Consumers prefer fabrics to be both clean and have a soft feel. However, often the fabric softening step in a wash operation is inefficient. This inefficiency could be due to softening active being washed away in the rinse step rather than depositing on fabrics, for example through complexation with anionic surfactants carried over from the main into the rinse cycle. Also, often fabric softening active that has been deposited onto fabrics during the rinse step remains on the fabric until the fabrics are due to be washed again (e.g. following wear by the consumer). However, during the wash operation there is tendency for this deposited softening active to be removed again from the fabric, for example through a stripping action by the main wash surfactant actives. This means more fabric softening active needs to be added back in the following rinse cycle to replace that part of softening active which has been lost. Overall this is inefficient as excess fabric softening active is needed to overcome the loss of softening active at various points during the wash operation, negatively impacting the consumer experience.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a process of washing fabrics that more efficiently provides a softness benefit to said fabrics, enabling an overall reduction of fabric softener needed.
It was surprisingly found that the process according to the present disclosure overcame this technical problem.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds