Is it harmful to humans?

Optical brightener unsafe for health... With each wash, the smallest particles accumulate in the fabric, prolonged contact with which can provoke allergic reactions, itching and burning of the skin.

This substance is especially dangerous for children, allergy sufferers and people with very sensitive skin (for them it is better to choose detergents with a more natural, safe for health composition).

Alternative

foto25491-3For those who care about the health of their families, an oxygen stain remover is a good alternative to optical brightener.

Effective even at low temperatures, it perfectly cleans fabrics of any composition, does not harm the environment (on contact with water, decomposes into oxygen and soda).

You can safely bleach your laundry at home in the following way. To do this, dissolve 3 tbsp in 5 liters of hot water. lemon juice. In the resulting solution, laundry is soaked (for at least six hours), after which it is washed as usual.

The composition and purpose of the components of the washing powder is discussed in given section.

Related videos

What is included in the composition of the washing powder, which components are hazardous to health, the video will tell:

Conclusion

Optical brightener will help to temporarily restore the shining whiteness of gray or yellowed laundry as a result of numerous washes. But the short-term effect of cleanliness is not worth the harm that this substance can cause with prolonged contact with the skin.

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