Laundering process for whitening synthetic textiles
The present invention relates to the use of a combination of a free fluorescent whitening agent and cationic polymer as a brightening agent for a synthetic single or blended textile, especially polyester textile, and to a corresponding brightening agent as well as a laundering process for brightening a synthetic, single or blended textile, which is characterized by a) preparing a composition by contacting a free fluorescent whitening agent with a cationic polymer, and b) treating said synthetic, single or blended textile with the composition prepared in step a).
1. A laundering process for brightening a polyester or polyester/cotton textile, which is characterized by
a) preparing a composition by contacting a free fluorescent whitening agent with a cationic polymer and an anionic surfactant
b) treating said textile with the composition prepared in step a),
wherein the free fluorescent whitening agent is a compound selected from the group of formulae (4) to (27)
and the cationic polymer is selected from the group consisting of
a liquid dispersion cationic acryl polymer, a cationic homopolymer formed from 2-propen-1-aminium, N,N-dimethyl N-2-propenyl-, chloride and cellulose, 2-hydroxyethyl 2-hydroxy-3-(trimethylammonio)propyl ether, chloride and the fluorescent whitener ranges from 1 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts of the cationic polymer.
2. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the textile is a polyester.
3. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the free fluorescent whitening agent is amphiphilic.
4. A process according to claim 1 , wherein step a) comprises introducing the free fluorescent whitening agent and the cationic polymer in water.
5. A process according to claim 1 , wherein step a) is carried out for initiating a wash cycle.
6. A brightening agent for a polyester or polyester/cotton textile, comprising a cationic polymer and a free fluorescent whitening agent as defined in claim 1 and optionally water.
7. The brightening agent according to claim 6 , wherein the free fluorescent whitening agent is a compound of formula (16).
8. The brightening agent according to claim 6 , wherein the cationic polymer has a molecular weight within the range from about 2,000 to about 30,000,000.
9. A detergent composition for brightening a polyester or polyester/cotton, comprising a brightening agent as defined in claim 6 .
10. The detergent composition according to claim 9 in the form of an aqueous liquid.
11. A detergent composition for brightening a polyester or polyester/cotton textile, comprising a fluorescent whitening agent and a cationic polymer as defined in claim 1 .