"Detergent" means any concoction of top-secret ingredients that does the same job as soap, but isn't soap. It can mean washing powder, washing liquid, or detergent bars for the bath.
I had occasion to use a laundromat in Cairnes, and my clothes came out so clean that I tucked the other half of the box of washing powder into my luggage and used it at home. So I don't think U.S. detergents really are stronger.
Since all laundry-detergent makers are ashamed of their ingredients, I went to a store in a near-by town that caters to Amish people and bought a gallon of sodium lauryl sulfate, which is used for washing horses, and use it for cleaning wool, silk, and other precious fibers. It does a reasonable job on white socks. I understand the same stuff, in more-expensive packaging, can be bought at quilt shops.
It was bicycles that put me off Consumer Reports. Twenty or thirty years ago they ran a review of bikes, and introduced it by saying that only a person who "likes to punish himself" would want a lightweight, easy-to-pedal bike that can be repaired, therefore they were going to review only the very cheapest disposable bikes.
Didn't help that I happened to be walking through the room when the CR TV show was reviewing a miniature battery-operated sewing machine. After ten minutes or so of "will it work? (pant pant) will it work?" hype, they plugged it in, the needle went up and down: "IT WORKS!!!!" Joy Beeson
Joy, that's poor advice. Here's what a quick google brought up: ========================================================================== Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate
This inexpensive detergent is commonly used in cosmetic cleansers, hair shampoos, bath and shower gels, bubble baths, etc. - It is probably the most dangerous ingredient used in skin and hair-care products. In the cleaning industry SLS is used in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, car-wash soaps, etc. It is very corrosive and readily attacks greasy surfaces.
Sodium lauryl sulfate is used throughout the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant. Laboratories use it to irritate skin on test animals and humans so that they may then test healing agents to see how effective they are on the irritated skin.
A study at the University of Georgia Medical College, indicated that SLS penetrated into the eyes as well as brain, heart, liver, etc., and showed long-term retention in the tissues. The study also indicated that SLS penetrated young children's eyes and prevented them from developing properly and caused cataracts to develop In adults.
May cause hair loss by attacking the follicle. Classified as a drug in bubble baths because it eats away skin protection and causes rashes and infection to occur.
Is potentially harmful to skin and hair. Cleans by corrosion. Dries skin by stripping the protective lipids from the surface so it can't effectively regulate moisture.
Another extremely serious problem is the connection of SLS with nitrate contamination. SLS reacts with many types of ingredients used in skin products and forms nitrosomines (nitrates). Nitrates are potential cancer-causing carcinogenics.
Because of the alarming penetrating power of SLS, large amounts of these known carcinogens are absorbed through the skin into the body. A variation of SLS is SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate- SLES). It exhibits many of the same characteristics and is a higher-foaming variation of SLS.
Yup, sodium lauryl sulfate, labeled Orvus, is one of the few agents recommended for washing quilts. Only one tablespoon needed in the wm. My horsie daughters buy Orvus at farm & home cooperative stores, so I always know where I can get a free refill for my small quilt shop bottle. :)
Thank you for posting this debunking of the OP's assertion that laurel and laureth sulfates are poisonous, etc. You saved me from a search for that tidbit from snopes!
Those two chemicals are, one or both, in practically every single shampoo and body wash known to mankind (yes, I do know that's an exaggeration!), including baby products, and most likely in the products used by every single reader of this message.
The danger here is that people make the leap to: "Another urban legend debunked; the stuff is harmless". I'm talking about a different context entirely:
There is a big difference between carefully controlled traces of the chemical in the mfg process in shampoo etc vs. having a gallon of horsewash stuff I bought in the feedstore in the laundry room and being able to add an extra glug in the wm "for good measure". If a rash develops in our house (esp. around the waistline) the first question is: did we change deteregent (washing powder)recently? or maybe they changed the formulation.
Cancer risk isn't my focus, what caught my eye is the fact that the chemical is specifically used in med research to CAUSE skin irritation to test healing salves.
I guess the horses don't complain. But then, they're covered with, well,... horsehide.
Boy, some people must have a LOT of time on their hands, to create such an extensive website, just to poke fun! Thanks for the link--and to Pat, for writing out the formula. Science is not my strong suit, and I appreciate being let in on the joke!
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati
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Mel>> Let me see if I can remember enough college chemistry to write
Doreen wrote in news:mDr4g.9939$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
well, yeah... do you really think those of us with livestock use gloves when we wash them? i *did* learn the hard way to wear leather gloves when i shear, but that's entirely different ;) i have very sensitive skin & i've never had an issue with Orvis, which is straight SLS. of course, i don't slather it on & leave it for an hour either. irritation from laundry powder is more often from the fillers, fragrances, dyes or even just not rinsing it thouroughly. expect manufacturers to change formulas every 4-6 months, especially in washing detergents & beauty products. lee
site: I sent the link to my brainy daughters (one majoring in Biology; the other in engineering), and the youngest one wrote back that their gifted teacher in 5th grade gave them this substance to figure out! The clues were that it killed people, but it was also necessary to sustain life.It just goes to show you that too much of anything can kill you! Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati
WB wrote in news:OVy4g.49$ snipped-for-privacy@fe06.lga:
do you have horses Bill? i'd guess not or you would know how delicate that horsehide really is while still on the horse :) really, horses can be very fussy & are prone to allergies & dermatological issues (my favorite was a horse that had hay allergies). lee
I don't have horses, but I appreciate them. My grandfather raised and did harness racing on the Grand Circuit years ago.
My quip? was based on the fact that cordovan is one of the toughest of leathers and comes from selected parts of a horse, and I translated that into what I thought was their relative immunity from chemicals which are actually used to irritate human skin. I stand corrected and thanks for the information. JPBill
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