2020 Volume 61 Issue 5 Pages 373-380
In order to develop the novel washing system using alkaline electrolytic water, we investigated the influence of washing temperature on detergency of electrolytic reduction ion water (ERW). The detergency was evaluated from the change in the surface reflectance of the original cotton fabric and the wet-type artificially soiled fabrics due to the washing. In the case of soak washing and main washing, the detergency of 5 times diluted ERW clearly increased with increasing temperature. Also, the detergency of 5 times diluted ERW was higher than that of a commercial liquid detergent (standard usage). This indicates that ERW has excellent washing functionality. In particular, the detergency of the soak washing using only 5 times diluted ERW (washing time: 15 min.) was the same level as that of the main washing (washing time: 10 min.) using a commercial liquid detergent at 40oC, suggesting that the soak washing using ERW is an effective means of preventing the damage to fabrics. In addition, it was clear that the washing temperature, the dilution ratio, and the mechanical action during rinsing process played the most important role in removing soil for the soak washing using ERW.
